The Fleet Air Arm and Royal Naval Air Service in 100 Objects

Only six years after man had successfully flown for the first time with controlled, powered flight in 1903, the Royal Navy could already see the potential of taking flying machines to sea. Initially used to extend the view from the ship’s crow’s nest, the aircraft at sea would become one of the most influential strides forward in the history of the Royal Navy.

From aircraft and technology to training, language and recreation, the flying branch of the Royal Navy has long had its own specific set of objects, rules and traditions. Delving in to the official archives of the Fleet Air Arm Museum and the wider National Museum of the Royal Navy, David Morris tells this incredible story through a selection of 100 significant objects.