One of the most capable piston engined fighter aircraft ever produced and the last to enter service with Britain’s Fleet Air Arm, the Hawker Sea Fury represented the pinnacle of piston engined fighter design.  Introduced after the end of the Second World War, the Sea Fury would see combat against some of the early jet fighters during the Korean War, where it would perform extremely well.

The development of the Hawker Sea Fury can be traced back to the inadvertent landing of a Focke Wulf FW 190 at an RAF airfield in South Wales back in 1942.  The opportunity to evaluate this latest Luftwaffe fighter resulted in requirements being issued for a new British design, which must have the performance to better the Focke Wulf in every phase of flight and ensure the RAF could secure air superiority.  The protracted development of the new fighter resulted in a number of specification alterations and the RAF eventually withdrawing their interest, leaving the new aircraft to be produced as a high performance naval fighter.  The Hawker Sea Fury was an extremely potent aircraft and handling this powerful machine from the deck of a moving aircraft carrier must have required nerves of steel.

The first deck landing trials commenced in the winter of 1946 and the navy had their ultimate piston engined fighter.  Despite the advent of the jet engine, the Sea Fury would remain as the Fleet Air Arms principle single seat fighter until 1953, when it would be replaced by the jet powered Hawker Sea Hawk.  The aircraft also saw service with a number of overseas air arms, in a variety of operational roles, including strike fighter, trainer and high speed target towing.  As one of the most capable piston engined fighters ever produced, the Sea Fury would also become a popular aircraft in the world of air racing, where the brute power and sheer speed of this magnificent aircraft saw it victorious in countless competitions.

Although usually associated with the Wehrmacht’s feared ‘Lightning War’ attacks at the beginning of WWII, the Ju87B Stuka was also a highly effective maritime strike bomber. Capable of performing precision dive bombing attacks against any Allied vessel, the Stuka took a heavy toll of shipping in the English Channel, North Africa and in the Mediterranean. The Stuka also saw service with the air forces of Italy, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, as well as remaining in Luftwaffe service throughout WWII.

The attack dive of the Stuka was so severe, that quite a number of automatic features had to be incorporated into the manoeuvre. At an altitude of approximately 15,000 ft., the pilot would locate his target through a bombsight window, which was located in the floor of the cockpit. His engine and propeller had automatic controls, to optimise the aircraft when in a dive, and an automatic trimmer would make the aircraft tail heavy, as the pilot initiated the dive. He would move the dive lever to the rear, which would limit the ‘kick’ of the control column and quickly begin a defined sequence of actions, which if done correctly, would see his ordnance detonate on his intended target. He quickly set the trim tabs, reduced the throttle and closed the engine coolant flaps. The aircraft would automatically become tail heavy and pitch over in a 180-degree roll, placing the aircraft in a steep nose-down dive – at the same time, dive breaks were automatically deployed, to reduce the speed of the dive, to a constant 360 mph. This was the point of no return – the attack sequence had begun.

As the strain on the body of the pilot increased, he still had much work to do. The angle of his dive could be checked by looking at a series of red lines on the side of his cockpit window and lining them up against the horizon – 60, 75, or 80 degree angle of attack. He would then look forward through the fixed gun sight, to line up his attack, before releasing his heavy main bomb – the optimum release height was indicated to the pilot, by a light flicking on in his altimeter. The bomb was carried on a large U-shaped cradle, which would swing down on release, throwing the bomb safely clear of the large propeller and on to the target. As all this action was taking place, the pilot would have certainly had at least a couple of reassuring glances at the red pins protruding up from the top of the wings, which informed him that the automatic dive recovery system was engaged, should he fall victim to a g-induced black-out. All this would have been taking place in just a matter of a few, frantic seconds!

Once the bombs had left the aircraft, it automatically began its dive recovery sequence. This was the point at which the maximum g loading on the crew would be felt and forces in excess of six times the force of gravity were regularly experienced, which could result in vision impairment at the very least. Once recovered and the nose of the aircraft was above the horizon, the dive breaks were automatically retracted, the throttle was opened and the propeller was set to climb – the pilot then quickly had to manually open the coolant flaps, to prevent the engine from overheating and then resume flying the aircraft. This was the point that the Stuka was at its most vulnerable, flying at low level, at relatively slow speed and in hostile territory. His rear gunner may still be blacked out and indeed the pilot might still be feeling a little light headed, but every anti-aircraft gun, rifle and enemy fighter in the vicinity would be taking pot-shots at them, from every angle.

 

• Scheme 1 – Ju87R-2 S1+AK 2./ST.G. 3 Greece Spring 1941

• Scheme 2 – Ju87B2 T6 + AN 5. STG.2 ‘Immelman’ Libya May 1942

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With regard to aircraft that have operated from the decks of a British aircraft carrier, there can be little doubt that the McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 was the most spectacular. Purchased to replace the Sea Vixen in the role of all-weather fleet defence, the Phantom was the largest and heaviest aircraft ever operated from a British carrier and required a special breed of airmen to fly them.

As one of the most successful jet aircraft of all time, the American McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom was to see service with a number of overseas air arms, with Britain being a significant operator. Originally purchased by the Royal Navy as a modern replacement for their De Havilland Sea Vixens, Fleet Air Arm Phantoms would have the primary role of defending the fleet at all times and in all weather, with a secondary role of strike attack. Designated Phantom FG.1, these Navy jets certainly made for an impressive sight and were some of the most attractive aircraft ever to serve with Britain’s armed forces. Operating this huge aircraft from the relatively diminutive deck of HMS Ark Royal required a number of significant modifications to these Phantoms, as well as to the ship itself – they would also require the very cream of Britain’s fast jet pilots to operate these fighters successfully.

The sight of a Royal Navy Phantom preparing to take off from the deck of HMS Ark Royal must have been awe-inspiring. With the two Rolls-Royce Spey engines in full afterburner and the nose wheel oleo extended to its maximum height, these must be considered some of the most iconic images of any British naval aircraft and have enthralled enthusiasts for many years. With the withdrawal of HMS Ark Royal from service in 1978, all remaining Fleet Air Arm Phantoms were transferred to Royal Air Force operation, but still able to display their naval heritage