Fleet Air Arm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates AgustaWestland Merlin and Lynx helicopters. 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.
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[edit] History
[edit] 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.
[edit] Fleet Air Arm
In 1937 the Naval Air Branch was returned to Admiralty control under the Inskip Award, and soon renamed the Fleet Air Arm. 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.
[edit] 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 could not 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 played a significant attack role against Iraqi patrol boats in the Gulf War and Commandos 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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:
- 700M Naval Air Squadron
- 702 Naval Air Squadron
- 703 Naval Air Squadron
- 705 Naval Air Squadron
- 727 Naval Air Squadron
- 750 Naval Air Squadron
- 771 Naval Air Squadron
- 792 Naval Air Squadron
- 800 Naval Air Squadron
- 801 Naval Air Squadron
- 814 Naval Air Squadron
- 815 Naval Air Squadron
- 820 Naval Air Squadron
- 824 Naval Air Squadron
- 829 Naval Air Squadron
- 845 Naval Air Squadron
- 846 Naval Air Squadron
- 847 Naval Air Squadron
- 848 Naval Air Squadron
- 849 Naval Air Squadron
Squadrons that were active at some point can be found in the Squadron List.
[edit] Operational Aircraft
The FAA operate both fixed 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, but it also carried out Suppression of Enemy Air Defence missions using ALARM missiles as well as bombs. It has been temporarily replaced in FAA service by the Harrier GR7/GR9, which is a dedicated ground attack variant. 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 Sea 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 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 troop transporter for 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 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 observation and anti-armour helicopter roles, but are mainly a light lift helicopter. Along with the Sea King HC4s, they are 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 Lynx have an anti-submarine role and anti-surface ship role provided by the Sea Skua missile, which was most prominently used to combat the Iraqi navy in the 1991 Gulf War. The Lynx was originally envisaged for surface combatants that were too small for the Sea King, but now equips most surface combatants 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 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. 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 reforming with the Harrier GR9. Once this is fully operational, 801 NAS will then reform with the Harrier.
[edit] Future Plans
It is planned to replace the Harrier force with the STOVL F-35B Lightning II from 2012. These new aircraft will operate from the Navy's new CVF carriers, which are expected to be almost three times larger than the current ships and operate around 50 F-35s.
[edit] Notable members
- Captain Henry Fancourt - last survivor of Battle of Jutland
- Lawrence Olivier, who volunteered as a navy pilot, later became a lieutenant but was best known as an actor.
[edit] See also
- List of air stations of the Royal Navy
- List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons
- List of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm
- Fleet Air Arm - the FAA of Australia
[edit] External links
- Fleet Air Arm website
- Fleet Air Arm Archive
- RUM RATION - The VERY unofficial Royal Navy forum - sister site to the famous ARRSE
- Fleet Air Arm Rating Aircrewmans Association
- Fleet Air Arm Association
- Aircraft Handlers Association
[edit] References
- Ray Sturtivant & Theo Ballance, The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm, first edition 1994, Air Britain, Kent UK, ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
