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nducted shipboard trials aboard hms perseus and exercises with anti submarine frigates before completing its trials in march 1954 and being disbanded and re designated as 845 naval air squadron 71 845 subsequently became the fleet air arm s first anti submarine helicopter squadron introducing westland whirlwinds in 1957 72 by the end of the decade helicopters had therefore developed from primarily rescue and utility aircraft into an established component of the fleet air arm s anti submarine warfare capability suez crisis edit hms albion during suez crisis 1956 visible on deck are de havilland sea venoms of 809 squadron and hawker sea hawks from 800 and 802 squadrons operation musketeer the anglo french intervention during the suez crisis demonstrated the fleet air arm s emergence as a highly capable post war carrier force aircraft from the fleet carriers hms albion hms bulwark and hms eagle conducted sustained offensive operations against egyptian airfields and ground targets while also providing air defence and support for the invasion force the three carriers flew 1 614 sorties during the operation including 1 164 offensive sorties damaging or destroying 289 aircraft and 150 armoured vehicles and sinking six e boats naval aircraft were responsible for destroying about 60 per cent of the egyptian aircraft lost while hawker sea hawks and de havilland sea venoms averaged 2 8 sorties per operational day compared with 1 4 for land based ground attack aircraft their proximity to port said enabled carrier aircraft to remain over targets for longer carry full weapons loads and rapidly adapt their armament and tactics to changing operational requirements the fleet air arm therefore provided a substantial proportion of the offensive air power used to suppress egyptian air opposition and prepare the way for the amphibious assault 73 74 musketeer also demonstrated the versatility of the aircraft carrier as a mobile air base and the fleet air arm s ability to integrate strike air defence reconnaissance and close air support within a single naval force carrier aircraft formed the mainstay of the cab rank system used to provide responsive air support to the airborne and seaborne landings while the destruction of the egyptian air force allowed the airborne assault to proceed ahead of the amphibious landing on 6 november helicopters of 845 naval air squadron operating from hms theseus transported 45 commando from the carrier to port said providing an early demonstration of shipborne helicopters being used to deliver an assault force directly from sea to shore 75 76 together the sustained carrier strike campaign and the helicopter assault demonstrated the fleet air arm s transition from its wartime role into a flexible post war force capable of projecting concentrated air power suppressing enemy air forces and providing responsive support for a major amphibious operation from carriers operating offshore 77 cold war modernisation edit the fleet air arm entered the late 1950s undergoing a rapid transformation from its predominantly subsonic gun armed post war force into a modern carrier air arm centred on guided weapons radar and high performance jet aircraft the suez crisis of 1956 demonstrated the continuing value of naval aviation for british expeditionary operations while the subsequent introduction of the supermarine scimitar and de havilland sea vixen marked a major technological advance hms victorious conducted extensive trials of both aircraft in 1958 alongside the development of the type 984 carrier borne radar and the firestreak infrared homing air to air missile the sea vixen subsequently became the fleet air arm s principal all weather fleet defence fighter while increasingly sophisticated exercises tested the ability of british carriers to operate against large scale air attack in the nuclear age exercises such as marjex rip tide and swordthrust rehearsed carrier warfare against air and submarine threats including scenarios involving nuclear conflict demonstrating the increasingly integrated use of radar fighter direction and missile armed aircraft 78 blackburn buccaneer s2a at the same time the fleet air arm was developing a powerful carrier strike capability the blackburn buccaneer designed for high speed low level penetration beneath enemy radar entered fleet air arm service with 801 naval air squadron in july 1962 providing a purpose built carrier strike aircraft to succeed the scimitar 79 the combination of sea vixen fleet defence buccaneer strike aircraft fairey gannet airborne early warning and increasingly capable carrier radar and fighter direction systems gave the royal navy a sophisticated cold war carrier force its continuing operational utility was demonstrated during the 1961 kuwait crisis when hms victorious was diverted to the persian gulf and her sea vixens provided the principal carrier air defence capability while her scimitars provided close air support hms bulwark meanwhile