The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five RN fighting arms. As of 2023 it is a predominantly "rotary" force, with helicopters undertaking roles once performed by biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish. It operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike and the AW159 Wildcat and AW101 Merlin for commando and anti-submarine warfare.
The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also used by the Royal Air Force (RAF), as well as several overseas operators, including the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Royal Netherlands Navy. It was initially operated primarily as a fleet attack aircraft. During its later years, the Swordfish was increasingly used as an anti-submarine and training platform. The type was in frontline service throughout the Second World War.
The Fairey Firefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was developed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation Company.
The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft ever built. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two years after the war ended. It proved to be a popular aircraft with a number of overseas militaries and was used during the Korean War in the early 1950s, and by the Cuban air force during the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion.
The de Havilland Sea Venom is a British postwar carrier-capable jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Venom. It served with the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and with the Royal Australian Navy. The French Navy operated the Aquilon, developed from the Sea Venom FAW.20, built under licence by SNCASE (Sud-Est).
The Gloucester Hill Battle Monument or Gloucester Memorial is a memorial in South Korea that commemorates the actions of the Gloucestershire Regiment and C Troop, 170th Mortar Battery, Royal Artillery, of the British Army during the Battle of the Imjin River in 1951.
Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent,, is a former Royal Naval Air Station located near Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, approximately 4 miles (6.44 km) west of Portsmouth, on the coast of the Solent.
The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants. First flying on 14 September 1917, examples were still in use during the Second World War.
Reginald Alexander John Warneford, VC, also known as Rex Warneford, was a British aviator and Royal Naval Air Service officer who received the Victoria Cross for air-bombing a Zeppelin during the First World War. It was the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air dirigible.
An aircrew flying badge is the badge worn on the left breast, above any medal ribbons, by qualified aircrew in the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, British Army, Indian Air Force, Pakistan Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, South African Air Force and Sri Lanka Air Force. An example of a real pilot brevet is as opposite:
The history of the Royal Air Force, the air force of the United Kingdom, spans a century of British military aviation.
The Polish Air Force Memorial is a war memorial in West London, England in memory of airmen from Poland who served in the Royal Air Force as part of the Polish contribution to World War II. Over 18,000 men and women served in the Polish squadrons of the RAF during the war, and over 2,000 died. The memorial marks the southern extremity of South Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon, near RAF Northolt, where seven Polish-manned fighter squadrons were based at different times in the war.
The Royal Air Force Memorial is a military memorial on the Victoria Embankment in central London, dedicated to the memory of the casualties of the Royal Air Force in World War I. Unveiled in 1923, it became a Grade II listed structure in 1958, and was upgraded to Grade II* in 2018. It is considered to be the official memorial of the RAF and related services.
Admiral Sir Victor Alfred Trumper Smith, was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. Smith's career culminated with his appointment as chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee—forerunner of the role of Australia's Chief of the Defence Force—from 1970 to 1975, following an earlier term as Chief of Naval Staff from 1968 to 1970.
Commander Charles Bentall Lamb DSO DSC Royal Navy (1914–1981) was an officer in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II. He piloted a Fairey Swordfish torpedo strike reconnaissance aircraft at the Battle of Taranto, and later wrote a best selling book on his experiences called To War in a Stringbag.
Stanley Gordon Orr, was the highest scoring fighter ace of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Flying with the Fleet Air Arm he was credited with the destruction of 17 aircraft. His success was recognised by the awards of the Distinguished Service Cross and Two Bars, an Air Force Cross and a Mention in Despatches.
The Portsmouth Naval Memorial, sometimes known as Southsea Naval Memorial, is a war memorial in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, on Southsea Common beside Clarence Esplanade, between Clarence Pier and Southsea Castle. The memorial commemorates approximately 25,000 British and Commonwealth sailors who were lost in the World Wars, around 10,000 sailors in the First World War, and 15,000 in the Second World War. The memorial features a central obelisk, with names of the dead on bronze plaques arranged around the memorial according to the year of death.
710 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
The Chindit Memorial is a war memorial in London, England, that commemorates the Chindit special forces, which served in Burma under Major General Orde Wingate in the Second World War. The memorial was erected in Victoria Embankment Gardens in 1990, near the Ministry of Defence headquarters, and also commemorates Wingate, who died on active service in Burma in 1944. It became a Grade II listed building in August 2020.
The Eagle Squadrons Memorial is a Second World War memorial in Grosvenor Square, London. It commemorates the service of the three Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons from 1940 to 1942, during the Battle of Britain, and in particular their 244 Americans and 16 British fighter pilots, of whom 71 were killed. The bronze sculpture of an eagle which tops the memorial is by Elisabeth Frink.
