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718 Naval Air Squadron
718 Naval Air Squadron (718 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy created on 15 July 1936 to serve as a Catapult Flight of the Fleet Air Arm. It was elevated to squadron status at the end of 1937, before being disbanded on 21 January 1940. It was re-formed on 5 June 1944 to operate as the Army Co-operation Naval Operational Training Unit before being disbanded again on 1 November 1945. On 23 August 1946 it was reformed for the third time to operate as a Seafire Conversion Squadron but was disbanded less than one year later, on 17 March 1947. On 25 April 1955, after almost a decade, the squadron was reformed once more to train RNVR on jet aircraft. Once this work was complete, it was disbanded for the final time on 31 December 1955. History Initial Formation 718 NAS originally came into being as a Flight-sized unit following a renumbering of the No. 433 (Catapult) Flight and operated in the 8th Cruiser Squadron in the America and West Indies Station. The unit was in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Hart
The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraft in the inter-war period, but was obsolete and already side-lined for newer monoplane aircraft designs by the start of the Second World War, playing only minor roles in the conflict before being retired. Several major variants of the Hart were developed, including a navalised version for the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers. Beyond Britain, the Hart would be operated by a number of foreign nations, including Sweden, Yugoslavia, Estonia, South Africa, and Canada. Design and development In 1926, the Air Ministry stated a List of Air Ministry Specifications#1920-1929, requirement for a two-seat high-performance light day-bomber, to be of all-metal construction and with a maximum speed of 160 mph (258 km/h). Designs were tendered by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
700 Naval Air Squadron
700 Naval Air Squadron (700 NAS) is an experimental test squadron in the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. History 700 NAS was originally formed on 21 January 1940 at RNAS Hatston (HMS ''Sparrowhawk'') in Orkney in a plan to centralise the operations of the 700 series "Catapult" flights attached to catapult units and to act as a pool and Headquarters for all catapult aircraft embarked on battleships and cruisers - chiefly the Supermarine Walrus flying boat, together with the Fairey Seafox and Fairey Swordfish floatplanes. Initial equipment comprised 42 Walruses together with 11 Seafoxes and 12 Swordfishes. On 21 June 1940, a Walrus (''P5666'') of 700 Squadron on the cruiser found the German battleship ''Scharnhorst'' but ''Manchester'' did not engage. 25 September 1940, Walrus L2247, embarked on HMAS Australia, was shot down by French Vichy fighters at Dakar and crashed into the sea all 3 crew perished. Trailing German capital ships in the lead up to the Battle of the Denmark Stra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMAS Perth (D29)
} HMAS ''Perth'' was one of three modified ''Leander''-class light cruisers used by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during the early part of World War II. She was built for the Royal Navy (RN) in the mid-1930s and was commissioned as HMS ''Amphion'' in 1936. The ship spent the next several years as flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Africa before she was transferred to the RAN in 1939 and renamed as HMAS ''Perth''. At the start of World War II in September, the ship patrolled the Western Atlantic and the Caribbean in search of German shipping and escorting convoys for six months before she was ordered home in early 1940. The ship continued the same types of duties in Australian waters before she was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet at the end of 1940. ''Perth'' then helped to escort numerous convoys to Malta in early 1941 and played a minor role in the Battle of Cape Matapan in March. She escorted convoys to Greece and Crete and helped to evacuate Allied troops fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Orion (85)
HMS ''Orion'' was a light cruiser which served with distinction in the Royal Navy during World War II. She received 13 battle honours, a record only exceeded by and matched by two others. History ''Orion'' was built by Devonport Dockyard (Plymouth, U.K), Vickers-Armstrong (Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK). ''Orion'' was commissioned on 18 January 1934, for service with the Home Fleet but she was transferred to the America and West Indies Station, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard on Ireland Island, in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, in 1937 where she was with the 8th Cruiser Squadron. She arrived at Bermuda on 3rs of September, 1937. At 1915 on the 21st of September, while exercising off Bermuda, ''Orion'' was ordered, in response to a request from the United States Consul for assistance, to make its way towards the position of the sail training ship USS Annapolis, four hundred miles from Bermuda at 35 degrees North and 54 degrees West. Cadet Robert Hugh Quinn, aboard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Berwick (65)
HMS ''Berwick'', pennant number 65, was a heavy cruiser of the British Royal Navy, part of the ''Kent'' subclass. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (Govan, Scotland), with the keel being laid down on 15 September 1924. She was launched on 30 March 1926 and commissioned 12 July 1927. History When completed ''Berwick'' was sent to the China Station, where she remained until a temporary detachment to the Mediterranean in 1936. Along with the rest of her ''Kent'' class sub-group of ships, ''Berwick'' underwent reconstruction between 1937 and 1938, where her single 4-inch guns were replaced with double mounts, numerous light machine guns were added, and probably most important; a cemented thick and deep armoured belt was added to both sides of her hull beginning at the armoured deck down past her water line. After this work, she completed her sea trials and then proceeded west where she served on the America and West Indies Station with the 8 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts were given to Goodyear, whose Corsairs were designated FG, and Brewster, designated F3A. The Corsair was designed and operated as a carrier-based aircraft, and entered service in large numbers with the U.S. Navy in late 1944 and early 1945. It quickly became one of the most capable carrier-based fighter-bombers of World War II. Some Japanese pilots regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II and its naval aviators achieved an 11:1 kill ratio. Early problems with carrier landings and logistics led to it being eclipsed as the dominant carrier-based fighter by the Grumman F6F Hellcat, powered by the same Double Wasp engine first flown on the Corsair's initial prototype in 1940. Instead, the Corsair's early deploy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supermarine Walrus
