Naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation units are typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an
History
Establishment
Early experiments on the use of kites for naval reconnaissance took place in 1903 at
In 1908
The first pilots for the Royal Navy were transferred from the
The French also established a naval aviation capability in 1910 with the establishment of the Service Aeronautique and the first flight training schools.[6]
U.S. naval aviation began with pioneer aviator
$25,000 was appropriated for the Bureau of Navigation (United States Navy) to purchase three airplanes and in the spring of 1911 four additional officers were trained as pilots by the Wright brothers and Curtiss. A camp with a primitive landing field was established on the Severn River at Greenbury Point, near Annapolis, Maryland. The vision of the aerial fleet was for scouting. Each aircraft would have a pilot and observer. The observer would use the wireless radio technology to report on enemy ships. Some thoughts were given to deliver counterattacks on hostile aircraft using "explosives or other means". Using airplanes to bomb ships was seen as largely impractical at the time. CAPT Washington Irving Chambers felt it was much easier to defend against airplanes than mines or torpedoes. The wireless radio was cumbersome (greater than 50 pounds), but the technology was improving. Experiments were underway for the first ICS (pilot to observer comms) using headsets, as well as connecting the observer to the radio. The navy tested both telephones and voice tubes for ICS. As of August 1911, Italy was the only other navy known to be adapting hydroplanes for naval use.[7]
The group expanded with the addition of six aviators in 1912 and five in 1913, from both the Navy and
In January 1912, the British battleship
In May 1912, with Commander Samson again flying the "S.38", the first ever instance of an aircraft to take off from a ship which was under way occurred. Hibernia steamed at 10.5
Other early operators of seaplanes were
World War I
At the outbreak of war the Royal Naval Air Service had 93 aircraft, six
The first strike from a seaplane carrier against a land target as well as a sea target took place in September 1914 when the
On the Western front the first naval air raid occurred on 25 December 1914 when twelve seaplanes from
In August 1914 Germany operated 20 planes and one Zeppelin, another 15 planes were confiscated.[12] They operated from bases in Germany and Flanders (Belgium). On 19 August 1918 several British torpedo boats were sunk by 10 German planes near Heligoland. These are considered as the first naval units solely destroyed by airplanes.[21] During the war the German "Marineflieger" claimed the destruction of 270 enemy planes, 6 balloons, 2 airships, 1 Russian destroyer, 4 merchant ships, 3 submarines, 4 torpedo boats and 12 vehicles, for the loss of 170 German sea and land planes as well as 9 vehicles.[22] Notable Marineflieger aces were Gotthard Sachsenberg (31 victories), Alexander Zenzes (18 victories), Friedrich Christiansen (13 victories, 1 airship and 1 submarine), Karl Meyer (8 victories), Karl Scharon (8 victories), and Hans Goerth (7 victories).
Development of the aircraft carrier
The need for a more mobile strike capacity led to the development of the aircraft carrier - the backbone of modern naval aviation. HMS Ark Royal was the first purpose-built seaplane carrier and was also arguably the first modern aircraft carrier.[23] She was originally laid down as a merchant ship, but was converted on the building stocks to be a hybrid airplane/seaplane carrier with a launch platform and the capacity to hold up to four wheeled aircraft. Launched on 5 September 1914, she served in the Dardanelles campaign and throughout World War I.
During World War I the Royal Navy also used HMS Furious to experiment with the use of wheeled aircraft on ships. This ship was reconstructed three times between 1915 and 1925: first, while still under construction, it was modified to receive a flight deck on the fore-deck; in 1917 it was reconstructed with separate flight decks fore and aft of the superstructure; then finally, after the war, it was heavily reconstructed with a three-quarter length main flight deck, and a lower-level take-off only flight deck on the fore-deck.
On 2 August 1917, Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning, Royal Navy, landed his Sopwith Pup aircraft on Furious in Scapa Flow, Orkney, becoming the first person to land a plane on a moving ship.[24] He was killed five days later during another landing on Furious.[24]
HMS Argus was converted from an ocean liner and became the first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight deck that allowed wheeled aircraft to take off and land. After commissioning, the ship was heavily involved for several years in the development of the optimum design for other aircraft carriers. Argus also evaluated various types of arresting gear, general procedures needed to operate a number of aircraft in concert, and fleet tactics.
