Fleet Air Arm carrier war : the history of British naval aviation

439 Pages·2009·22.91 MB·English

by  Kev Darling

Fleet Air Arm
Carrier War
FLEET AIR ARM
Carrier War
The History of British Naval Aviation
Kev Darling
First published in Great Britain in 2009 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright © Kev Darling, 2009
ISBN: 978 1 84415 903 1
The right of Kev Darling to be identified as author of the work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from
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Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 Aviation for the Navy From the Start to 1939
Chapter 2 The Fleet Air Arm in the Atlantic
Chapter 3 The Fleet Air Arm in the Mediterranean
Chapter 4 Prosecuting the War in India and the Far East
Chapter 5 Korea: the Seafire Interlude
Chapter 6 Korea: the Sea Fury Years
Chapter 7 Sea Furies in Korean Skies
Chapter 8 From Suez to the Falklands
Chapter 9 From the Falklands to the Future
Appendix 1Carrier Details
Appendix 2Aircraft Specifications
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
D
uring its entire existence the Fleet Air Arm, the aviation wing of the
Royal Navy, has frequently suffered from political interference. Having
literally got off to a flying start as the Royal Naval Air Service the
Admiralty was most upset to find the world’s largest naval air wing being
subsumed into the newly formed Royal Air Force in 1918. During the inter-war
period the Royal Navy managed to hang onto its aircraft carriers although the
aircraft it carried were under the control of the Air Ministry. Eventually the
Admiralty managed to increase its influence over its own aircraft and the crews
they carried. By the time hostilities erupted over Europe again in September
1939 the Royal Navy had fully regained control of both its ships and aircraft
which, given the tasks that faced them, was the sensible option. Even though the
Admiralty was now in control the major problems facing the carrier crews was
the poor performance of the aircraft they were equipped with because they were
designed for the warfare of a much earlier era. But, even though the fighter and
attack units were equipped with obsolescent aircraft, through skilful flying and
great bravery the crews managed to achieve some great feats of combat.
WWII brought a perilous period of existence for the Royal Navy when many
of its fleet carriers were sunk. However, hasty conversions of merchantmen, the
lend lease by America of the smaller escort, or jeep, carriers plus a speeding up
of the building of replacement main and light fleet carriers meant that the navy
was soon fully equipped again. Allied to the increase in carrier strength came a
new crop of aircraft from both British and American manufacturers. With this
new strength and the tide of war changing in the favour of the Allies the Fleet
Air Arm and the aircraft carriers would finish their work in the Atlantic and then
proceed into the Mediterranean and onto the Pacific and the war in the Far East.
Here they would join up with the US Navy whose forces could only be
described as massive.
When Japan finally capitulated in 1945 most people hoped that the threat of
war would recede for many years. However, this was not the case as the power
vacuum caused by the removal of conquerors and colonial powers would result
in further conflicts. Again the Far East would figure greatly, this time it would
be Korea where the Communists, both Russian and Chinese, would begin to flex
their muscles. After nearly three years of fighting up and down the country a
truce was finally achieved.
Nevertheless, Britain would find itself at war again in 1956 this time over the
Suez canal which Egypt’s President Nassar decided to sequester. Although a
combined British and French force, with Israeli support, was making great
headway against the Egyptian forces, pressure by the United States via the
World Bank resulted in the operation ending prematurely.
After Suez the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Navy were active participants in
the Cold War as was the remainder of Britain’s Armed Forces. This would
change in 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in an effort to
divert attention away from problems at home. After a massive effort the British
Armed Forces successfully recaptured the islands. Again the Fleet underwent
changes, this time the last of the vessels whose roots lay in the Second World
War were finally retired and were replaced by three smaller carriers that were
capable of operating both helicopters and Sea Harriers. Obviously machines as
complex as aircraft carriers will eventually wear out so it is fortunate that the
Royal Navy will receive the first of two new super-carriers within a few years.
Not only will these new ships improve the capabilities of the fleet but the
aircraft intended for deployment in these new vessels will also increase the
effectiveness of the fleet. Should all this come to pass without too much political
interference the future of the Fleet Air Arm looks good.
Obviously a work such as this could not be completed without the help of
others therefore I would like to thank the staff at the Fleet Air Arm Museum,
Yeovilton, Air Britain, the late and sadly missed Ray Sturtivant, John Ryan, Ray
Harding and all at Aerophot.
Kev Darling, Wales 2009
Chapter 1
Aviation for the Navy –
From the Start to 1939
W
hen Admiral Sir John ‘Jackie’ Fisher, later Lord Fisher of
Kilverstone, was returned as First Sea Lord in October 1914 at the
age of 74, having retired for the first time four years earlier, he
