Manufacturer: Fairey Aviation

Model: unknown

Name: Crocodile

Type: Transport helicopter

Date: 1959

Status: Operational service

Country: Australia

Service: Royal Australian Air Force

Designation: Crocodile HC.1

The photograph at right depicts a very rare Royal Australian Air Force Fairey Crocodile HC.1, one of only five procured.

Not an imaginary aircraft, but an imaginary variant of a famous helicopter prototype, the Fairey Rotodyne.

Rob (a.k.a. MAD) once asked me to consider an Aussie Air Force Rotodyne. I have always loved the Rotodyne so I was thrilled by the notion.

What should I call the type? I thought Crocodile" sounded a bit like "Rotodyne" (very remotely I'll admit) and was definitely evocative of Australia, so I went for it... Rob thought it was a good idea...

I then kept the project on the shelf for a while, until one day inspiration came and I completed it. I took an inflight photo of a Rotodyne, erased the British markings and recreated Australian ones.

The tough part was actually to find a decent picture of the Australian outback to serve as a setting for the image!

• Wooooow, magnificent work Stephane. Well worth the wait - Thank you! It is a great pity that this design never took off. I could imagine RAAF (and later Army) Fairey Crocs returning to base, after ingesting flocks of Gilas and Cockys. Would you mind if I post this on my My 'What If' Australian Defence Force (ADF) Profile wish list forum? (MAD)

No problem!

Other than the fact that the Rotodyne never made it to production at all, it is likely that if production had ensued, the RAAF would have been a very likely customer for it.