Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe, 1939-1945

History of the Royal Navy's Naval Aviation Campaigns During World War II

This book tells the story of how naval air operations evolved into a vital element of the Royal Navy's ability to fight a three-dimensional war against both the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. An integral part of RN, the Fleet Air Arm was not a large organization, with only 406 pilots and 232 front-line aircraft available for operations in September 1939. Its impact far outweighed its numbers—it was an RN fighter that shot down the first enemy aircraft of the war, and an RN pilot was the first British fighter "ace" with 5 or more kills.

The Fleet Air Arm's rollcall of achievements in northern waters included the Norwegian Campaign, the crippling of Bismarck, the sortie against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as they passed through the Channel, air attacks on enemy E-boats in the narrow seas, air cover for Russian convoys, air attacks that disabled Tirpitz, and strikes and minelaying operations against German shipping in the Norwegian littoral that continued until May 1945. By the end of the war in Europe, the FAA had grown to 3,243 pilots and 1,336 aircraft.

Context and Technical Aspects

This book sets all these actions within their proper naval context, with technical and tactical aspects explained through "thumbnail" descriptions of aircraft, their weapons, and avionics. Cross-reference with the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour has been made for the first time to identify those aircrew killed in action, as a mark of respect for their determination against enemy forces on, above, and below the sea surface, which more often than not outnumbered them.

Series and Reception

The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe completes David Hobbs's much-praised six-volume series chronicling the operational history of British naval aviation from the earliest days to the present.

Praise for The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe

"In this masterly addition to his series on the Fleet Air Arm at war, David Hobbs addresses naval air operations in the Atlantic, the North Sea, the Arctic, and the English Channel." —Professor Andrew Lambert, Warship 2023

"With lots of action it rattles along and is a very good read." —The Armourer Magazine, May 2022