deployed royal marines and used its helicopters in support of the operation 80 by 1962 therefore the fleet air arm had developed into a highly capable cold war carrier force able to combine fleet air defence airborne early warning anti submarine warfare and long range strike with the ability to deploy rapidly in support of british interests overseas expansion of naval helicopter aviation edit the 1960s saw a major expansion in the fleet air arm s use of rotary wing aircraft as turbine powered helicopters became increasingly important to naval operations the westland wessex has 1 entered fleet air arm service in 1961 providing a substantial improvement in anti submarine warfare capability through its turbine power automatic flight stabilisation and dipping sonar the type equipped a growing number of anti submarine squadrons while its ability to operate from aircraft carriers and other larger warships established the helicopter as an integral component of the fleet s anti submarine screen 81 westland wessex hu5 848 squadron during the middle of the decade the wessex was increasingly employed in roles beyond anti submarine warfare the wessex hu 5 became the principal commando support helicopter providing the fleet air arm with a dedicated means of transporting royal marines and their equipment from ships to shore the reformation of 848 naval air squadron at rnas culdrose in may 1964 with eighteen wessex hu 5s marked the expansion of this capability while wessex helicopters were employed extensively during british operations in borneo during the indonesia malaysia confrontation 82 the helicopter was consequently becoming an important element of both naval aviation and amphibious warfare capable of moving troops equipment and casualties over terrain where conventional transport was difficult or impossible westland wasp the introduction of the westland wasp in 1964 extended the fleet air arm s helicopter capability to the smaller ships of the fleet operated principally by 829 naval air squadron wasp detachments were embarked in frigates and other small vessels providing an airborne anti submarine weapon and reconnaissance capability the wasp formed part of the admiralty s manned anti submarine torpedo carrying helicopter concept allowing a ship or helicopter to detect a submarine while the wasp delivered a homing torpedo against the contact its ability to operate from frigates represented an important expansion of naval aviation bringing an embarked helicopter capability to a much larger proportion of the surface fleet 83 84 by the latter half of the decade improvements to the wessex further increased its importance to the fleet air arm the wessex has 3 entered frontline service in 1967 with improved avionics greater engine power an improved sonar and a distinctive dorsal radar installation providing a more capable maritime tactical helicopter for anti submarine and anti surface warfare at the same time the limitations of the wessex in endurance payload and the separation of the search and attack functions demonstrated the need for a larger and more capable helicopter 85 the resulting westland sea king represented the next stage in the development of fleet air arm rotary wing aviation the royal navy ordered sixty aircraft from westland in 1966 to replace the wessex in the anti submarine role and the first british built sea king has 1 flew in may 1969 the aircraft subsequently entered fleet air arm service for trials with 700 naval air squadron combining substantially greater size endurance and payload with the sensors and weapons required for modern anti submarine warfare 86 87 by the end of the 1960s rotary wing aviation had consequently become a central element of the fleet air arm wessex helicopters provided fleet anti submarine warfare and commando support wasp detachments extended aviation to frigates and other small ships and the arrival of the sea king established the basis for a new generation of long range naval helicopter operations the decade had transformed the helicopter from a developing naval capability into an essential component of the fleet air arm s contribution to anti submarine warfare amphibious operations and fleet support phantom and the end of conventional carrier aviation edit phantom fg 1 of 892 squadron aboard hms ark royal in 1972 the mcdonnell douglas phantom entered operational service from hms ark royal in 1970 providing the fleet air arm with a supersonic radar equipped missile armed fighter capable of fleet air defence at a level substantially beyond that of the sea vixen its introduction nevertheless coincided with the progressive withdrawal of the royal navy s conventional carriers hms victorious was withdrawn in 1969 hms hermes was subsequently converted for commando operations and hms eagle was withdrawn in 1972 without receiving her planned phantom conversion 88 hms ark royal consequently became the fleet air arm s sole conventional fixed wing carrier operating 892 naval air squadron phantoms alongside blackburn