The Tondern raid, a British bombing raid against the Imperial German Navy's airship base at Tønder, Denmark was the first attack in history made by aircraft flying from a carrier flight deck, with seven Sopwith Camels launched from HMS Furious. For the loss of one man, the British destroyed two German zeppelins, L.54 and L.60 and a captive balloon.
Interwar period
Genuine aircraft carriers did not emerge beyond Britain until the early 1920s.[25]
The Japanese
In the United States, Admiral
Many British naval vessels carried float planes, seaplanes or amphibians for reconnaissance and spotting: two to four on battleships or
World War II
World War II saw the emergence of naval aviation as the decisive element in the war at sea. The principal users were Japan, United States (both with Pacific interests to protect) and Britain. Germany, the Soviet Union, France and Italy had a lesser involvement. Soviet Naval Aviation was mostly organised as land-based coastal defense force (apart from some scout floatplanes it consisted almost exclusively of land-based types also used by its air arms).
During the course of the war, seaborne aircraft were used in fleet actions at sea (
In World War II the aircraft carrier replaced the battleship as the most powerful naval offensive weapons system as battles between fleets were increasingly fought out of gun range by aircraft. The Japanese Yamato, the heaviest battleship ever built, was first turned back by light escort carrier aircraft and later sunk lacking its own air cover.
During the
Experience showed that there was a need for widespread use of aircraft which could not be met quickly enough by building new fleet aircraft carriers. This was particularly true in the
The Royal Navy had observed the impact of naval aviation and, obliged to prioritise their use of resources, abandoned battleships as the mainstay of the fleet. HMS Vanguard was therefore the last British battleship and her sisters were cancelled. The United States had already instigated a large construction programme (which was also cut short) but these large ships were mainly used as anti-aircraft batteries or for shore bombardment.
Other actions involving naval aviation included:
- Battle of the Atlantic, aircraft carried by low-cost escort carriers were used for antisubmarine patrol, defense, and attack.
- At the start of the Pacific War in 1941, Japanese carrier-based aircraft sank many US warships during the attack on Pearl Harbor and land-based aircraft sank two large British warships. Engagements between Japanese and American naval fleets were then conducted largely or entirely by aircraft - examples include the battles of Coral Sea, Midway, Bismarck Sea and Philippine Sea.[31]
- Battle of Leyte Gulf, with the first appearance of kamikazes, perhaps the largest naval battle in history. Japan's last carriers and pilots are deliberately sacrificed, a battleship is sunk by aircraft.
- surface shipswithout air cover to aerial attack.
Post-war developments
Jet aircraft were used on aircraft carriers after the War. The first jet landing on a carrier was made by Lt Cdr Eric 'Winkle' Brown who landed on HMS Ocean in the specially modified de Havilland Vampire (registration LZ551/G) on 3 December 1945.[32] Following the introduction of angled flight decks, jets were regularly operating from carriers by the mid-1950s.[32]
An important development of the early 1950s was the British invention of the angled flight deck by Capt D.R.F. Campbell RN in conjunction with
The US Navy built the first aircraft carrier to be powered by
The arrival of the Sea Harrier
In 2013, the US Navy completed the first successful catapult launch and arrested landing of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aboard an aircraft carrier. After a decade of research and planning, the US Navy has been testing the integration of UAVs with carrier-based forces since 2013, using the experimental Northrop Grumman X-47B, and is working to procure a fleet of carrier-based UAVs, referred to as the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) system.[35][36]
Roles
Naval aviation forces primarily perform naval roles at sea. However, they are also used for other tasks which vary between states. Common roles for such forces include:
Fleet air defense
Carrier-based naval aviation provides a country's seagoing forces with air cover over areas that may not be reachable by land-based aircraft, giving them a considerable advantage over navies composed primarily of surface combatants.
Strategic projection
Naval aviation also provides countries with the opportunity to deploy military aircraft over land and sea, without the need for air bases on land.
Mine countermeasures
Aircraft may be used to conduct
Anti-surface warfare
Aircraft operated by navies are also used in the anti-surface warfare (ASUW or ASuW) role, to attack enemy ships and other, surface combatants. This is generally conducted using air-launched anti-ship missiles.
