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the allied landings at salerno in september 1943 five british carriers operated 109 seafires maintaining continuous patrols over the landing area while land based fighters from sicily were limited by range the seafires were particularly important during the first days of the assault when german air attacks were frequent and suitable airfields ashore had not yet been secured 40 41 in operation tungsten on 3 april 1944 fleet air arm aircraft from five aircraft carriers mounted a large scale carrier strike against the german battleship tirpitz in altafjord norway fairey barracudas escorted by vought corsairs grumman hellcats and grumman wildcat fighters achieved surprise and inflicted numerous bomb hits killing and wounding hundreds of crew and rendering tirpitz effectively unable to operate at sea for several months the operation demonstrated the fleet air arm s ability to deliver a concentrated carrier borne attack against a major german capital ship without requiring the home fleet s battleships to engage it directly 42 43 vought corsair on the deck of hms illustrious in january 1945 during operation meridian fleet air arm aircraft from the aircraft carriers hms indomitable hms indefatigable hms victorious and hms illustrious attacked the japanese oil refineries at palembang in sumatra the strikes demonstrated the fleet air arm s development into a powerful carrier strike force capable of projecting concentrated air power deep into enemy held territory against strategically important industrial targets severely disrupting japanese oil production and aviation fuel supplies 44 45 the fleet air arm s contribution to operation iceberg demonstrated the maturity of british carrier aviation as a sustained strike force operating as part of task force 57 british carriers repeatedly attacked japanese airfields in the sakishima islands to prevent them being used to stage attacks against the allied invasion of okinawa operating at considerable range from its forward bases the force maintained a continuous cycle of strikes and replenishment at sea with its carriers embarking more than 200 aircraft during the initial phase the operation demonstrated the fleet air arm s ability to project and sustain concentrated air power over an extended period as an integral component of a major fleet offensive 46 47 during the second world war the aircraft carrier moved to the centre of royal navy strategy and increasingly assumed the role of the capital ship while naval aviation became a core capability of the fleet 48 the fleet air arm s highest scoring fighter ace was commander stanley orr who was credited with 17 victories 49 the highest scoring royal marine fighter ace was commander ronald cuthbert hay with 13 victories 50 during the war 26 royal marine officers and four other ranks served as pilots with the fleet air arm 51 the fleet air arm began experimenting with helicopters during the final years of the second world war initially using the sikorsky r 4 known as the hoverfly to investigate the potential of rotary wing aircraft for naval operations r 4s were allocated to fleet air arm units from 1944 with 771 naval air squadron operating the type from 1945 as part of the navy s early helicopter trials 52 the experiments demonstrated the potential advantages of the helicopter for naval operations particularly its ability to operate without a runway and from the restricted deck space of a ship by 1947 the trials had demonstrated sufficient potential for the navy to establish a permanent helicopter organisation 705 naval air squadron was recommissioned at rnas lee on solent flying the sikorsky hoverfly and an instructor from the squadron subsequently carried out the first helicopter deck landing on a royal navy warship hms vanguard 53 54 the formation of 705 squadron marked the transition from experimental helicopter trials to an established fleet air arm capability dedicated to developing the naval use of rotary wing aircraft 54 korean war edit hawker sea fury of 804 squadron launched off hms glory during the korean war june 1951 the fleet air arm made a sustained contribution to the united nations war effort during the korean war 1950 1953 hms triumph was among the first allied aircraft carriers to conduct combat operations with its seafires and fireflies striking north korean airfields supply lines and transportation facilities on 3 july 1950 55 hms triumph was subsequently followed by the light fleet carriers hms theseus hms glory and hms ocean whose aircraft conducted close air support interdiction armed reconnaissance and naval support missions fleet air arm sea furies proved particularly effective in the strike role with hms theseus aircraft flying more than 3 400 sorties during their 1950 51 deployment 56 on 9 august 1952 four sea furies of 802 naval air squadron from hms ocean engaged eight mig 15 jet fighters over korea in one of the most notable piston versus jet engagements of the war one mig 15 was destroyed with the royal navy crediting the victory to lieutenant peter hoagy carmichael although subsequent research has disputed the individual attribution 57 58 the encounter demonstrated the effectiveness of the sea fury even against contemporary jet fighters while the wider korean war exposed the limitations of piston engined naval aircraft and reinforced the fleet air arm s transition towards jet powered carrier aviation 59 at around the same time the fleet air arm s involvement in the malayan emergency consisted solely of 848 naval air squadron which deployed westland whirlwind har 21 helicopters in 1952 53 to provide troop lift supply transport reconnaissance and casualty evacuation in support of jungle operations 60 61 jet era edit the fleet air arm began the transition to jet aircraft in the late 1940s with the de havilland sea vampire used for carrier trials from 1945 but piston engined aircraft remained predominant during the korean war the supermarine attacker entered frontline service in 1951 as the fleet air arm s first operational jet fighter but its introduction was initially limited a more substantial transition followed from 1953 when the hawker sea hawk entered squadron service and progressively replaced the sea fury and attacker by the mid 1950s jet aircraft had become the standard for the fleet air arm s frontline fighter and strike squadrons 62 63 hawker sea hawks of 898 squadron 1954 the transition to jet powered carrier aviation accelerated during the korean war 1950 1953 as the increasing size weight and landing speeds of jet aircraft exposed the limitations of the second world war era straight flight deck the royal navy responded with a series of innovations that transformed carrier operations in 1951 royal navy captain dennis cambell proposed an angled landing area and in 1952 hms triumph was modified to conduct trials of an angled flight deck this allowed aircraft that missed the arresting wires to make a bolter rather than risk colliding with aircraft or barriers parked ahead of the landing area the trials were successful and the united states navy subsequently tested the concept aboard uss antietam in 1953 64 other british developments addressed the problems of launching and recovering increasingly heavy and fast aircraft the steam catapult developed by the royal navy and successfully demonstrated aboard the modified aircraft repair ship hms perseus was demonstrated to the united states navy in trials between december 1951 and february 1952 and subsequently adopted for american carriers 65 in 1951 royal navy commander nicholas goodhart developed the mirror landing system providing pilots with a visual reference for maintaining the correct glide path during carrier approaches it was subsequently developed into the fresnel lens optical landing system 66 67 together the angled flight deck steam catapult and optical landing aid enabled carriers to operate high performance jet aircraft with greater safety and effectiveness becoming fundamental features of modern carrier aviation 68 establishment of naval helicopter operations edit the westland dragonfly entered fleet air arm service from 1950 and was employed for search and rescue plane guard and communications duties 69 the type became increasingly integrated into carrier operations with the first dragonfly search and rescue unit embarking in hms indomitable in january 1951 and a second unit subsequently embarking in hms glory 69 the dragonfly thereby established the helicopter as an important support element of fleet air arm carrier aviation particularly for the recovery of aircrew and plane guard duties westland dragonfly the dragonfly s utility was demonstrated particularly clearly through search and rescue and disaster relief operations in january 1953 twelve dragonflies from 705 naval air squadron were deployed to assist with severe flooding in east anglia and the netherlands rescuing more than 840 people 70 during the same period the larger westland whirlwind extended the fleet air arm s helicopter capability beyond the dragonfly s established rescue and plane guard roles providing greater capacity for transport and utility operations and a platform for the development of specialised naval applications the whirlwind also enabled the fleet air arm to develop a dedicated anti submarine helicopter capability in september 1953 706 naval air squadron was re formed as an anti submarine helicopter squadron with whirlwind has 22s undertaking trials of helicopter borne sonar equipment 71 the squadron conducted 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 ai...
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