FEATURES
As aircraft became more powerful, could carry heavier armament and fly longer distances, so too rose the importance of the aircraft
carrier.The Second World Warconfirmed the vulnerability of the battleship against adetermined aerial attack. On 11 November 1940, 21 slow obsolescent Swordfish biplanes took off from their carrier to torpedo the Italian fleet at Taranto. While only losing two aircraft they managed to sink one battleship and cripple two more. This single action turned out to be decisive in the fight for dominance over Mediterranean waters. It also turned the aircraft carrier into the capital ship of any major navy.
Although the carrier borne aircraft returned to the Admiralty in 1939, the link with the RAF continued. In 1942 Malta was saved by RAF Spitfires ferried from aircraft carriers to the besieged island. These standard Spitfires were hurriedly modified to take off from carriers, although there was no provision to land on them if they were forced to turn back. Instead, they would have to ditch their aircraft and hope to be picked up from the water. Once airborne they faced the difficult task of navigating over hundreds of miles over water in the hope of finding Malta. Eventually,most managed and were able to turn the tide over the skies of Malta.
Most carrier aircraft continued to be ‘sea’ adaptations of RAF aircraft with unimaginative names such as Sea[spit] fire, Sea Hurricane, Sea Mosquito, Sea Vampire and Sea
Harrier.After the latter was withdrawn from service in 2006, a Joint Force Harrier with RAF Harriers was created and operated by crew from the RAF and the Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. Once again, RAF aircraft operated from carriers. With the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers about to enter service, the futuristic Lightning II jets will again be operated by amixed crew of Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm on Royal Navy ships. After 100 years the link between the RAF and the Royal Navy is stronger than
ever.That link is the same as it was 100 years ago: the aircraft carrier.
Visiting an RAF Museum Twoworld class locations for the RAF Museum in London and Cosford:
rafmuseum.org.uk
Twitter @RAFmuseum or read reviews on
tripadvisor.co.uk
raf-ff.org.uk HMS Hermes, the first modern aircraft
carrier.Images ©RAF Museum. Winter 2017 Envoy 27
The Fairey Flycatcher,asimple but highly manoeuvrable fighter aircraft.
An RAF fitter and two sailors next to aSpitfire in Malta.
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