Amphibious warfare
Naval aviation is also used as part of amphibious warfare. Aircraft based on naval ships provide support to marines and other forces performing amphibious landings. Ship-based aircraft may also be used to support amphibious forces as they move inland.
Maritime patrol
Naval aircraft are used for various maritime patrol missions, such as reconnaissance, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement.
Vertical replenishment
Vertical replenishment, or VERTREP is a method of supplying naval vessels at sea, by helicopter. This means moving cargo and supplies from supply ships to the flight decks of other naval vessels using naval helicopters.
Anti-submarine warfare
During the
Disaster relief
Naval aircraft are used to airlift supplies, insert specialized personnel (e.g. medical staff, relief workers), and evacuate persons in distress in the aftermath of natural disasters. Naval aircraft are vital in cases where traditional infrastructure to provide relief are destroyed or overtaxed in the wake of a disaster, such as when a region's airport is destroyed or overcrowded and the region cannot be effectively accessed by road or helicopter. The capability of ships to provide clean, fresh water which can be transported by helicopter to affected areas is also valuable. Naval aircraft played an important part in providing relief in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake and Typhoon Haiyan.
Current
- Argentine Naval Aviation (Argentine Navy)
- Fleet Air Arm (RAN) (Royal Australian Navy)
- Bangladesh Naval Aviation (Bangladesh Navy)
- Brazilian Naval Aviation (Brazilian Navy)
- People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy)
- Republic of China Naval Aviation Command (Republic of China Navy)
- Chilean Naval Aviation (Chilean Navy)
- Colombian Naval Aviation (Colombian Navy)
- Department of Aviation (United States Marine Corps)
- Flotilla de Aeronaves (FLOAN) (Spanish Navy)
- French Naval Aviation (French Navy)
- Marineflieger (German Navy)
- Navy Aviation Command (Hellenic Navy)
- Indian Naval Air Arm (Indian Navy)
- Indonesian Naval Aviation Center (Indonesian Navy)
- Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Aviation (Islamic Republic of Iran Navy)
- Italian Naval Aviation (Italian Navy)
- Fleet Air Force (Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)
- Air Wing Six (Republic of Korea Navy)
- Royal Malaysian Navy Aviation (Royal Malaysian Navy)
- Mexican Naval Aviation (Mexican Navy)
- Pakistan Naval Air Arm (Pakistan Navy)
- Peruvian Naval Aviation (Peruvian Navy)
- RAAF the Boeing P-8Aflies patrol for naval operations
- Portuguese Naval Aviation (Portuguese Navy)
- Russian Naval Aviation (Russian Navy)
- Royal Thai Naval Air Division (Royal Thai Navy)
- Turkish Navy)
- Ukrainian Naval Aviation (Ukrainian Navy)
- Fleet Air Arm (United Kingdom Royal Navy)
- United States Naval Air Forces (United States Navy)
- Naval Air Force (Vietnam People's Navy)
Former
- K.u.K. Seefliegerkorps (Austro-Hungarian Navy)
- Greece Navy)
- Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (Imperial Japanese Navy)
- Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (Royal Netherlands Navy)
- Royal Naval Air Service (UK Royal Navy)
- Soviet Naval Aviation (Soviet Navy)
See also
- Aerial warfare
- Army aviation
- List of naval air forces
- Military aviation
- Modern United States Navy carrier air operations
- Naval air squadron
References
- ^ "Fleet Air Arm History". Retrieved 2013-12-17.
- ISBN 9781409406129.
- ^ Roskill. The Naval Air Service. Vol. I. p. 6.
- ^ Gollin. Impact of Air Power on the British People and the Government. p. 168.
- ^ Roskill. The Naval Air Service. Vol. I. p. 33.
- ^ "France Naval Aviation". Retrieved 2012-12-17.
- ^ Times-Picayune. Our Aero Amphibian Fleet. John Elfreth Watkins. August 20, 1911. Page 1.
- ^ Roskill. The Naval Air Service. Vol. I. p. 37.
- ^ Roskill. The Naval Air Service. Vol. I. p. 70.
- ^ Roskill. The Naval Air Service. Vol. I. p. 138.
