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Aviation History
1932
1932 - 0606.PDF
FLIGHT, JUNE 24, 1932 THE AIRCRAFT OF THE R.A.F. THE FLEET AIR ARM FLEET FIGHTERS THE Fleet Air Arm consists of aero planes with wheeled under carriages, which are taken to sea on board aircraft carriers, and are officially known as ship-planes. The)' are divided into flights, of which there are at present 27, each flight owning six machines. These flights are divided into three classes, namely fighters, spotter reconnaissance, and torpedo bombers. The machines take off from the flying deck while the ship steams into the wind, and they also land on the deck in the same conditions. The landing requires very great skill on the part of the pilot. In the flights of two-seaters all the observers are naval officers, and many of the pilots in all the flights are also naval officers who are granted tem porary commissions in the Royal Air Force. These latter continue to wear their dark blue naval uni forms with a flying badge. The remainder of the pilots belong entirely to the Royal Air Force, but have been through a special course of training in working in co-operation with the fleet. To the ordinary landsman all things connected with a ship are a mystery, and this special training is very necessary for the pilots ; while it is considered by the Admiralty that no one but a naval officer would be any use at all as an observer. As the captain of a carrier said recently in a lecture, at sea even sailors sometimes fail to see things which are present, and think that they have seen things which are not there at all, and a landsman would be in far worse plight than a sailor may be. As in most forms of air work, the really useful service is done by the machines which reconnoitre and observe for the guns and by those which FLYCATCHER NIMROD neither class can carry out its work unless it gets protection from fighter aircraft. Fighters also attack the enemy machines of all classes and so prevent them from doing their work. Fighters are therefore absolutely neces sary on a carrier, though they can do very little to damage the ships of the enemy. For instance, a carrier would become useless if its flying deck were badly ploughed up by enemy bombs. It is the duty of the carrier's fighters to prevent the enemy bombers from dropping bombs on the deck, and so more or less blinding the fleet. Nine flights of the Fleet Air Arm are called fleet fighters, and fly single-seater fighter machines. Most of them are still equipped with the Fairey " Fly catcher " with " Jaguar " engine. It is a very fine aeroplane, but it has been in use now for a number of years (the greatest testimony to its merits), and its performance has now been surpassed by later types. The " Flycatcher " is easily distinguished when in the air by the dihedral angle (i.e., upward slope) of its upper planes. This machine has often been fitted with floats, though in that form it is not used by the Fleet Air Arm, and as a seaplane it has been used a good deal for the early training of the High Speed Flights which have contested the Schneider Trophy. The new fighter which is being introduced is known as the " Nimrod," which is a naval version of the landplane interceptor fighter '" Fury." It is a product of the Hawker firm and is fitted with a Rolls- Royce " Kestrel " engine. At present only one flight, No. 408 on H.M.S. Glorious, has received the " Nimrod," but others will doubtless receive it attack the enemy with bombs and torpedoes. But before long FLEET SPOTTER RECONNAISSANCE THE 11 flights known as Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance have to do all the general work for the fleet. They are expected to reconnoitre and discover the whereabouts of enemy ships if possible, and they are also required to spot for the guns. Thus the work of these flights is very similar to that of the army co operation squadrons, with the added difficulty of landing on the deck. A two-seater machine of very varied utility is needed by these flights—in fact a General Purpose machine. The choice fell upon the Fairey IIIF, which belongs to that category, FAIREY III F stated above, all the observers are naval officers who can readily recognise various classes of ships when they see them. There are seven aircraft carriers in the Royal Navy: Argus, Ark Royal, Courageous, Glorious, Eagle, Furious, and Hermes. Of these Courageous and Furious are in com mission with the Home Fleet, Glorious is with the Mediterranean Fleet, and Hermes is on the China station. The remaining carriers are not in commission. Bases for the Fleet Air Arm are at Gosport, and all the spotter reconnaissance flights are equipped Leuchars, Donibristle, and in Malta and at Kai Tak with it. The engine is the Napier " Lion." As in China. 558
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