USS Ranger – a supercarrier at risk
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 […]
Tag Archives: naval aviators
Farewell HMS Illustrious
HMS Illustrious, the Royal Navy’s flagship, returned to her home port of Portsmouth on 22 July 2014, for the last time. Earlier that day she had handed over her duties […]
Fleet Air Arm twins, HMS Illustrious
The following series of photographs from the Dave Bull collection (see previous post for images of prototype naval aircraft) depicting postwar naval aircraft landing on aircraft carriers, believed to be […]
Blackburn Skua book reprinted
One of my non-fiction books, a history of a WW2 naval dive bomber known as the Blackburn Skua, has just been reprinted by MMP Books. For more information on the […]
Happy Birthday Sea Vixen XP924
Wednesday 16 October 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of the first flight of de Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2 XP924. ‘Foxy Lady’, as she is known by her operators DS (Drilling […]
Prototypes and trials, HMS Illustrious
Naval Air History is very lucky to have been given access to Dave Bull’s wonderful collection of photographs of aircraft on HMS Illustrious in the late 1940s-early 1950s. The first […]
Sea Hawk Swansong
It’s hard to know whether to envy or pity the Fleet Air Arm aircrew who take part in the bundle of naval flying tasks known as Fleet Requirements, as these […]
An event in the early career of Captain Eric Brown
With the anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic making headlines, the legendary Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown has come to even greater prominence. Captain Brown flew a Grumman Martlet fighter […]
Fleet Air Arm Museum reserve collection
The Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton has the biggest collection of naval aircraft in Europe. The main collection is unquestionably impressive, but the museum also holds a reserve collection […]
The mythical Griffin – a forgotten naval aircraft of WW1
In 1917-18, a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft was developed for naval use, which successfully operated from one of the first aircraft carriers and saw service in a combat zone. Ninety-five years […]
Heinkel He115 raised from the sea in Norway
On 2 June 2012, a rare Heinkel He115 was raised from the sea at Sola near Stavanger in Norway, by a team from the Sola Historic Aviation Museum and Birger […]
Naval aircraft, through their creators’ eyes
The magazine adverts of the 1930s-40s provide a fascinating view of how naval aircraft manufacturers saw themselves, and wished others to see them. During this period, artwork in the aviation […]
The Royal Navy Historic Flight
Many thanks to the Royal Navy Historic Flight and the Fly Navy Heritage Trust for the opportunity to visit the Flight’s base, interview key personnel and see the work of […]
Sea Harriers in the Med, 1995
I am indebted to Bryan Mulheran for the use of the following photographs from his collection. These images were taken aboard HMS Illustrious between April and June 1995, prior to […]
The Unsung Ark Royal
When the current HMS Ark Royal (R07) leaves Portsmouth early next year for a Turkish scrapyard, it mark only the second time in 99 years that there will not be […]
Naval Air History 