| ID | Description | Categories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1602 | HURREN, B. J. The Swordfish Saga: Story of the Fairey Swordfish Torpedo Bomber and a History of Torpedoplane Development in the Royal Navy. 48p., illus. Hayes: Fairey Aviation, 1946.
A brief laudatory pamphlet on this famous aircraft. |
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| 1603 | JACKSON, Robert. Strike from the Sea: A Survey of British Naval Air Operations 1909–69. [x], 234p., illus., index. London: Barker, 1970. ISBN: 0213001586.A general account with about half devoted to WWII. |
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| 1604 | JOHN, Rebecca. Caspar John. 240p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Collins, 1987. ISBN: 0002171368.
John rose to become First Sea Lord, but his career is inextricably linked with the FAA. In September 1939 he was serving in York in the Western Atlantic and stayed with her at Norway and in the Mediterranean. He left just before she was sunk to take over FAA aircraft design and procurement, involving a lot of time spent in the US. In late 1944 he took command of Pretoria Castle and just before the end of the war moved to the new carrier Ocean. |
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| 1605 | JONES, Ben. The Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War: Volume 1- 1939-1941, Norway, the Mediterranean and the Bismarck (Publications of the Navy Records Society, Volume 159). xxix, 593p., bibliog., illus., index. Aldershot: Ashgate for the Navy Records Society, 2012. ISBN: 1409452573. An excellent set of essays accompanies each section of well chosen and edited documents.
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| 1606 | JUDD, Donald. Avenger from the Sky. 204p., illus., index. London: Kimber, 1985. ISBN: 071830568X.
Recollections of a FAA pilot who served in the desert in Albacores, did further training in the US, then flew Avengers from Illustrious and Victorious with the BPF. A little leaden, but of interest. |
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| 1607 | KEMP, P. K. The Fleet Air Arm. 232p., illus., index. London: Jenkins, 1954.
Takes selected incidents, mainly well-known, and uses them to illustrate the role of air power at sea. About half concern WWII. |
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| 1608 | KEY, Teddy. The Friendly Squadron: 1772 Naval Air Squadron 1944–1945, a Story Told by Members of a Naval Air Squadron & Members of the Families of those Who Have Died. ix, 301p., bibliog., illus. Upton-upon-Severn: Square One, 1997. ISBN: 1899955232.
A mixture of history and reminiscence from a close-knit group which served on Indefatigable with the Pacific Fleet. |
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| 1609 | LAMB, Charles. War in a Stringbag. [12], 340p., illus., index. London: Cassell, 1977; New York: Norton, 1978. ISBN: 030429778X.
The author was sunk in Courageous, laid mines and hunted U boats over Northern European waters, harried E-boats off Dunkirk, flew from Illustrious in the Mediterranean including the attack on Taranto, flew antishipping strikes from Greece and Malta, crash-landed in North Africa, and was imprisoned by Vichy. After release and recuperation he joined Implacable only to suffer a further accident on her deck in the Pacific. Most enjoyably told. US Title is To War in a Stringbag. Reissued by Cooper in 1988. |
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| 1610 | LITHGOW, Mike. Mach One. 151p., illus. London: Wingate, 1954.
A curiously flat account of an adventurous career. Lithgow joined the FAA in March 1939. After training he joined Ark Royal in June 1940 and took part in the Mers-el-Kebir action and in subsequent Mediterranean actions, including Spartivento, the bombardment of Genoa and the Bismarck chase. The squadron then returned to the UK to re-equip with Albacores then joined Formidable in February 1942. After a spell with the Eastern Fleet she returned home and the author then went to Boscombe Down to test fly the Barracuda. From this he went to the US in 1944 to the Naval Air Test Center and from this grew his subsequent career as a test pilot. |
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| 1611 | LITTLE, Jim. Memories of the Fleet Air Arm. 93p., illus. Chorley: author, 1992.
He was called up in 1942 and trained as a Radio Mechanic. He was based first at Carnoustie then in Northern Ireland before joining Trumpeter, followed by Furious and Indefatigable. His squadron then joined Speaker and travelled to the Far East, where he finally served on Indomitable before rejoining the police force in 1946. Really a series of anecdotes each of a page or so in length. |
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| 1612 | LLOYD, Stuart. Fleet Air Arm Camouflage and Markings Atlantic and Mediterranean Theatres 1937 – 1941. 152p., illus., index. Stamford: Dalrymple & Verdun Publishers, 2008. ISBN: 1905414080.