- ^ Roskill. The Naval Air Service. Vol. I. p. 156.
- ^ a b "Marineflieger: Als Wilhelm II. seiner Flotte das Fliegen befahl" Die Welt, 6 May 2013, (in German)
- ^ Hellenic Air Force History – Balkan Wars Archived 2009-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Layman. Naval Aviation in the First World War. p. 206.
- ^ a b GlobalSecurity.org. Military. TB Torpedo Bomber. T Torpedo and bombing. Retrieved on 29 September 2009.
- ^ Guinness Book of Air Facts and Feats (3rd ed.). 1977.
- ^ Wakamiya is "credited with conducting the first successful carrier air raid in history"Source:GlobalSecurity.org, also "the first air raid in history to result in a success" (here)
- ^ "Sabre et pinceau", Christian Polak, p92
- ^ IJN Wakamiya Aircraft Carrier
- ^ Micheal Clodfelter, Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015, 4th ed., McFarland, 2017, p. 430
- ^ Micheal Clodfelter, Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015, 4th ed., McFarland, 2017, p. 426
- ^ Georg Paul Neumann, Die deutschen Luftstreitkräfte im Weltkriege, E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin, 1920, p. 589
- ISBN 978-0-87021-210-9.
- ^ a b "HMS Furious 1917". Royal Navy. RN official web site. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
- ^ "Eugene Ely's Flight from USS Birmingham, 14 November 1910". U.S. Department of the Navy – Naval Historical Center. Archived from the original on 6 December 2002. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-84486-062-3.
- ^ Milanovich (2008), p. 17 ff..
- ISBN 1-55750-432-6.
- ^ Correll, John T. "Billy Mitchell and the Battleships" in Air Force Magazine, pp. 64 f. June 2008.
- Naval History & Heritage Command. The Naval Bombing Experiments: Bombing Operations Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine. 3 Apr 2007. Accessed 31 Dec 2010.
- ^ Boyne (2003), pp.227–8
- ^ "The angled flight deck". Sea Power Centre Australia. Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ "Using Simulation to Optimize Ski Jump Ramp Profiles for STOVL Aircraft". Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ Ernst, Douglas (19 August 2014). "Navy's X-47B drone completes 'key' carrier tests alongside F/A-18 Hornet". The Washington Times. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ Gallagher, Sean (23 April 2014). "Top Gun, robot-style: Navy moves ahead on carrier-based drone program". arstechnica. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ^ Waldron, Greg (25 October 2011). "Japan selects Northrop mine-hunting gear for MCH101 fleet". Flight International. Archived from the original on 10 November 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
Further reading
- Grosnick, Roy A. United States Naval Aviation 1910 - 1995 (4th ed. 1997) partly online. Full text (775 pages) public domain edition is also available online Archived 2014-12-16 at the Wayback Machine.
- Ireland, Bernard. The History of Aircraft Carriers: An authoritative guide to 100 years of aircraft carrier development (2008)
- Polmar, Norman. Aircraft carriers;: A graphic history of carrier aviation and its influence on world events (1969)
- Polmar, Norman. Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events (2nd ed. 2 vol 2006)
- Polmar, Norman, ed. Historic Naval Aircraft: The Best of "Naval History" Magazine (2004)
- Smith, Douglas, V. One Hundred Years of U.S. Navy Air Power (2010)
- Trimble, William F. Hero of the Air: Glenn Curtiss and the Birth of Naval Aviation (2010)
World War II
- King, Dan, ed. The Last Zero Fighter: Firsthand Accounts from WWII Japanese Naval Pilots (2012) excerpt and text search
- Lundstrom, John B. The First Team: Pacific Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway (2005) excerpt and text search
- Reynolds, Clark G., The fast carriers: the forging of an air navy (3rd ed. 1992)
- Reynolds, Clark G. On the Warpath in the Pacific: Admiral Jocko Clark and the Fast Carriers (2005) excerpt and text search
- Symonds, Craig L. The Battle of Midway (2011) excerpt and text search
- Tillman, Barrett. Enterprise: America's Fightingest Ship and the Men Who Helped Win World War II (2012) excerpt and text search
External links
Media related to Naval aviation at Wikimedia Commons
- United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995 Archived 2014-12-16 at the Naval Historical Center