Download or read book Aircraft of the Royal Navy Since 1945 written by David Hobbs and published by Hyperion Books. This book was released on 1986-01-01 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Royal Navy Aircraft Since 1945 written by Ray Williams and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1989 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is a complete reference of the development and operational history of each of the 44 aircraft types flown by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm since 1945.

Download or read book Encyclopaedia of the Fleet Air Arm Since 1945 written by Paul Beaver and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The British Carrier Strike Fleet After 1945 written by David Hobbs and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2015-10-15 with total page 641 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a follow-up to the highly regarded British Pacific Fleet, David Hobbs looks at the post-World War II fortunes of the most powerful fleet in the Royal Navy—its decline in the face of diminishing resources, its final fall at the hands of ignorant politicians, and its recent resurrection in the form of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers, the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy. Despite prophecies that nuclear weapons would make conventional forces obsolete, British carrier-borne aircraft were almost continuously employed. The Royal Navy faced new challenges in places like Korea, Egypt, and the Persian Gulf. During these trials the Royal Navy invented techniques and devices crucial to modern carrier operations, pioneering novel forms of warfare tactics for countering insurgency and terrorism. This book combines narratives of poorly understood operations with clear analysis of their strategic and political background. With beautiful illustrations and original research, British Carrier Strike Fleet tells an important but largely untold story of renewed significance as Britain once again embraces carrier operation.

Download or read book The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe 1939 1945 written by David Hobbs and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2022-03-30 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive history of the Royal Navy’s naval aviation component’s campaigns during World War II. For the first time, this book tells the story of how naval air operations evolved into a vital element of the Royal Navy’s ability to fight a three-dimensional war against both the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. An integral part of RN, the Fleet Air Arm was not a large organization, with only 406 pilots and 232 front-line aircraft available for operations in September 1939. Nevertheless, its impact far outweighed its numbers—it was an RN fighter that shot down the first enemy aircraft of the war, and an RN pilot was the first British fighter “ace” with 5 or more kills. The Fleet Air Arm’s rollcall of achievements in northern waters went on to include the Norwegian Campaign, the crippling of Bismarck, the gallant sortie against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as they passed through the Channel, air attacks on enemy E-boats in the narrow seas, air cover for the Russian convoys, air attacks that disabled Tirpitz, and strikes and minelaying operations against German shipping in the Norwegian littoral that continued until May 1945. By the end of the war in Europe the FAA had grown to 3243 pilots and 1336 aircraft. This book sets all these varied actions within their proper naval context and both technical and tactical aspects are explained with “thumbnail” descriptions of aircraft, their weapons and avionics. Cross reference with the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour has been made for the first time to put names to those aircrew killed in action wherever possible as a mark of respect for their determination against enemy forces on, above and below the sea surface which more often than not outnumbered them. The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe completes David Hobbs’s much-praised six-volume series chronicling the operational history of British naval aviation from the earliest days to the present. Praise for The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe “In this masterly addition to his series on the Fleet Air Arm at war, David Hobbs addresses naval air operations in the Atlantic, the North Sea, the Arctic, and the English Channel.” —Professor Andrew Lambert, Warship 2023 “With lots of action it rattles along and is a very good read.” —The Armourer Magazine, May 2022

Download or read book Fleet Air Arm Boys written by Steve Bond and published by Grub Street Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-18 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of the Royal Navy’s FAA since 1945, featuring a survey of the aircraft flown, the conflicts fought, and the daily life of those in service. The RAF’s continuing role in the projection of air power in the defence of the United Kingdom and its overseas interests since the end of the Second World War is well known. However, the same cannot always be said about the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm (FAA), in part due to the ten-year gap between the retirement of the Harrier and the arrival of the F-35B and the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. Flying high performance aircraft off a carrier demands not only a high level of skill, but also a considerable amount of courage and determination, not least to land back on a very small piece of real estate bobbing about in a rough sea, often at night, with no possibility of diversion. The nature of these operations has meant that the accident rate and aircrew losses were very high—and accepted as part of the job. With the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales, it is time to redress the balance and bring the FAA’s extraordinary story to the audience it so richly deserves through the words of those air and ground crews who have been part of it since 1945. What emerges is an amazing close-knit esprit de corps, often accompanied by a long-standing and still simmering rivalry between the RAF and the Royal Navy over who should project air power overseas. Enormous respect is shown by the aviators and ships’ senior officers for the aircraft handlers and maintainers, who work long hours in a highly dangerous environment on the flight deck. This first volume looks chronologically at every aircraft type flown in an air defence role since 1945. Involvement in conflicts including Korea, Suez, the Falklands, Bosnia and elsewhere is included, and perforce the cost in human lives, even in everyday operations, frequently emerges. Balancing this are the everyday grind, the good times, the humour, the “runs ashore” and the sense of pride in a job well done. All delivered in the words of the men themselves.

