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Tag Archives: WW2 History

Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom (80th Anniversary Edition)

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Iain Ballantyne, Agora Books 2021 Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom is an intensely readable account of the final days of the titular battleship, centring the voices of those who were […]

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HMS Ark Royal, WW2 History

The First Jet Carrier Landing – On This Day (or not?)

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On this day in 1945, the first jet-powered landing on an aircraft carrier took place. Or did it? Ever since that time, there has been a debate over whether the […]

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Postwar history, Prototypes, Test flying

Dauntless: The Battle of Midway review

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Today (21 October 2019) is the release date for ‘Dauntless: The Battle of Midway’ on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download/streaming, and as a rare example of a feature film about […]

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WW2 History

RNAS Dale – a Fleet Air Arm ‘time capsule’

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On Saturday 23 March 2019, I took a trip to Dale in Pembrokeshire with Fairey Barracuda Project volunteer Tony Jupp to see a remarkable ‘time capsule’ of life on a […]

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WW2 History

Malta convoys novella ‘Harpoon’ published

June 6, 2019by navalairhistory Leave a comment

I am pleased to announce the publication of the first of three novellas from Sharpe publishing, set during the Malta convoys in the summer of 1942, when the island was […]

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Historical fiction, WW2 History

Support Hawker Typhoon RB396 return to flight

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What’s a Hawker Typhoon doing on the Naval Air History site? Hawker’s awesome fighter-bomber has more in common with the subject of this blog than you might think… To support […]

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Air displays, Restoration and preservation

Fleet Air Arm Veterans Honoured at Navy Wings event

November 5, 2018by navalairhistory 4 Comments

On 21 September, twelve Fleet Air Arm veterans were honoured at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, at an event dedicated to the immortal Fairey Swordfish and the men and women […]

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Fleet Air Arm, Interwar history, WW2 History

New Test Pilot Biography Launched at BDAC Old Sarum

March 20, 2018by navalairhistory Leave a comment

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 […]

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Miscellaneous

Hawker’s Fastest Fury – LA610

February 21, 2018by navalairhistory 1 Comment

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 […]

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Fleet Air Arm, Korean War, Prototypes, Test flying, WW2 History

Fairey Swordfish – fluke victor?

July 7, 2015by navalairhistory 12 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

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

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

Prototypes and trials, HMS Illustrious

September 13, 2013by navalairhistory 2 Comments

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 […]

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Cold War, Fleet Air Arm, HMS Illustrious, Pre-war fleet air arm, Prototypes, Supermarine Specials, WW2 History

An event in the early career of Captain Eric Brown

May 13, 2013by navalairhistory 2 Comments

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 […]

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Fleet Air Arm, Restoration and preservation, WW2 History

P-51D Mustang from the sea

April 29, 2013by navalairhistory Leave a comment

North American Aviation P-51D Mustang 44-14574 ‘Little Zippie’ now resides in the East Essex Aviation Museum, Jaywick, Essex, after lying on the seabed for more than 30 years. The remains […]

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Obituary, Restoration and preservation, WW2 History

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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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