buccaneer strike aircraft and other naval aviation assets during the 1970s including nato and royal navy exercises and overseas deployments the retention of the carrier and the phantom force represented the culmination of the royal navy s post war investment in high performance carrier aviation but its continuation was increasingly difficult to reconcile with defence policy and the withdrawal of british forces from east of suez when hms ark royal paid off in december 1978 the fleet air arm lost its last conventional carrier capable of operating fixed wing aircraft on 27 november 1978 a phantom fg 1 of 892 squadron made the final catapult launch from a british aircraft carrier the squadron disbanded the following month and its aircraft were transferred to the royal air force 89 the phantom therefore represented both the technological high point of the fleet air arm s conventional carrier fighter force and the final stage of an era that had begun with the post war development of the modern british aircraft carrier defence cuts across the british armed forces during the 1960s and 1970s led to the withdrawal of existing royal navy aircraft carriers transfer of fleet air arm fixed wing jet strike aircraft such as the f 4k fg 1 phantom ii and buccaneer s 2 to the royal air force and cancellation of large replacement aircraft carriers including the cva 01 design the last conventional carrier to be retired was hms ark royal in 1978 90 operational maturity of rotary wing aviation edit westland sea king has2a during the 1970s rotary wing aviation became increasingly central to the operational role of the fleet air arm as conventional carrier aviation contracted the westland sea king entered service as the fleet air arm s principal anti submarine warfare helicopter providing the fleet with a long range airborne sensor and weapons platform while the wessex continued to provide amphibious troop transport search and rescue and general purpose support the introduction of the westland lynx later in the decade added a smaller helicopter capable of operating from frigates and destroyers extending the fleet s reconnaissance anti submarine and anti surface warfare capabilities to a much wider range of ships the gazelle also entered naval service principally for helicopter training while gazelles operated with the royal marines in reconnaissance and liaison roles 91 92 westland lynx hma8 the falklands war in 1982 demonstrated the breadth and importance of this developing helicopter force fleet air arm sea kings provided anti submarine warfare and in the commando role carried troops and supplies while wessex helicopters undertook troop movement logistics casualty evacuation and other support duties lynx helicopters operated from the fleet s frigates and destroyers including in the anti surface warfare role the scale of the helicopter contribution was particularly significant more than 150 helicopters were involved in the campaign operating intensively in difficult conditions while sea kings maintained a continuous anti submarine screen around the task force 93 94 the conflict reinforced rather than diminished the importance of naval helicopters the lessons of the campaign led to additional orders for sea kings lynx and gazelles while the sea king itself acquired new roles the commando sea king hc 4 introduced in 1979 increasingly replaced the wessex as the principal heavy lift helicopter for royal marines operations while the sea king was also adapted for airborne early warning following the falklands providing the fleet with an organic capability that had been conspicuously lacking during the conflict by the 1980s the sea king consequently combined anti submarine warfare amphibious assault search and rescue and airborne early warning while the lynx became an integral part of the surface fleet combining reconnaissance and anti submarine duties with anti surface warfare using sea skua 95 96 97 revival of fixed wing naval aviation edit the withdrawal of the royal navy s conventional aircraft carriers and the final fleet air arm phantom operations in 1978 did not end british naval fixed wing aviation instead the fleet air arm entered a new era based on vertical and or short take off and landing v stol aircraft and smaller carriers the british aerospace sea harrier frs 1 entered service in 1979 as a navalised development of the harrier equipped with radar and sidewinder missiles to provide fleet air defence as well as a secondary strike capability 98 two sea harriers from 800 squadron approach the u s navy s uss dwight d eisenhower in 1984 the first operational sea harrier squadron 800 naval air squadron formed in 1980 followed by 801 naval air squadron in 1981 with the aircraft operating from the new invincible class aircraft carrier s the type s ability to operate from a short flight deck assisted by a ski jump allowed the royal navy to retain a fixed wing carrier air defence capability without the large car...
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