continued the process that speeded up the evolution of the Royal Navy, taking it
to the pinnacle of its existence. It was only the requirements of the First World
War and the forced retirement of the previous First Sea Lord, Prince Luis of
Battenburg due to alleged German connections, that had seen Fisher recalled.
His tenure of office ended on 15 May 1915 after a flaming row with Churchill
over the Gallipoli campaign which Fisher strongly disagreed with. The irony of
this was that Churchill also resigned when the campaign went disastrously
wrong.
Contrary to the opinions of many critics that had been voiced strongly since
the creation of the battleship fleet the Royal Navy was very much in favour of
adopting emerging technology. However, they exercised some restraint until the
technology was proven and thus numerous developments took some time to
enter general naval service. Typical was the care taken over the deployment of
breech loading guns, the gun turret and barbette to house them and the creation
of hull forms and the finally revealed upper structures developed from these
developmental evaluations. With Admiral Fisher in control, all of these
developments plus others, such as the oil fired boiler and the turbine engine,
came to fruition in the shape of the Dreadnought class battleship. Not only did
this class of sea-going weapon render the remainder of the world’s fleet’s
obsolete it instituted a global arms race with the British having the avowed
intent of retaining ‘the two power fleet’. This standard was based on the idea
that the soon to be named Grand Fleet should be stronger in numbers and
firepower than the combined two numerically nearest fleets of the competing
nations. While Fisher did reveal some strategic flaws, the best known being his
support for the battlecruiser which mounted battleship guns over cruiser
thickness armour, he was enthusiastic and supportive of other emerging
technologies that could be of use to the Royal Navy in the future.
The confirmation that the carrier borne aviation was possible was provided by
Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning who would land aboard the partly
converted HMS Furious in August 1917. Unfortunately Dunning would be
killed on 7 August when attempting to land aboard Furious again in Scapa Flow.
(FAAM Yeovilton)
Although not a prime objective for Fisher the development of an aviation
component for the Royal Navy received distant encouragement. The first use of
any form of aviation by the Royal Navy occurred in 1806 when kites were
deployed aboard HMS Pallas for the purpose of distributing propaganda leaflets.
While these trials were successful the Royal Navy would not use kites in any
form in future operations as they were, for all practical purposes, useless for
daily use. Trials were also undertaken using a standard army spherical balloon
during 1903–04 which confirmed the thinking of the time that such a shape
would be uncontrollable whilst operating from the deck of a moving ship.
Balloons would eventually find a place with the sea-going navy, however they
would resemble floppy sausages in shape and were graced with a limited control
range and were not powered thus they had to remain tethered to their carrier
vessel.
The innovation that really sparked the development of naval aviation was the
early aeroplane and it was an American, Eugene P Ely, who would lay his claim
to fame on 4 November 1910 when he successfully piloted a Curtiss pusher-
aircraft from a specially constructed platform on the forecastle of the cruiser
USS Birmingham. Given that a previous attempt from the torpedo boat USS
Bagley had ended in a crash this success was vital to the continuance of ship-
borne aviation. Ely would also be the first to land an aircraft aboard a ship on 18
January 1911; the battleship USS Pennsylvania being the recipient. While the
launch and landing trials were carried out under anchored and calm conditions it
should be remembered that these were the infant days of aviation. Not only were
the early aircraft difficult to fly but the skill needed to land such a delicate
contraption aboard even a stationary vessel required exceptional skill and
courage.
News of the American research had reached the Admiralty in 1909 and their
response was to build the rigid airship Mayfly. After a series of flights, which
ended in complete disaster in September 1911 when the airship crashed, the
Admiralty then turned their attention to fixed-wing aircraft with trials beginning
in 1912. The pilot chosen to undertake these initial flights was Cdr Schwann
who successfully lifted an Avro biplane from the water near Barrow-in-Furness.
This was followed by Lt Cdr Sampson RN who flew a Short pusher aircraft
complete with rigid buoyancy floats mounted under the wings and carried in the
event of an unplanned water landing. The chosen vessel was HMS Africa which
sported a steeply sloped launch ramp mounted on the bow. On 10 January 1912
a successful launch was undertaken while the ship was at anchor in Sheerness
Harbour. On 2 May 1912 the pre-Dreadnought battleship HMS Hibernia was
modified in a similar way to HMS Africa although the launch ramp was set at a
shallower angle. Lt Cdr Sampson was again the chosen pilot and the aircraft
was, as before, a Short Pusher. During these trials the Hibernia was steamed at
10.5 knots in Weymouth Bay. A third series of flights was undertaken from 4
July 1912 although this time the cruiser HMS London was the chosen carrier
vessel. Again a launch ramp was mounted over the bow using the same pilot and
aircraft although London’s speed varied between 10 and 15 knots while the ramp