Deck Trials with the Fleet Air Arm - Crash Landings! Hellcat, Mosquito, Swordfish and more!

Trials with the RAE and the Fleet Air Arm. Unfortunately, not all landings are successful! Featured aircraft include the DH9, Albacore, Hellcat, Firebrand, Mosquito, Swordfish, Firefly and Sturgeon.
For more information about the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) visit our website airsciences.org.uk

[@derekbroadhurst1123]

Fantastic clips I have never seen some of the aircraft types before. Just shows how much effort went into the perfecting of the art of landing on deck.

[@FASTAviationArchive]

Couldn't agree more! Glad there was some new aircraft for you.

[@anderspedersen7488]

To be the guy with the paddles waving the mosquito down, I think I would have preferred a position a little more forward in the ship.

[@arthurthomasware5004]

I can recall how, on the aircraft carrier, HMAS Sydney, in 1955, there was a call for volunteers to train as radio operators on the new Fairey Gannets. The recruiting officer was a firebrand of enthusiasm. Surely there'd be a rush to sign up. Not so! Among the twenty or so of us radio operators asked if we'd like to join, not one arm was raised. Not a man wanted the job! Of course, all the photographs of aircraft crashes on board, which could be brought from the ship's canteen, might have had some affect on those decisions.

[@FASTAviationArchive]

Would you like to see some Fairy Gannet deck trial footage?

[@trooperdgb9722]

And of course SYDNEY retained the straight deck throughout her service (unlike MELBOURNE which was upgraded..) Not fun in something as big as a Gannet I imagine! Interesting to hear an anecdote from her time as a CARRIER, as all the people I know (Navy and Army) only knew her as the Vung Tau ferry... BZ! lol

[@jkaposi]

Some incredibly rare stuff here.

[@jurgenhelgen212]

Beautiful video that allows us to see the history of British naval aviation. 🇬🇧 I appreciate your work on this channel. 🙇‍♂️ Best regards from DK ! 🙋‍♂️ J H 🇩🇰

[@FASTAviationArchive]

Thank you Jurgen Helgen.

[@jurgenhelgen212]

@@FASTAviationArchive : 😉 👍 😎 🇬🇧 J H 🇩🇰

[@donaldbest1295]

Very much enjoy your videos. Most I have never seen before. Subscribed. Cheers from Ontario Canada.

[@FASTAviationArchive]

Thank you, glad to have you on board!

[@tedmustard2798]

At 3:56 there is a brief clip of a Bell Airacobra in RAF(?) markings equipped with a hook. Has anyone any info on this trial/project.

[@ianmunro1427]

Eric Brown used an Airacobra for some time, as mentioned in his book "Wings on my sleeve".

[@tedmustard2798]

@@ianmunro1427 Thanks. The Airacobra shown has a hook fitted. Was this a UK mod or was the hook installation from the Airabonita (tail wheel variant for US Navy) used, I wonder.

[@richuar]

That will be AH574 an RAF Airacobra that was passed to the navy for carrier deck trials to assess the suitability of tricycle undercarriage aircraft for carrier use. The modifications were done in the UK and for quite a while after the trials the aircraft was used by Eric “Winkle” Brown as his personal aircraft. It was later scrapped after an inspection by an engineer from Bell aircraft who found it to be somewhat clapped out from all it’s use and abuse!

[@marioacevedo5077]

@@richuar I'm amazed by all the details that pop up in the comments.

[@HomeAtLast501]

It seems that these techniques could have initially been tested more safely on a terrestrial runway.

[@FASTAviationArchive]

They usually were initially, but eventually there came a point when they actually had to land it on deck at sea.

[@HomeAtLast501]

@@FASTAviationArchive Of course, if they tested on land they eventually would have to switch to an actual carrier. However, the problems we're seeing in this video should have been identified and solved on land prior to shifting to carrier testing, including the cables stretching and snapping, the hook bouncing over the retaining cables, wheel supports collapsing, etc. So I'm doubtful that your claim is correct.

[@FASTAviationArchive]

@@HomeAtLast501 we have footage of ground trials with arrestor gear prior to conducting deck trials.

[@HomeAtLast501]

@@FASTAviationArchive Like I said, they clearly didn't solve problems that could have been solved prior to deck trials, so it's hard to believe.

[@HomeAtLast501]

@@FASTAviationArchive Take for example the problem you see with two of the landings ---- the landing gear collapsing due to a combination of steep landing angle and touchdown speed. That easily would have been tested on a terrestrial runway by simply putting paint lines delineating the beginning and end of the carrier, which would, dictate appropriate landing speeds and angles. The gear would have collapsed on some of the planes during terrestrial testing, and they would have either tried to test alternate speed and angle, or, have worked on redesigning landing gear to survive the landings intact.

[@hczylos2432]

3:15 Evidence that the camera man does indeed not have immunity.