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Naval aviation in the Battle of Jutland

May 31, 2016by navalairhistory 1 Comment

The Battle of Jutland, fought a century ago, is principally remembered as the biggest clash of battleships ever – one of the last hurrahs of the mighty surface fleets before […]

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WW1 History

Review ‘Bloody Paralyser’ by Rob Langham

May 10, 2016by navalairhistory Leave a comment

Bloody Paralyser: The Giant Handley Page Bombers of the First World War Rob Langham Fonthill Media April 2016 In this centenary period for the First World War it is particularly […]

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RNAS, WW1 History

Two (and a bit) new blogs on ‘Hush Kit’

April 14, 2016by navalairhistory Leave a comment

Naval Air History has recently contributed to two pieces on Hush Kit, ‘the alternative aviation magazine’ The 11 Worst X-Planes When music is terrible the artist will often describe it […]

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Miscellaneous, Test flying

Captain Eric Brown – a personal reflection

February 25, 2016by navalairhistory 4 Comments

There’s very little I can add to the many tributes to the incomparable Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown, written by those far better placed than me to assess the great man’s […]

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Fleet Air Arm, Obituary, Test flying

Farewell to the Vulcan – a Photographic Odyssey

November 20, 2015by navalairhistory Leave a comment

The ‘Twitter V-Force’ website has published a guest blog written by Matthew Willis: Farewell to the Vulcan – A Photographic Odyssey

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Miscellaneous

Sopwith Pup book available!

November 4, 2015by navalairhistory Leave a comment

I’m delighted to announce that my book on the Sopwith Pup WW1 biplane fighter is available. The Sopwith Pup, as it is unofficially but universally known, was one of the […]

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RNAS, WW1 History

The Hawker Sea Fury and HMS Illustrious

September 7, 2015by navalairhistory 1 Comment

My thanks are again due to Dave Bull for sharing his collection of classic photographs with Naval Air History. These photographs date from the immediate postwar period when the battered […]

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Fleet Air Arm, HMS Illustrious, Postwar history

Fairey Swordfish – fluke victor?

July 7, 2015by navalairhistory 14 Comments

An acquaintance who has no small knowledge of military matters put the following to me recently: ‘We all have different perspectives and experiences and mine lead me to say this: […]

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Fleet Air Arm, History and its lessons, HMS Ark Royal, Pre-war fleet air arm, WW2 History

HMS Caroline – a naval aviation pioneer

June 1, 2015by navalairhistory 3 Comments

The veteran WW1 cruiser HMS Caroline, now subject to preservation as a museum ship, is a little-known pioneer of naval aviation. As restoration work is now underway, much attention will […]

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RNAS, Surviving WW1 ships, WW1 History

USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-71

April 9, 2015by navalairhistory Leave a comment

Last month, the US Navy supercarrier USS Theodore Roosevelt visited the UK. This provided an excellent opportunity for UK naval aviation enthusiasts to see at first-hand what the largest and […]

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Postwar history, Supercarriers, US Navy

Postwar Fireflies and Seafires, HMS Illustrious

March 19, 2015by navalairhistory Leave a comment

I am once again indebted to Dave Bull for sharing his fantastic collection of images of HMS Illustrious with Naval Air History. These photographs date from the immediate postwar period […]

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Fleet Air Arm, HMS Illustrious, Postwar history, WW2 History

Monitor M33, veteran of Gallipoli

February 27, 2015by navalairhistory 1 Comment

In the centenary of the First World War, only a handful of warships from that conflict survive. Even fewer are open to the public. One vessel that can be visited, […]

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Dardanelles, RNAS, Surviving WW1 ships, WW1 History

The Rarest Seabird – FAAM Grumman Martlet

December 19, 2014by navalairhistory 1 Comment

During the early part of 1940, Britain and France were scrambling to acquire sources of modern fighting aircraft from wherever they could. At that time there were serious fears that […]

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Fleet Air Arm, Restoration and preservation, US Navy, WW2 History

Trafalgar Night, 4th Dovercourt RN Recognised Sea Scouts

October 20, 2014by navalairhistory 4 Comments

The following is the text of the speech I delivered at the 4th Dovercourt RN-Recognised Sea Scout Group’s Trafalgar Night dinner, 18 October 2014. Many thanks to the Group for […]

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Miscellaneous

USS Ranger – a supercarrier at risk

August 2, 2014by navalairhistory 6 Comments

Sixty year ago, on 2 August 1954, the first truly modern aircraft carrier from the keel to the truck was laid down. The Forrestal-class supercarrier USS Ranger (CV-61) was the […]

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Cold War, Postwar history, Restoration and preservation, US Navy, Vietnam War

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Naval Air History News

The first of three novellas from Sharpe Books was released in June 2019 – ‘Harpoon’ chronicles the struggles of a Sea Hurricane pilot on the vital Malta convoys of 1942. Available from Amazon

Matt Willis’ publications

A full list of Matthew Willis' non-fiction publications can be found here

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  • Aeroplane Monthly – long-running aviation history magazine
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