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FRADU
The Fleet Requirements and Air Direction Unit (FRADU) was a unit of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm operated by the contractor Serco Defence and Aerospace. It was established in 1972. It was most recently equipped with 13 BAE Systems Hawk T1 advanced jet trainer aircraft on lease to the Royal Navy from the Royal Air Force, based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. Two of these aircraft were permanently detached to Naval Flying Standards Flight (fixed wing) at RNAS Yeovilton where they are flown by RN pilots, but maintained by Serco engineers. FRADU provided training for the Royal Navy by conducting simulated attacks on Royal Navy ships during Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST), Airborne Early Warning (AEW) exercises, training air controllers and Helicopter Fighter Affiliation training. In June 2013, FRADU was redesignated 736 Naval Air Squadron. History The Fleet Requirements and Air Direction Training Unit (FRADTU) was formed in 1972 by the merger of the Fleet Requirements Unit (FR ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Havilland Sea Vixen
The de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen is a British twin-engine, twin boom-tailed, two-seat, carrier-based fleet air-defence fighter flown by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during the 1950s through to the early 1970s. The Sea Vixen was designed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company during the late 1940s at its Hatfield aircraft factory in Hertfordshire, developed from the company's earlier first generation jet fighters. It was later called the Hawker Siddeley Sea Vixen after de Havilland was absorbed by the Hawker Siddeley Corporation in 1960. The Sea Vixen had the distinction of being the first British two-seat combat aircraft to achieve supersonic speed, albeit not in level flight. Operating from British aircraft carriers, it was used in combat over Tanganyika and over Yemen during the Aden Emergency. In 1972, the Sea Vixen was phased out in favour of the American-made McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 interceptor. There have been no flying Sea Vixens since 2017. Development Orig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airwork Services
Airwork Limited, also referred to during its history as Airwork Services Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary company of VT Group plc. It has a long and rich history in providing a variety of defence support services to the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm and overseas air forces, as well as having played an important role in the development of civil aviation – both in the United Kingdom and abroad. History Origins Airwork was founded in 1928 by Nigel Norman and Alan Muntz, with the opening of the private Heston Aerodrome in Middlesex.''Aeroplane – Britain's Biggest Independent Airline'', Vol. 102, No. 2625, pp. 143/4, Temple Press, London, 8 February 1962 In the early days, Airwork's chief pilot was Captain Valentine Baker MC, DFC, who later formed the world-famous Martin-Baker company with Sir James Martin. In December 1936, Airwork Limited was registered at Companies House, and the newly formed company started its long association with RAF flying training. Airwor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BAE Systems Hawk
The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and BAE Systems. It has been used in a training capacity and as a low-cost combat aircraft. Operators of the Hawk include the Royal Air Force (notably the Red Arrows display team) and several foreign military operators. The Hawk is still in production in the UK and under licence in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with over 900 Hawks sold to 18 operators around the world. Development Origins In 1964, the Royal Air Force specified a requirement (Air Staff Target, AST, 362) for a new fast jet trainer to replace the Folland Gnat. The SEPECAT Jaguar was originally intended for this role, but it was soon realised that it would be too complex an aircraft for fast jet training and only a small number of two-seat versions were purchas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk)
Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, and is one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe. Its main role is serving the Fleet Air Arm's front line AgustaWestland Merlin helicopter squadrons. History 1940–1999 Admiralty surveyors first started preliminary surveys of land near Helston in 1942. RNAS ''Culdrose'' was built by John Laing & Son and commissioned as HMS ''Seahawk'' five years after these initial surveys. The station was originally designed to be a wartime airfield lasting about ten years. The initial plans were for ''Culdrose'' to serve as a Naval Fighting School, it soon developed other roles. These varied roles included such things as the trials of the Navy's first jets, training of airborne early warning crews and as a home base for carrier-based aircraft. Over the years the station's emphasis changed from fixed wing aircraft to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fleet Requirements Unit
The Airwork Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU) was a civilian-operated unit of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm managed by Airwork Services, Airwork Limited. It was established on the 1 September 1952, at Hurn Airport, operating for 20 years before merging with another unit to become the Fleet Requirements and Aircraft Direction Unit, Fleet Requirements and Air Direction Training Unit (FRADTU), on the 1 December 1972. History Airwork Services, Airwork Limited, referred to as Airwork Services Limited from 1957 for defence support work, secured a contract in September 1952 with the Royal Navy, to operate the Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU) at Bournemouth Airport, Hurn Airport, situated on the edge of Hurn village, north of Bournemouth. It used ex-Fleet Air Arm aircraft as targets to provide training for Royal Navy radar operators, however, civilian Aircraft pilot, pilots were employed to fly the aircraft. Recently retired Fleet Air Arm de Havilland Sea Mosquito aircraft began arrivin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
