More taxing Naval Aviation Questions

A8) Zero. India’s naval aviation never saw combat (against Pak) in the 60s. They had a few ship kills against the Portugese, in Op.Vijay. They saw action against Pakistan, only in 1971.

They did’nt claim any a2a kills and only fired at a UN C-130, without doing any damage. As for how many air-to-surface kills they claimed – no one knows the exact figure but the wreckage estimates exceeded 100,776 tonnes.

No they don’t you are right but they were deployed 😉

Wan you almost got it.

A 8. you forgot the Alezies, but yes you are right!

Well done everyone

No, I left them out (they don’t do air to air, do they?)

Wan you almost got it.

A 8. you forgot the Alezies, but yes you are right!

Well done everyone

A8: Vampire and Sea Hawk (kills = 0?)
A10: 3, possibly 4
HMAS Albatross as completed > HMS Albatross
HMCS Warrior as commissioned > HMS Warrior
HMCS Magnificent > ex-HMS Magnificent
Possibly the french Bois Belleau (ex-USS Beleau Wood)

Come on guys, two more questions, you can do it

Well done guys, just two questions remaining, come on, you can do it 😉

Without checking, I think 4) is 800 Sqadron, flying from HMS Eagle and I think their mounts would have been Fairey Flycatchers – unless you mean RNAS?

…Although another source said it was indeed 800 squadron, but on Hawker Nimrods and HMS Courageous.

800 was also the first naval squadron to see action – a Skua from Ark Royal forced down a Dornier flying boat in December 1939 which was then destroyed by gunfire from a destroyer (after the crew had been taken off!). It is widely (and apparently falsely) claimed as the first enemy aircraft destroyed in the second world war (it was the first confirmed but a Heinkel destroyed by Hurricanes in Scotland before this was later confirmed as the first to be destroyed).

RNAS? No idea.

A2:

When nationalist Viet Minh insurgents resisted the reimposition of French rule in their homeland, Armée de l’Air units were at first forced to use abandoned Japanese aircraft, including Nakajima Ki.43 Hayabusa fighters and Aichi E13A-1 seaplanes.

These were supplemented by the German wartime types that were built in France during the occupation. The Amiot AAC.1 Toucan (Junkers Ju-52) for transport and paratrooping duties, and the Morane-Saulnier Criquet (Fieseler Fi-156 Storch) for communications, observation, forward air control, and convoy escort missions.

The British transferred 246 Squadron’s Spitfire Mk. VIIIs in 1946, when the squadron left Tan Son Nhut. These were supplemented by Spitfire LF.IXc (1st Fighter Wing consisting of GC I/7 and II/7, the Cigognes” and “Alsace” fighter groups) and Mosquito FB.VI fighter-bombers (“Corse” group) ferried in from Europe. These airplanes performed poorly in the colonial close-support role.

In 1948 and ’49, the US relented and allowed France to deploy some of its American equipment in Southeast Asia. Fifty Bell P-63C Kingcobras were despatched from Europe. Units were relocated from North Africa to Indochina, including I/5 “Vendée” and II/5 “Ile de France”, which were equipped with the Bell P-63. The II/6, better known as the famous and highly decorated “Normandie-Niemen” fighter regiment from their stint in the Soviet Union between 1942 and 1945, joined them. They were certainly needed, as they participated in counterattacks against Viet Minh guerrillas encircling French army positions in the Tonkin region.

The lifting of the ban on US warplanes also let the French Aéronavale take a more active role in the conflict. The light carrier Arromanches took up station in the gulf of Tonkin and used its SB2C Helldivers, F6F-5 Hellcats, and, eventually, F4U-7 Corsairs to good effect during the campaign. Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless dive bombers and Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateers operated from shore bases.

The Korean War was a lucky break for France. In 1950, US authorities decided to supply France with a single squadron of B-26 Invaders (25 aircraft: GB 1/19) as an interim measure. The French would also be given priority access to all materiel not immediately required by frontline UN units. Ex-USAF C-47 transports soon replaced the inadequate Toucan.

The Aéronavale received additional Hellcats in lieu of Corsairs (though the specially built F4U-7 and some surplus AU-1s were supplied later), while the Armée de l’Air got the Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat (GC 1/22). A further five RB-26C reconnaissance airplanes and 16 B-26C bombers arrived in 1952.

A3:

RAAF ordered a total of 9 A9 – Seagull III Aircraft. These served with No 101 Fleet Co-operation Flight and operated from the seaplane carrier, “HMAS Albatross”, and the cruisers, “HMAS Canberra” and “HMAS Australia”.

