Everything about Fleet Air Arm Operational Aircraft totally explained
The
Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the
Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the
AgustaWestland Merlin,
Westland Sea King and
Westland Lynx helicopters, as well as the
Harrier GR7/GR9. Helicopters such as the
Lynx and
Westland Wasp have been deployed on smaller vessels since 1964, taking over the roles once performed by fragile
biplanes such as the
Fairey Swordfish.
History
Beginnings
The
Royal Naval Air Service (
RNAS) was first established in January 1914 under the
Air Department of the
Admiralty . By the outbreak of the
First World War in August, it had more aircraft under its control than the
Army's Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The main roles of the RNAS were fleet reconnaissance, patrolling coasts for enemy ships and submarines, attacking enemy coastal territory and defending Britain from enemy air-raids. In April 1918 the RNAS, which at this time had 67,000 officers and men, 2,949 aircraft, 103 airships and 126 coastal stations, was merged with the RFC to form the
Royal Air Force.
Fleet Air Arm
On
1 April 1924, the
Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force was formed, encompassing those RAF units that normally embarked on aircraft carriers and fighting ships. On
14 May 1937 the Fleet Air Arm was returned to
Admiralty control under the
Inskip Award and officially renamed the Air Branch of the Royal Navy. At the onset of the
Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm consisted of 20 squadrons with only 232 aircraft. By the end of the war the strength of the Fleet Air Arm was: 59 aircraft carriers, 3,700 aircraft, 72,000 officers and men and 56 air stations all over the world. The
aircraft carrier had replaced the
battleship as the Fleet's
capital ship and its aircraft were now strike weapons in their own right.
Post-war history
After the war the FAA faced the difficulty of flying
jet aircraft from their carriers. The jet aircraft of the era were considerably less effective at low speeds than propeller aircraft, but propeller aircraft couldn't effectively fight jets at the high speeds flown by jet-aeroplanes. The FAA took on its first jet, the
Sea Vampire, in the late 1940s. The Sea Vampire was itself the first jet credited with taking off and landing on a carrier. The Air Arm continued with high-powered prop aircraft alongside the new jets resulting in the FAA's being woefully outpowered during the
Korean War. Nevertheless, jets were not yet wholly superior to propellor driven aircraft and a flight of ground-attack
Hawker Sea Furies downed a
MiG-15 and damaged others in a single engagement.
As jets became larger, more powerful and faster they required more space to take off and land. The
US Navy simply built much larger carriers. The Royal Navy had a few large carriers built and completed after the end of the war but a more "natural" solution was looked for. This led to the introduction of the
Hawker Siddeley Harrier VTOL aircraft, which could be operated effectively from any size of ship. Defence cuts across the British armed forces during the 1960s led to the outright cancellation of all Royal Navy aircraft carriers, but by sleight-of-hand a new series of
cruiser-sized carriers, the
Invincible class, were built and equipped with the
Sea Harrier. Today the Harrier forms the basis of the RN's fixed-wing strike forces.
Helicopters also became important combat vehicles in their own right starting in the 1960s. At first they were employed on the carriers alongside the fixed-wing aircraft, but as time went on they were also deployed on most smaller ships as well. Today at least one helicopter is found on all ships of
frigate size or larger. Wasps and Sea Harriers played an active part in the 1982
Falkland Islands conflict, whereas Lynx helicopters played a significant attack role against Iraqi patrol boats in the 1991
Gulf War and Commando Sea Kings assisted in suppressing rebel forces in
Sierra Leone.
The Fleet Air Arm has a museum on the edge of
RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron) in
Somerset.
FAA today
The Fleet Air Arm has approximately 6,200 personnel, which is over 10% of the Royal Navy's total strength. They operate about 200 combat aircraft and over 50 support and training aircraft. The
Harrier GR9 strike aircraft, along with the Harrier T12 two-seat trainer variant are shared with the Royal Air Force as part of the Joint Force Harrier, naval pilots train to fly the Harrier at the Joint Force Harrier Operational Conversion Unit (
20(R) Squadron) at
RAF Wittering in
Rutland.
Squadrons
Fleet Air Arm squadrons are named "# NAS", where # is a
cardinal number; and NAS stands for Naval Air Squadron. The nomenclature used by the FAA is to assign numbers in the 700-799 range to training and operational conversion squadrons and numbers in the 800-899 range to operational squadrons. During WWII the 1700 and 1800 ranges were also used for operational squadrons.
