RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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Pelican
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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Pelican wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 12:45 pm Navy Wings

Thank you to Fleet Air Arm veteran, Brian Allen for sharing his experience flying the Fairey Gannet.
The Mail Run
'As HM Aircraft Carriers made their way around the world, they spent long day’s at sea exercising with friendly Navies as they crossed oceans to visit other continents. This meant that the crews had long periods at sea when there was no contact with loved ones at home until the Carrier finally docked in a faraway Port and the Mail could be exchanged both ways.…'
See more at:
https://www.facebook.com/NavyWingsUK/
https://www.facebook.com/NavyWingsUK/ph ... 9859419656
P.S.

Just to clarify, please do not take the message about passing one million words as a signal to stop sending your dits! Do not hold back; the gathering of material must and will continue. The volume we already have makes it essential that additional "outlets" for it will be found.
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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'A STIRRING MEMORY' - THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHANNEL DASH
12 February 2021
On this day in 1942, the Royal Navy attempted to stop a breakout by the core of Hitler's Navy from Brest to Germany - the 'Channel Dash', a date which has entered Fleet Air Arm history.

With its vast natural harbour – 70 square miles in all, formed by the convergence of three rivers – and easy access to the Atlantic via the narrow strait, the Goulet, the Breton city of Brest had been a vital naval base since the days of Cardinal Richelieu, home first to the La Royale, and later Marine nationale.

In the summer of 1940, came a new inhabitant: the Kriegsmarine, which regarded the port as its greatest prize when France fell to the seemingly-unstoppable German Army.

No longer did the great ships of the German Navy have to run the gauntlet of the North Sea between the Shetlands and Norway, or the Iceland Gap. From the Atlantic shores of France, they could strike at the supply lines of the British Empire.

Or at least that was how the leaders of the German Navy viewed the ports of France in the summer of 1940. The reality proved to be very different – for the German surface fleet especially.

Brest in particular became not a sword lunging into the Atlantic but a sanctuary for German warships escaping the clutches of the Royal Navy.

It was to Brest that the sisters Scharnhorst and Gneisenau – the British determined the 38,000-ton leviathans with their nine 11in guns apiece were battle-cruisers, the Germans insisted they were Schlachtschiffe, battleships – had fled after a two-month-long sortie in early 1941.

Continues at:
https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... annel-dash

AND
Royal Navy
On this day in 1942 Swordfish of 825 Naval Air Squadron scrambled to intercept the core of the German Fleet sailing through Dover Strait - known to history as the 'Channel Dash'.
Watch this excellent short movie put together by historian/TV presenter Dan Snow and the photographic team at RNAS Yeovilton (825's present-day home) describing the self-sacrifice of the Swordfish crew who tried to attack the formidable enemy force.
https://www.facebook.com/royalnavy/vide ... 1239676260
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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'F.A.A. BOYS' - VOLUME 2.


Well done to all of you and our grateful thanks. We have just delivered the completed manuscript for Volume 2 to Grub Street - hurray!

A grand total of 105 of you have your names in this volume. It has been a long hard slog with an awful lot of midnight oil being burnt to get to this point. Heather and I will now collapse in a small heap and take a long break before it all starts again for volume 3! There are still photographs to wrap up for Vol.2 but that's the easy bit and will follow in the next month or so.

Now then, those rotary-wing people among you please note that the cut-off date for contributions for Vol.3 is the 30th of June. I do have a good deal of RW material, with the notable exception of the Wildcat for which I have very little, so if you know anyone please ask them to get in touch! Similarly, there are two fixed-wing types for which I have received no input - Hawk and Harrier GR.7/9. This is a great pity, especially with regard to the Harrier and I have put a note in Vol.2 to the effect that Operation Herrick will be included in Vol.3 in the hope that someone will come forward to add Harrier to the helicopter side of that story. Again, if you know anyone, please tell them.

As for the rest of the fixed-wing community, please do not rest on your laurels thinking 'job done'. As I mentioned recently, I have a huge untapped store of material and more keeps coming in. The decision is clear - there must, and will, be something after Volume 3. Exactly what is yet to be decided, but as soon as I know, so will you. Keep them coming please.

There has been some talk about the possibility of a TV documentary covering all this, and some early discussion is going on in the background. Again I will pass on anything that develops.

For now, our huge thanks once again
With our best regards - please stay safe all of you
Steve and Heather [Bond]
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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F.A.A. Boys ~ Reviews
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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British Royal Navy contracts Saab for Digital Tower solution

Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab has secured a contract to provide a Digital Tower solution for the UK Navy.
The solution will be deployed at the Royal Navy’s Air Station Culdrose’s satellite airfield at Predannack in the UK. It will be delivered this year.
Royal Navy commander Mick Gladwin said: “This is an important step in the Royal Navy’s continued development and exploitation of remote system technology to enhance the way air traffic services are delivered, improving controller efficiency and providing a safe operating environment for air systems.”

Continues at:
https://www.naval-technology.com/news/b ... -solution/

Link from Tim.
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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The Swordfish W5856 is currently undergoing a maintenance package by the team, with the aim to test fly in April, the engineering team are also looking at obtaining additional pegasus engines to support the Swordfish.

Continues at:
https://www.facebook.com/NavyWingsUK/ph ... 074067801/
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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ivorthediver
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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I wish them well with the task ,must be bit like painting the forth Bridge
"What Ever Floats your Boat"
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Pelican
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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"Who said the FAA can't do a low pass, this Sea Fire pilot said, oh yes I can!!!"
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HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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FAA BOYS - VOLS. 2 & 3 UPDATE

Vol.1 is selling very well (close to being sold out in fact), advance orders for Vol.2 are excellent and it is being launched in the Fleet Air Arm Museum in July. Works starts on putting V ol.3 together in about August for publication in July 2022.
Best regards
Steve [Bond]
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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Pelican
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Re: RN Fleet Air Arm: General

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Pelican wrote: Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:50 pm "Who said the FAA can't do a low pass, this Sea Fire pilot said, oh yes I can!!!"

From: Steve Bond - "Tim Manna's Seafire flying at Duxford. Fairly typical of how it is flown. Steve"
HMS Pelican 1938 - 1958 GGCV L86 U86 F86 What I Have I Hold ~ A wonderful bird is the Pelican its beak can hold more than its belly can.
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