FLY NAVY HERITAGE DAY
RNAS YEOVILTON
SATURDAY 21ST JUNE 2003

The Swordfish Hall was packed when members of the FAAOA, invited guests and the FAA Squadron gathered to hear Commodore Bill Covington ( CO, RNAS Yeovilton) give a welcoming brief on this Heritage Day of the Fly Navy Heritage Trust. The Trust includes the RN Historic Flight, the FAA Museum and the FAA Memorial church St. Bartholomews.

Rear Admiral Scott Lidbetter, Flag Officer Maritime Air and also chairman of the Fly Navy Heritage Trust then addressed the gathering. He gave a resumé of the present “state of the nation” as regards the FAA, the composition, the responsibilities, the tasks and the future of the Fleet Air Arm, with particular emphasis on the vital need to inform youngsters as to the exciting and rewarding life available to them as possible future naval aviators. He asked everybody present to help with recruiting young people to the cause.

Commander David Hobbs MBE RN (rtd) curator of the FAA Museum and possessor of an encyclopaedic knowledge of naval aviation history gave a brief illuminated glimpse of the exciting and perilous early days of carrier flying and of the early carriers.

Commander Chris Alcock (Cmdr. Air HMS Ark Royal) who had just flown in to Yeovilton by Merlin from Ark Royal in Lyme Bay, then gave a run down on Arks operations in the Gulf in Exercise Telec. She and Ocean had operated as assault helicopter carriers close to the southern Iraqi coast whilst off loading commandos and providing essential back up. (Shades of Bulwark, 848 Squadron and 42 Commando, Kuwait, 42 years ago! )

Now eighty years on from Commander Hobbs talk on early days, Commander Steve Greaves RN who is the CVF Aviation Manager, gave us, with the aid of a magnificent model and illustrations, a run down on the two future carriers which make even the Indefatigable class carriers of WW11 look small. (It is the authors hope that the two new carriers may be named Courageous and Glorious in memory of the two gallant carriers lost in the early days of WW11.) This fascinating talk also covered the brief history of the Joint Strike Fighter and the background to the choice of the Lockheed Martin version as opposed to the Boeing design.

The Conrod Trophy is awarded annually to the organisation or individual that has, in the opinion of the Council of the Historic Aircraft Association, made a major contribution to Aviation Heritage.This year the trophy was awarded to the RN Historic Flight and was to be presented on this Heritage Day. Unfortunately the RAF officer who was to have presented the trophy was unable to be present, and the trophy will instead be presented at the Culdrose Air Day (July 16th).

During the day members of the Bentley Drivers Club had been arriving for their rally on the hardstanding behind the Museum. Possibly 200+ of these magnificent cars both vintage (or should it be veteran ?) 1920’s – 1930’s and the very latest marks made a wonderful, nostalgic and extremely valuable display.

The highlight of the day for which all were transported by ‘bus to the Tower was a race down 09 runway between the Swordfish and a vintage racing Bentley . The race was to take the form of two timed runs down the runway from a standing start, one by the Swordfish and another by the Bentley. The result was that the Bentley completed its run in 40.5 seconds and the Swordfish (hurrah !) in one second less ! The finale was a run by the Bentley with the Swordfish ‘formating’ on it down the runway. Great fun, but unfortunately due to safety regulations, rather too far away.
The Historic Flight aircraft, - Swordfish, Firefly, Sea Hawk and Sea Fury will be working very hard this summer from April 17th until 20th September taking part in events all over the country.

Squadron members will be very, very sad to hear of the Firefly accident at Duxford in which the pilot Lt/Cmdr Bill Murton and Neil Rix lost their lives and we offer our condolences to their families and to the Historic Flight.

Squadron members who flew in to Yeovilton were Dennis Stanley, Bernard Maslin, Gregory Moor, Leo Baker, Ron Dobree-Carey, Martin and Simon Laver, Michael Bonham Cozens, Michael and Charmian Ryan, Nigel de Candole, Peter Lovegrove, Roger Richardson Bunbury, Philip Cardew, Tony Ashmead and Ian Normand, John Eatwell, Nicholas and Charles Corcoran, Andrew Eames, Neville and Gwen Duke, Mike Crosley, - and we welcomed our new member Alan Bristow who flew in piloted by his instrument rated wife Heather, in a fine looking Kingair C90A. Apologies for any names omitted.

Report and photographs by Ron Dobree-Carey.
Any views expressed by the author are his own and may not reflect those of the Squadron or the FAA.