736 Naval Air Squadron
736 Naval Air Squadron (736 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy. It was most recently recommissioned at RNAS Culdrose on 6 June 2013 to fly the BAE Systems Hawk T1, following the disbandment of the Fleet Requirements and Aircraft Direction Unit (FRADU) and operated up until March 2022. History Formation and early years The squadron was first formed at RNAS Yeovilton on 24 May 1943 as an air combat training squadron for naval aviators, before moving to RNAS St Merryn in September that year. Between 1943 and 1952 the squadron operated several piston-engined aircraft including the Supermarine Seafire, Fairey Barracuda, Hawker Sea Fury and Fairey Firefly. The jet age The squadron moved to RNAS Culdrose in 1950 where, in August 1952, it was eventually disbanded as piston-engined squadron and reformed as the Advanced Jet Flying School; operating Supermarine Attacker and Meteor T.7 jet aircraft. It was recommissioned at RNAS Lossiemouth in June 1953 as a training squad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron)
Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, or RNAS Yeovilton, (HMS ''Heron'') is an airfield of the Royal Navy and British Army, sited a few miles north of Yeovil, Somerset. It is one of two active Fleet Air Arm bases (the other being RNAS Culdrose) and is currently home to the Royal Navy Wildcat HMA2 and Army Air Corps Wildcat AH1 helicopters as well as the Royal Navy's Commando Helicopter Force Merlin HCi3/4/4A and Wildcat AH1 helicopters. The site consists of of airfield sites plus ranges and minor estates. Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton is a large multi-role air station with an annual budget of some £61 million. The airfield is also home to the Fleet Air Arm Museum and the station hosts an annual Air Day in July. History In 1938, the potential of the land at Yeovilton for use as an airfield was spotted by Westland Aircraft's chief test pilot Harald Penrose and an offer was made to buy the land. The owners, howeverthe Ecclesiastical Commissioners of the Church o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilland Mosquito fast bomber. Among the performance requirements for the type was an outstanding high-altitude bombing capability and high speed. These were partly accomplished by making use of newly developed jet-propulsion technology. When the Canberra was introduced to service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), the type's first operator, in May 1951, it became the service's first jet-powered bomber. In February 1951, a Canberra set another world record when it became the first jet aircraft to make a nonstop transatlantic flight. Throughout most of the 1950s, the Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other aircraft in the world, and in 1957, a Canberra established a world altitude record of . Due to its ability to evade the early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine and the swept wing, and was the first jet-powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be procured by the RAF. On 7 September 1953, the modified first prototype broke the world air speed record for aircraft, achieving a speed of . The single-seat Hunter was introduced to service in 1954 as a manoeuvrable day interceptor aircraft, quickly succeeding first-generation jet fighters in RAF service such as the Gloster Meteor and the de Havilland Venom. The all-weather/night fighter role was filled by the Gloster Javelin. Successively improved variants of the type were produced, adopting increasingly more capable engine models and expanding its fuel capacity amongst other modifications being implemented. Hunters were also us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Aviation Units And Formations Of The United Kingdom
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes anything conducted by surface ships, amphibious ships, submarines, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes, deter or confront piracy, ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Naval operations can be broadly divided between riverine and littoral applications (brown-water navy), open-ocean applications (blu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Aviation Education
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes anything conducted by surface ships, amphibious ships, submarines, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes, deter or confront piracy, ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Naval operations can be broadly divided between riverine and littoral applications (brown-water navy), open-ocean applications (blu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Harrier
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "''Shar''". Unusual in an era in which most naval and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic, the principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence for Royal Navy task groups centred around the aircraft carriers. The Sea Harrier served in the Falklands War and the Balkans conflicts; on all occasions it mainly operated from aircraft carriers positioned within the conflict zone. Its usage in the Falklands War was its most high profile and important success, when it was the only fixed-wing fighter available to protect the British Task Force. The Sea Harriers shot down 20 enemy aircraft during the conflic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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