On 24 September 1916, the destiny of British airship flying changed dramatically. Until that time, British designers and constructors in government and private industry had lagged behind their German counterparts. […]
If all goes to plan on Wednesday 26 September, the last Westland Sea King helicopters in UK military service will make a farewell flight around the Devon-Cornwall peninsula, where the […]
Matthew Willis is currently writing a series of blogposts for the Global Maritime History site about the weird, wonderful, and not-so-wonderful aircraft that were designed and tested for naval service […]
The Royal Navy continues its preparations to bring the new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers into service. Today, another major milestone was passed with the first refuelling at sea from one […]
The first of a series of new blogposts by Naval Air History author Matthew Willis was published today on the Global Maritime History site. The series takes a look at […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