Download or read book Aircraft of the Royal Navy Since 1908 written by David Hobbs and published by . This book was released on 2024-11-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a comprehensive study of every aircraft type ordered for the Royal Navy since 1908. It includes fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, rigid and non-rigid airships, unmanned aircraft and pilotless target aircraft together with many designs that were ordered but not built so that the importance placed on them by the Naval Staff or their potential technological impact on carrier design and operations can be explained. Every type - even unsuccessful single prototypes - is described; the majority are illustrated by photographs, many of which come from the author's own collection, and the fifty most significant aircraft have detailed drawings. The Australian and Canadian Fleet Air Arms operated RN aircraft types for many years after their formation and these are included together with other types they have operated subsequently to give a more complete overview. The book describes over 400 different types of aircraft built by over 100 different manufacturers to offer the most detailed coverage of RN aircraft ever produced. Research for the book took over forty years and reference material included Admiralty Archives and an array of material in the public domain including manufacturers' data, individual aircraft pilot's notes and a wealth of published sources. David Hobbs is uniquely well-placed to write this book having served in the RN for thirty-three years and retired with the rank of commander. He flew both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft and his log book contains 2300 flying hours with 807 day and night deck landings. He served in seven British aircraft carriers and spent four years within RN Director General (Aircraft) Department where he was closely involved with Sea Harrier carrier trials and introduced new visual landing aids for night recoveries and liaised with the USN on carrier operating techniques.

Download or read book Air Power and the Royal Navy 1914 1945 written by Geoffrey Till and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Task Force 57 written by Peter Charles Smith and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Taranto written by David Hobbs and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-30 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “If you only read one book on the development of the Fleet Air Arm and Naval air warfare in the Mediterranean during World War 2 then this should be it.” —Military Historical Society After the Italian declaration of war in June 1940, the Royal Navy found itself facing a larger and better-equipped Italian surface fleet, large Italian and German air forces equipped with modern aircraft and both Italian and German submarines. Its own aircraft were a critical element of an unprecedented fight on, over and under the sea surface. The best-known action was the crippling of the Italian fleet at Taranto, which demonstrated how aircraft carriers and their aircraft had replaced the dominance of battleships, but every subsequent operation is covered from the perspective of naval aviation. Some of these, like Matapan or the defense of the “Pedestal” convoy to Malta, are famous but others in support of land campaigns and in the Aegean after the Italian surrender are less well recorded. In all these, the ingenuity and innovation of the Fleet Air Arm shines through—Taranto pointed the way to what the Japanese would achieve at Pearl Harbor, while air cover for the Salerno landings demonstrated the effectiveness of carrier-borne fighters in amphibious operations, a tactic adopted by the US Navy. The author’s years of archival research together with his experience as a carrier pilot allow him to describe and analyze the operations of naval aircraft in the Mediterranean with unprecedented authority. This provides the book with novel insights into many familiar facets of the Mediterranean war while for the first time doing full justice to the Fleet Air Arm’s lesser known achievements. “A full and fascinating story.” —Clash of Steel

Download or read book The Royal Navy Since 1945 written by Arthur Cecil Hampshire and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book British Aircraft Carriers 1945 2010 written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-04-27 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of the Royal Navy flagships that led the fleet through the Cold War, ensured victory in the Falklands War, and saw action in Iraq and the Balkans. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the Royal Navy's carrier fleet proved essential to the post-war world. Royal Navy carriers fought in the Korean War with the UN fleet, in the debacle at Suez, and in British operations in the last days of Empire, in Malaya, Borneo and Aden. But most famously, they were the key to the Royal Navy's victory in the Falklands campaign, and they went on to fight in the two Iraq wars. Illustrated throughout with new profiles of the key carriers and their development, as well as a cutaway of HMS Victorious and superb new illustrations of the carriers in action, this book explains how the Royal Navy's air power changed throughout the Cold War and beyond. Renowned naval historian Angus Konstam explains how the World War II carriers were rebuilt in a pioneering modernization that allowed them to operate a new generation of naval jets. As carriers became more expensive to operate, the Royal Navy had to scrap its conventional fast jets and introduce a new generation of light carriers designed for the innovative Harrier 'jump jet'. When the Falklands War broke out, it was one of these new carriers and one veteran carrier from World War II that gave the Task Force the fighters it needed to defend itself in hostile waters and retake the islands. Covering a period of dramatic change for the Royal Navy, this book is a history of the Royal Navy's most important ships throughout the Cold War, the retreat from Empire, and the Falklands and Iraq wars, up to the moment Royal Navy fixed-wing air power was temporarily axed in 2010.

