The first full-length biography of 1930s-40s test pilot Duncan Menzies (‘Flying to the Edge: The Groundbreaking Career of Test Pilot Duncan Menzies’ by Matthew Willis, Amberley Books) was formally launched […]
On 21 February 1945, the first Hawker Sea Fury flew, marking a new chapter in what would become an illustrious career, highly successful in combat and the pinnacle of piston-engined […]
On 3 December 1945, Lieutenant Commander Eric Melrose ‘Winkle’ Brown (later Captain) made the first carrier landings and take-offs with a jet aircraft in history, when he flew de Havilland […]
One of the best aspects of writing about historical naval aviation sadder is meeting deeply impressive people who have contributed to that history. One of the saddest aspects is the […]
I wouldn’t usually blog on the same subject twice in quick succession (See part 1 of Navy Wings At Night), but there’s a reason for a second post on the […]
The ‘Navy Wings’ charity, which supports the Royal Navy’s aviation heritage work, staged its first night photoshoot, arranged by Threshold Aero, on 26 October. The event marked the first time […]
Sixty seconds was all Lieutenant Commander Chris Götke had to save a rare, important Hawker Sea Fury T.20 from destruction. Fortunately this highly experienced former test pilot was exactly the […]
The involvement of the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm is relatively little known and while numerically small, had a significant impact on the Battle. Two squadrons of the Royal Navy’s […]
The involvement of the RAF in the Dunkirk evacuations is well recognised now (even if it wasn’t at the time by those on the ground) – less well known is […]
At approximately seven o’clock on the morning of 16 August 2017, the Royal Navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, entered her home port of Portsmouth for the […]
I was delighted to take part in two recent episodes of the aeronautical podcast Aviation Xtended to mark the 35th anniversary of the end of the 1982 Falklands conflict. This […]
I’m indebted to the wonderful team running the Fairey Barracuda restoration at the Fleet Air Arm Museum for allowing me to spend Yeovilton Air Day with them. Thanks to William […]
On the morning of 24 September 1916, two vast, skeletal wrecks lay sprawled across the Essex countryside – the remains of two of the German naval air service’s newest and […]
Naval Air History’s Matthew Willis has joined the British Naval History team with a regular blog – see posts here The first post ‘The Flying-off Platform- an Evolutionary Dead End?’ […]
My book on the Fairey Flycatcher published by MMP Books is now available. For more information and to buy, see the MMP site Reviews include: ‘Matthew Willis has delivered a […]