Throughout 1926 and 1927, the first 6 Seagulls worked with “HMAS Albatross” and joined the photographing of the Great Barrier Beef.In January, 1927, an additional three ex-FAA Seagulls were purchased, and survey flying was extended north to New Guinea.

In January, 1929, the Australian-built seaplane carrier, “HMAS Albatross” joined the fleet, and on February 25, six Seagulls were hoisted aboard at Geelong. These aircraft were used for reconnaissance, spotting and shadowing during naval exercises.

When the “Albatross” was laid up in 1932, the remaining Seagulls were transferred to the cruisers “Canberra” and “Australia”, and were eventually superseded by the Seagull Vs in 1935.

Definitely on HMAS Albatross:
A9-4: crewed by pilot, pilot officer Gordon grant, RAAF , Observer LT Elliot, RN and Leading TAG Donald McGowan (crashed)
A9-7: Ex Royal Air Force Aircraft. Converted to components.
A9-9: Ex Royal Air Force Aircraft. Converted to components.
Other aircraft serials: A9-1, A9-2, A9-3, A9-5, A9-6, A9-8, A9-9.

Wan: very well done mate. Now finish it off 😉

XN923: That is right mate excelten job, just out of curiosity, do you know what the First RNAS sqdn was? I have just been reading about this, very interesting stuff.

Without checking, I think 4) is 800 Sqadron, flying from HMS Eagle and I think their mounts would have been Fairey Flycatchers – unless you mean RNAS?

Gotto run to work but here’s a first salvo:

1) After finishing flight training, Bush was assigned to Torpedo Squadron (VT-51) as photographic officer. Later, he was assigned as a naval aviator in a new torpedo squadron, VT-153.

5) Due to interest from the US and Germany the Tri-partite Evaluation Squadron was formed for the Kestrel, staffed by military test pilots from Britain, the US and West Germany. After testing at RAF West Raynham, the eight surviving evaluation aircraft were transferred to the USA for evaluation by the Army, Air Force and Navy (including USMC) as the XV-6A. After Tri-Service evaluation they were passed to the USAF for further evaluation at Edwards AFB. In April 1966, the US Marines operated a Kestrel off the commando assault ship RALEIGH and were impressed with the aircraft. Later, because of LPH GUAM’s similarity to a conceptual Sea Control Ship, she was selected during the summer of 1971 for the Navy’s Interim Sea Control Ship (ISCS) project. After entering an extensive re-fit in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 28 October 1971, GUAM began tests and evaluation in conjunction with the ISCS Project on 18 January 1972. As the ISCS, GUAM provided inputs to preliminary design by developing tactical concepts and measuring system performance. Aircraft operated by GUAM in support of this conceptual project included SH-3H “Sea King” helicopters and the Marine Corps’ AV-8A “Harrier” Vertical Short Take-Off and Landing (VSTOL) jet. GUAM completed the ISCS evaluation and reassumed her role as an Amphibious Assault Ship on July 1, 1974. On 24 September 1974 LPH GUAM became the first Navy ship to deploy operationally with AV-8A aircraft when she left her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia for participation in the North Atlantic NATO exercise “Alien Gold” and a six-month Mediterranean deployment with MARG 2-74. In 1974, after proving that she could handle Harrier flight operations, USS Tripoli (LPH-10), an Iwo Jima class amphibious assault ship, became the first amphibious warfare ship to carry a full squadron of AV-8’s (VMA-513).

6) The first helicopter ever operated by the RAN was the Bristol Sycamore, acquired in 1953 for Helicopter Training, and Search and Rescue duties.

7) VS 881 was the first RCN Squadron to operate from HMCS BONAVENTURE in Sept. 30, 1957. (flying CS2F Trackers)

9) Three were originally planned. The project 1123 was all but successful design. It was plagued by many mechanical problems and design errors. Most famous of these shortcomings are the machinery problems that caused trouble in all soviet carriers as they all shared the same pressure fired steam turbines. Moskva suffered serious fire in 1973 and had to be rebuilt twice. Leningrad also reportedly went thru minor fire during her service time. The hull design caused even more trouble. The hull was unusual Y-shape which soviets first time tried with Type 7U destroyer prototype. It made the ships pitching in heavy seas. Also the ships trimmed by the bow, implicating that the weight balance was wrongly designed (too much weight in the bow due the complex weapon systems.) In event of these several shortcomings, soviets begun to develop a revisited design. Some sources say that special Anti-ship variant, but more accurate ones claim that the third ship, (1123.3) already named Kiev was to be more radical improved with bigger airgroup, better crew facilitates, improved seakeeping qualities and more extensive weaponry. In event this third ship evolved to the project 1143 class carriers. (see also http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/showthread.php?t=858)