The Supermarine Walrus (originally designated the Supermarine Seagull V) was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and manufactured by Supermarine at Woolston, Southampton. The Walrus first flew in 1933, the design effort having commenced as a private venture four years earlier. It shared its general configuration with that of the earlier Supermarine Seagull. Having been designed to serve as a fleet spotter for catapult launching from cruisers or battleships, the aircraft was largely employed in other roles, notably as a maritime patrol aircraft and as a rescue aircraft for ditched aircrew. The Walrus featured numerous innovations for the period, being the first British squadron-service aircraft to incorporate in one airframe a fully retractable main undercarriage, completely enclosed crew accommodation and an all-metal fuselage. Early-build aircraft featured the original metal hull design for its greater longevity in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairey Seafox
The Fairey Seafox was a 1930s British reconnaissance floatplane designed and built by Fairey for the Fleet Air Arm. It was designed to be catapulted from the deck of a light cruiser and served in the Second World War. Sixty-six were built, with two finished without floats and used as landplanes. Design and development The Fairey Seafox was built to satisfy Air Ministry Specification S.11/32 for a two-seat spotter-reconnaissance floatplane. The first of two prototypes appeared in 1936, first flying on 27 May 1936,Taylor 1974, p.285. and the first of the 64 production aircraft were delivered in 1937.Taylor 1974, p.287. The flights were organised as 700 Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm. The fuselage was of all-metal monocoque construction, the wings being covered with metal on the leading edge, otherwise fabric. It was powered by a 16-cylinder 395 hp (295 kW) air-cooled Napier Rapier H engine. It cruised at 106 mph (171 km/h), and had a range of 440 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS York (90)
HMS ''York'' was the lead ship of her class of two heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. She mostly served on the North America and West Indies Station before World War II. Early in the war the ship escorted convoys in the Atlantic and participated in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940. ''York'' was transferred to the Mediterranean theatre in late 1940 where she escorted convoys and the larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet. She was wrecked in an attack by Italian explosive motorboats of the 10th Flotilla MAS at Suda Bay, Crete, in March 1941. The ship's wreck was salvaged in 1952 and scrapped in Bari. Design and description ''York''s design was based on the earlier County classes but was intended to be smaller and cheaper, although better armoured. She was easily distinguishable from her sister ship, , as the latter had straight masts and funnels, while those of ''York'' were angled to the rear. In addition, ''York'' also had a very tall bridge desig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Exeter (68)
HMS ''Exeter'' was the second and last heavy cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the late 1920s. Aside from a temporary deployment with the Mediterranean Fleet during the Abyssinia Crisis of 1935–36, she spent the bulk of the 1930s assigned to the Atlantic Fleet or the North America and West Indies Station. When World War II began in September 1939, the cruiser was assigned to patrol South American waters against German commerce raiders. ''Exeter'' was one of three British cruisers that fought the German pocket battleship, the , later that year in the Battle of the River Plate. She was severely damaged during the battle, and she was in the shipyard for over a year. After her repairs were completed, the ship spent most of 1941 on convoy escort duties before she was transferred to the Far East after the start of the Pacific War in December. ''Exeter'' was generally assigned to escorting convoys to and from Singapore during the Malayan Campaign, and she continued on those ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
York-class Cruiser
The ''York'' class was the second and final class of heavy cruisers built for the Royal Navy under the terms of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty. They were essentially a reduced version of the preceding , scaled down to enable more cruisers to be built from the limited defence budgets of the late 1920s. It was initially planned to build seven ships of this class, though in the end only two were constructed—, started in 1927, and , started in 1928. ''Exeter'' differed in appearance from ''York'' because of late changes in her design. The remaining ships were delayed due to budget cuts, and then following the London Naval Treaty of 1930 the Royal Navy decided its cruiser needs were best met by building a greater number of yet smaller cruisers with 6–in guns.Marriott, p. 35 While both ships served extensively in the first few years of the Second World War, it was ''Exeter'' that had the more notable career. ''Exeter'' took part in the Battle of the River Plate against the Germ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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