Since the end of World War 2 the primary role of the Royal Navy's Fleet
Air Arm has been airborne power projection; the ability rapidly to
respond to any trouble spot across the globe and to protect the
interests of the United Kingdom and its partner nations. The principal
tools in that response were the strike aircraft which took the offensive
to the aggressor. Although from 2010 to 2020 fixed-wing carrier aviation
was not part of the Fleet Air Arm, with the advent of the navy's two new
aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, that
capability has been restored. This renewed focus has not only seen the
return of flying high performance aircraft from a carrier, but also the
regeneration of the necessary skills, and courage, needed to cope with
the extremes of weather and the nature of air operations in a very
high-risk environment. However the lessons of the past have not been
forgotten, and so many of those previous experiences are related within
these pages - true stories of the last 76 years from aircrew,
maintainers, aircraft handlers and many other supporting staff both men
and women.
Following on from the success of volume one, this second volume covers
every fixed-wing aircraft type flown from carriers in the strike,
anti-submarine warfare and the vital airborne early warning roles; from
Scimitars to Hunters, Buccaneers to Skyraiders and many more, plus an
extensive fleet of land-based aircraft. As with the first volume,
involvement in operations such as Suez, the Beira Patrol, the Falklands,
Belize, Bosnia and elsewhere is included. Despite the intensity and
all-to-frequent tragedy of operations, the esprit de corps, and the
ability to find the necessary release through laughter, shine through.
Here are the words of the man and women themselves, profusely
illustrated in black and white and color.
