Fleet Air Arm Forums or Information?

[Scott McIntosh]

Hello,

I wondered if there was any recommended Forums for the Fleet Air Arm or indeed any good places for information from early years right through WWII and beyond until recent times.

I have a large collection of book but sometimes the information required just isnt there.

 

[EwenS]

Hello,

I wondered if there was any recommended Forums for the Fleet Air Arm or indeed any good places for information from early years right through WWII and beyond until recent times.

I have a large collection of book but sometimes the information required just isnt there.

Armoured Aircraft Carriers in World War II

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www.armouredcarriers.com

 

[EwenS]

Hello,

I wondered if there was any recommended Forums for the Fleet Air Arm or indeed any good places for information from early years right through WWII and beyond until recent times.

I have a large collection of book but sometimes the information required just isnt there.

Thinking further about your questions raises others.

What books about carriers do you have?
Which navies are you interested in?
What information are you seeking that isn't contained in those books in your library?

I've been studying the subject for 50 years or so and am still turning up new stuff. Carrier battles are generally well covered but carrier design and their relationship with the aircraft of each period and their operations is scattered all over the place and not made easier by differences between navies.

 

[R Leonard]

There used to be a pretty good one, long years ago, fleetairarm.com, but it is long gone, even from the wayback machine; what traces are there are linked to the FAA museum and are not the original site.

 

[Scott McIntosh]

Thinking further about your questions raises others.

What books about carriers do you have?
Which navies are you interested in?
What information are you seeking that isn't contained in those books in your library?

I've been studying the subject for 50 years or so and am still turning up new stuff. Carrier battles are generally well covered but carrier design and their relationship with the aircraft of each period and their operations is scattered all over the place and not made easier by differences between navies.

Hi Ewen,

With regards to book about carriers specifically I probably have a few random books about carriers but it is the Fleet Air Arm that I am most interested in. Specifically the aircraft and the men that flew them. Whether from a carrier or more likely a land base for most of my research.

The information required would be specifics about matching aircraft information with aircrew names and dates that kind of thing.

This would be as well as more general information and chat as and when the need arises.

Does that make it any clearer?

Scott

 

[EwenS]

Scott
First question. How deep are your pockets?

If you have to have one book on the Fleet Air Arm then it just has to be this.

The Squadrons And Units Of The Fleet Air Arm – The Aviation Bookshop

aviation-bookshop.com

Published in 2016, (is it really 10 years ago!) it is a much expanded version of "Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm" that was first published in 1984 and again in expanded form in 1994. Brief squadron histories, aircraft operated, timeline of movements, bases, carriers, COs, aircraft makings etc, etc, the list goes on.

A lot of information from it is incorporated in the RN Air Squadrons sub-site on the Royal Navy Research Archive site that can be found below (note the forum page attracts little traffic, maybe because it has proved, for me at least, so difficult to log on to consistently).

RNRA Home

There have been numerous autobiographies written over the years of individual's time in the FAA. Titles like

Carrier Pilot - Norman Hanson ended up as CO of 1830 squadron on Illustrious in 1945.
Bring back my Stringbag - John Godley, Lord Kilbracken.
War in a Stringbag - Charles Lamb
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea - EE Barringer
Wings at Sea - Gerard A Woods
With Naval Wings - John Wellham
On and Off the Flight Deck - Hank Adlam
Avenger from the Sky - Donald Judd
It's Really Quite Safe - G A "Hank" Rotherham
Heaven High Ocean Deep. Naval Fighter Wing at War - Tim Hillier-Graves (Hellcats on Indomitable)
The Friendly Squadron - 1772 NAS 1944/45.
They Gave Me A Seafire - Mike Crossley wartime memories
In Harms Way - Mike Crossley post-war memories
Carrier Observer - Gordon Wallace
Barracuda Pilot - Dunstan Hadley
Sakishima and Back - Stuart Eadon. He served on Formidable & Indefatigable
Kamikaze. The Story Off The BPF - Stuart Eadon. A collection of accounts from those serving in the Pacific.

David Hobbs has produced numerous books on the FAA down through the ages that are well worth checking out.
Norman Friedman - British Aircraft Carriers. Now split in two volumes with second due to be published later this year on post-war stuff.

There is a book series titled "From the Cockpit" that covers many FAA aircraft types, mixing aircraft histories with tales from those operating them - Swordfish, Barracuda, Firebrand, Attacker, Seafire etc.

Ask Amazon about individual carrier names / classes and you will get numerous volumes.

The "Warpaint" series covers many naval aircraft.

Guideline Publications Ltd | Warpaint Titles

Ewen

 

[Scott McIntosh]

Hi Ewen,

Thank you for your most comprehensive response.

Turns out my pockets are a little deep at least until I had bought the book you recommended. The next available copy was into the hundreds.

I look forward to browsing it when it comes.

I will look into some of the others you mentioned too.

I have on my shelf Fleet Air Arm Aircraft 1939-45 and Royal Navy Aircraft Serial and Units 1911-19 and Fleet Air Arm Fixed Wing Aircraft Since 1946.

All are very good sources of reference if only to get you started on the ladder of research.

 

[EwenS]

Hi Ewen,



I have on my shelf Fleet Air Arm Aircraft 1939-45 and Royal Navy Aircraft Serial and Units 1911-19 and Fleet Air Arm Fixed Wing Aircraft Since 1946.

A new edition of the FAA Aircraft 1939-45 volume is in preparation. Another 30 years of research means that it is expected to be double the size. No publication date tet.

 

[Scott McIntosh]

I Look forward to seeing that one when its published.

 

[Wildcat]

Hi Scott and Ewan,
Here is another one to add to your list - I picked it up a few weeks ago, so I haven't read it yet, but you can't go wrong with Brian Cull.

 

[WATU]

The two volumes on the FAA by Ben Jones and published by the Naval Records Society are good. Third volume awaited. Not really people books though, very good for a National Archives view.

 

[Scott McIntosh]

Wow,

Pretty rare by all accounts and that price tag.

I will try and look into these further.

 

[WATU]

Wow,

Pretty rare by all accounts and that price tag.

I will try and look into these further.

If you are referring to the NRS books, consider joining the NRS. All books are available to members as a pdf.