An excellent illustrated guide. |
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| 1613 | MACKENZIE, Hector. Observations. 307p., illus. Edinburgh: Pentland, 1997. ISBN: 1858215021.
He joined the FAA in 1940 and after training as an Observer joined 827 Squadron, flying Albacores. Almost at once they joined Indomitable serving in the Far East and Mediterranean. After she was damaged in the Pedestal convoy and returned to the UK, he was attached to 114 Squadron RAF as a naval liaison officer. He went to Algeria with them as part of the Torch landings. He then joined Archer flying A/S patrols in the Atlantic. He then volunteered to be an air gunnery officer and after training at Whale Island served at Inskip and Donibristle. In 1945 he returned to Whale Island as an instructor. |
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| 1614 | MASTERS, A. O. "Cappy." Memoirs of a Reluctant Batsman: New Zealand Servicemen in the Fleet Air Arm 1940–45. xiii, 401p., illus. London: Janus, 1995. ISBN: 1857561481.
Masters sailed for the UK in 1941 as part of a draft for FAA training. This took place in the UK and Canada and in April 1943 he joined 897 Seafire Squadron which soon moved to Unicorn for the Salerno landing. He transferred to 809 Squadron and in March 1944 was nominated for training as a batsman. After training he went to Ceylon and later Australia and joined Indefatigable in early 1945. In July he joined 1845 Corsair Squadron, but was back in New Zealand by September. The final third of the book consists of anecdotes and brief memoirs from other New Zealand FAA pilots. |
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| 1615 | MILLS, Charles J. It's a Dog's Life: a Biography. 83, [5]p., illus. Cobham; Tee-line, 2006. ISBN: 0955326109. An understated story of life in the Fleet Air Arm. |
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| 1616 | MILLS, N. H. Fleet Air Arm memories: Tales of the Brummagem Bastard. 114p., illus. [n.p.], R.S. Pyne, 2017. ISBN: 978152024767. Norman Harry Mills did not suffer fools gladly. Nicknamed the Brummagem Bastard, he was a fanatical Ockers (Ludo) player as well as a Communist. His memoirs include the Pedestal Convoy, Operation Torch when he was attached to the naval battalion with the first army in North Africa (1943); the Sicily and Italian campaign of 1944 and dealing with kamikazes in May 1945. Edited by his grandson. |
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| 1617 | MOFFAT, John. I Sank the Bismarck: Memoirs of a Second World War Navy Pilot. vii, 294p., illus., index. London, Bantam, 2009. ISBN: 059306352X.
Despite the title, the engagingly modest memoirs of a pilot who joined the Reserves pre-war. After training he joined Ark Royal and probably fired the torpedo which hit Bismarck's rudder. The rest of his wartime career is very briefly described. |
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| 1618 | MONDEY, David. The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II. 239p., illus., index. London: Chancellor, 1994. ISBN: 0785813624.
A notably well-illustrated reprint of a work first published in 1982. All the FAA types are described and illustrated. |
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| 1619 | MOORE, John. The Fleet Air Arm: A Short Account of Its History and Achievements. 140, [8]p., illus. London: Chapman & Hall, 1943.
The achievements of WWII form the bulk of the book. |
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| 1620 | NAIRN, Don. Gold Wings and Webbed Feet: The Autobiography of a New Zealand Pilot, His Naval and Civilian Flying Experiences. 292p., illus. Invercargill: Craig Printing, 1996. ISBN: 0908629451.
An autobiography. A New Zealander, he sailed for the UK in 1940 to join the Fleet Air Arm. After training he served in the Arctic, Mediterranean and as a test pilot in the USA. His post war life is also described. |
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| 1621 | NAISH, G. P. B. Flying in the Royal Navy 1914–64. 56p., illus. London: HMSO, 1964.
Contains 55 captioned photographs in a booklet which accompanied an exhibition in the National Maritime Museum, marking 50 years of naval aviation. Just over half covers WWII. |
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