Squadrons presently active in the FAA are:
Squadrons that were active at some point can be found in the
Squadron List.
Operational Aircraft
The FAA operates both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The FAA uses the same
designation system for aircraft as the RAF.
Four different types of fixed-wing aircraft are operated by the FAA; three for training, and one operationally.
Pilot training is carried out using the
Grob Tutor and
Slingsby Firefly.
Observer training is done in the
Jetstream T2.
By far the most famous of the fixed-wing aircraft of the FAA was the
Sea Harrier FA2. Its primary role was as a fleet defence fighter, using
AMRAAM missiles, but it also carried out strike and
Suppression of Enemy Air Defence missions using bombs. It has been replaced in FAA service by the
Harrier GR7/GR9, which is a dedicated ground attack variant, leaving a significant capability shortfall with regard to air-to-air defence and anti-shipping attack.
The fourth type is the
Hawk T1, which is used to simulate enemy aircraft for a variety of training purposes, from
AEW to Fighter Control, to air-to-air combat for Harrier pilots.
Today the larger section of the FAA is the rotary-wing part. Its aviators fly four different types of helicopter, and within each type there are usually several marks/versions which carry out different roles.
The oldest aircraft in the fleet is the venerable
Sea King, which performs a variety of missions in several versions. The Sea King HC4 serves as a medium-lifter and troop-transporter in support of the
Royal Marines. The HAS5U model operates in the
search and rescue and utility roles, while the Sea King HU5 is designed specifically for search and rescue work (although it should be noted that the HAS5Us are often called HU5s as well). The HAS6C is used for assault transport training; and finally the
ASaC7 operates in the
Airborne Early Warning role on board Britain's aircraft carriers.
Intermediate in age is the
Lynx. The Lynx AH7s, serve the FAA in the observation and anti-armour helicopter roles, but are mainly a light-lift helicopter. Along with the Sea King HC4s, they're part of the
Commando Helicopter Force, which provides support to
3 Commando Brigade of the Royal Marines.
The surface combatants of the Royal Navy have their helicopters provided for the most part by the Lynx HAS3 and HMA8 aircraft. These Lynxes have primarily an anti-submarine warfare role and anti-surface vessel role. They are able to fire the
Sea Skua anti-surface missile, which was most prominently used to combat the Iraqi navy in the 1991
Gulf War. In addition, it can be armed with Stingray air-launched torpedoes and depth charges for anti-submarine warfare, as well as a machine gun. The Lynx was originally envisaged for surface combatants that were too small for the Sea King, but now equips most surface ships of the Royal Navy.
The newest helicopter in the FAA is the
Merlin HM1. This has now replaced the Sea King HAS6 in the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role, and is deployed on aircraft carriers in addition to some of the other surface ships of the Royal Navy. The
EH101 airframe is also one of the contenders to replace the
Sea King ASaC7s in the AEW role on Britain's planned new aircraft carriers.
In 2000 the
Sea Harrier force was merged with the
RAF's Harrier GR7 fleet to form
Joint Force Harrier. The Fleet Air Arm began withdrawing the Sea Harrier from service in 2004 with the disbandment of
800 NAS.
801 NAS disbanded on
28 March 2006 at
RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron). 800 NAS is re-forming with the Harrier GR9. Once this is fully operational, 801 NAS will then reform with the Harrier.
Future Plans
The Royal Navy plans to replace the Harrier force with the
STOVL F-35B Lightning II from 2012. These new aircraft will operate from the Navy's new
Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, which are expected to be almost three times larger than the current carriers and operate 48 F-35s.
Notable members
Captain Henry Fancourt - last survivor of Battle of Jutland
Lieutenant Commander John Moffat - crippled the German battleship Bismarck on 26 May 1941
Lieutenant Commander(A) Eugene Esmonde VC, DSO - killed whilst leading 825 Naval Air Squadron Swordfish on the 12 February 1942 attack on the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the "Channel Dash"
Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown CBE, DSC, AFC, FRAeS who holds the world record for the most types of aircraft flown by an individual (487 types). As a test pilot he made the first ever a jet landing on an aircraft carrier in December 1945
Lieutenant Laurence Olivier - Legendary English stage and screen actor and director, volunteered as a navy pilot during World War II and rose to the rank of Lieutenant.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York - served during the Falklands War
Sir George Martin - record producer for the BeatlesFurther Information
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