Download or read book British Aircraft Carriers 1939 45 written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-12-20 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the next six years, these carriers battled the Axis powers in every theatre, attacking Italian naval bases, hunting the Bismark, and even joining the fight in the Pacific. This book tells the story of the small, but resilient, carriers and the crucial role they played in the British war effort.

Download or read book Carrier Operations in World War II written by J. D. Brown and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-05-21 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1939 and 1945 the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm grew from a small force into a powerful strategic weapon. British carrier-based aircraft fought throughout the world and David Brown here describes their activities in the Home, Mediterranean, Eastern and British Pacific Fleets, together with Forces created for specific operations, listing aircraft and units embarked during the various phases.He goes on to describe carrier operations in the Pacific between 1941 and 1945, the greatest maritime war in history. Both the United States and Imperial Japanese Navies watched the Royal Navy's early carrier operations in the European Theatre and benefited from the lessons. American aircrews and sailors learnt quickly in action until, by March 1945, the United States Fifth Fleet with its associated Marine Corps formations was probably the most efficient and effective instrument of war deployed in the pre-nuclear age.This new work contains material from two volumes, first published in 1968 and 1974, merged with notes for a third which David Brown prepared but never published before his death. They appear for the first time together, providing the most detailed single-volume account currently available of the operation of British, American and Japanese aircraft carriers in World War II.

Download or read book Jets at Sea written by Leo Marriott and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2009-03-09 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As World War Two drew to a close, jet-powered aircraft were beginning to be introduced into service. To take advantage of this major development it was necessary for all the worlds air powers to rethink combat tactics and develop the means of handling these faster and generally larger aircraft in the air, on land and especially at sea. As this modern breed approached and finally broke the sound barrier, so did landing and takeoff speeds. The decade after the war saw rapid developments in the design of both naval aircraft and their seaborne bases the aircraft carrier. The first jet to land aboard a carrier was a modified de Havilland Vampire in 1945 on H.M.S. Ocean. Progress was rapid and the application of British inventions such as the angled flight-deck, steam catapult and mirror landing sight soon became adopted by the major navies of the world. Naval aircraft too became more sophisticated by the addition of high-lift flap systems and strengthened undercarriages to allow them to operate more safely at sea. The author describes the development of these improvements and then their operational advantages in the Korean War and Suez. He goes on to describe the US development of a potential nuclear carrier-borne bomber, the French Navy and its withdrawal from Vietnam in 1954 and then the use of naval aircraft for anti-submarine work.

Download or read book Total Germany written by David Wragg and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers the Second World War Operations of the Royal Navy in One Concise Volume On the declaration of war in 1939, the British Admiralty signaled all warships and naval bases: “Total Germany, Total Germany.” It was fortunate that of Germany’s three armed services, the Kriegsmarine, under Grosseradmiral Erich Raeder, was the least well prepared. They had not expected to fight all-out war for another two to three years. While Admiral Karl Dönitz’s U-boat force was to give the Allies much anxiety, Hitler was never comfortable or competent in his handling of naval surface forces. The all-important technological breakthroughs that played so crucial a role, particularly in the Battle of the Atlantic, are given due weight. Total Germany is a concise yet comprehensive account of the Royal Navy’s part in the war at sea and the measures taken to ensure victory. It examines the markedly different approaches taken by the warring countries and reviews the differing strategies and tactics of the various theaters, such as the Far East, Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Arctic. It also addresses the influence of individual commanders on the outcome of the war at sea. Total Germany is a first-class read that covers World War II operations in one concise volume. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Download or read book The British Carrier Strike Fleet after 1945 written by David Hobbs and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2015-10-30 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A comprehensive study of the bittersweet post WWII history of British naval aviation . . . will become a standard reference for its subject.”—Firetrench In 1945 the most powerful fleet in the Royal Navy’s history was centered on nine aircraft carriers. This book charts the post-war fortunes of this potent strike force; its decline in the face of diminishing resources, its final fall at the hands of uncomprehending politicians, and its recent resurrection in the form of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers, the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy. After 1945 “experts” prophesied that nuclear weapons would make conventional forces obsolete, but British carrier-borne aircraft were almost continuously employed in numerous conflicts as far apart as Korea, Egypt, the Persian Gulf, the South Atlantic, East Africa and the Far East, often giving successive British Governments options when no others were available. In the process the Royal Navy invented many of the techniques and devices crucial to modern carrier operations angled decks, steam catapults and deck-landing aids while also pioneering novel forms of warfare like helicopter-borne assault, and tactics for countering such modern plagues as insurgency and terrorism. This book combines narratives of these poorly understood operations with a clear analysis of the strategic and political background, benefiting from the author's personal experience of both carrier flying and the workings of Whitehall. It is an important but largely untold story, of renewed significance as Britain once again embraces carrier aviation. “Makes a timely and welcome appearance . . . will make compelling reading for those with serious concern for our naval affairs.”—St. Andrews in Focus