Fleet Air Arm With The British Pacific Fleet

Discussions on WW2 in the Pacific and the Sino-Japanese War.
Post Reply
User avatar
Pips
Member
Posts: 1280
Joined: 26 Jun 2005, 09:44
Location: Country NSW, Australia

Fleet Air Arm With The British Pacific Fleet

#1

Post by Pips » 16 Jan 2023, 00:58

Have a question regarding the Fleet Air Arm operations on board British Carriers in the Pacific.

As I understand it, the British didn't operate dedicated CAG's, that rotated onto and off the Carrier after a set period or tour (roughly six months), as the USN did.

Rather Squadrons were allocated to a Carrier for the period of that Carriers deployment in the Pacific, roughly from end 1944 to the end of the Pacific War. So instead of rotating units after a set period, the Squadrons (and personnel) continued to fly operations until they either broke down under the stress, were wounded, promoted or killed. Replacements were flown in to replace losses.

Is this correct?

EwenS
Member
Posts: 446
Joined: 04 May 2020, 12:37
Location: Scotland

Re: Fleet Air Arm With The British Pacific Fleet

#2

Post by EwenS » 16 Jan 2023, 15:06

Firstly USN policy on rotating CAGs was only set in early 1944, this being after the big USN carrier Task Forces began to form at the end of 1943. Nimitz directed that there should be 1.67 CAGs for each commissioned carrier. Initially CAG tours were 6-9 months, only reducing to 6 and sometimes even 4 from late 1944 when the Philippines campaign and subsequent operations saw increasing pilot fatigue as the tempo of operations increased. At that point the number of CAGs was increased to 2 per carrier. But each of these changes had a knock on effect on the aircrew training programmes. 1944 first saw a reduction mid-year followed by an increase later in the year. This final increase was required to allow for both the increased number of CAGs and their reduced length of service aboard ship.

And while entire CAGs might be replaced periodically, individual aircrew within the Group might be replaced during replenishment operations to make up for losses or crew suffering undue strain for one reason or another. If that had not occurred the strength of each CAG would have been eroded over its tour.

RN policy changed several times during WW2. But aircrew were not simply kept on the front line until worn out, wounded, promoted or killed. But the nature of FAA operations prior to 1945 was different from those that the USN began to experience from late 1943 as its carrier forces built up.

From mid-1943 FAA squadrons were formed into Wings.

TBR wings on the fleet carries were of two squadrons with one Wing allocated to each ship. In Sept/Oct 1944 the squadrons in each Wing were amalgamated into a single larger squadron.

Naval Fighter Wings consisted to 2-4 squadrons. Those allocated to the fleet carriers had two.

The squadrons in the fleet carriers of the BPF had generally formed between mid-1943 and mid-1944. They began to go aboard their parent carriers from early 1944 as each commissioned or completed refit. But their tempo of operations in 1944 was far less than that of the the USN in the same period, so the strain on the aircrews was correspondingly less. That was coupled with various reorganisations amongst the fighter squadrons in 1944 to increase their overall size, saw new blood being introduced to those on the front line from spare squadrons.

The carrier with the air group with the longest service was Illustrious. Her fighter squadrons had first embarked in Dec 1943 and by the time of her operations in the Pacific, some of these pilots were feeling the strain, as they had begun operations in March 1944 and had had little break since then. But had Formidable not been delayed by machinery trouble I believe that she would never have been sent to the Pacific in the first place as she was badly in need of a refit herself.

In 1944 the Admiralty recognised that with a forthcoming increase in tempo of operations in the Pacific they would need to change the policy used hitherto. Accordingly they planned to move to a USN style of CAGs with their planned replacement every six months. But that had to wait until aircrew training could be built up and the end of the war in Europe to free up enough squadrons to permit it to happen. The plan was for 100% replacement CAGs for the fleet carriers and 50% for the light fleet carriers, then about to enter service.

So on 30 June 1945 the first British CAGs were formed from the various Wings and squadrons already on the carriers in the BPF.

1st CAG on Victorious
2nd CAG on Formidable
3rd CAG a spare from squadrons already in Australia probably for Victorious, which was due a refit prior to Operation Olympic.
7th CAG on Indefatigable
8th CAG on Implacable
11th CAG on Indomitable
13th CAG on Vengeance
14th CAG on Colossus
15th CAG on Venerable
16th CAG on Glory

Plans were well advanced to form CAG Numbers 4,5,6 as replacement CAGs for Illustrious, Victorious & Formidable, 9 & 10 for Indefatigable & Implacable and 12 for Indomitable, plus 17 & 18 for the light fleets. Squadrons existed, mostly in the U.K., to fill most of the slots in these CAGs with many having formed in the latter half of 1944 and during 1945.

With the exception of the squadrons on Illustrious most of the FAA squadrons that went to the Pacific were relatively fresh. Formidable’s squadrons saw no action between Aug 1944 & April 1945. Implacable’s saw none between Dec 1944 & June 1945. Indomitable’s first saw combat in July 1944.

In 1944 the RN carriers were engaged in operations that involved striking targets in specific operations and then retiring to base. Operations like Tungsten & Goodwood against the Tirpitz in home waters and the various strikes that occurred in the Indian Ocean. It was only when they began operations in Operation Iceberg off the Sakishima Gunto that they had to remain on station for extended periods striking targets for 2-3 days at a time before retiring to replenish at sea.


User avatar
Pips
Member
Posts: 1280
Joined: 26 Jun 2005, 09:44
Location: Country NSW, Australia

Re: Fleet Air Arm With The British Pacific Fleet

#3

Post by Pips » 17 Jan 2023, 00:42

Thanks for that Ewan.

Fatboy Coxy
Member
Posts: 872
Joined: 26 Jul 2009, 17:14
Location: Essex, UK

Re: Fleet Air Arm With The British Pacific Fleet

#4

Post by Fatboy Coxy » 18 Jan 2023, 10:14

EwenS wrote:
16 Jan 2023, 15:06

From mid-1943 FAA squadrons were formed into Wings.
Hi Ewan, am I wrong in thinking the FAA formed some land based squadrons in "Naval Air Wings" prior to 1943?
Regards
Fatboy Coxy

Currently writing https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/ ... if.521982/

EwenS
Member
Posts: 446
Joined: 04 May 2020, 12:37
Location: Scotland

Re: Fleet Air Arm With The British Pacific Fleet

#5

Post by EwenS » 18 Jan 2023, 13:34

Fatboy Coxy wrote:
18 Jan 2023, 10:14
EwenS wrote:
16 Jan 2023, 15:06

From mid-1943 FAA squadrons were formed into Wings.
Hi Ewan, am I wrong in thinking the FAA formed some land based squadrons in "Naval Air Wings" prior to 1943?
There were a couple of occasions in the Med in 1941/42 where FAA squadrons “combined” or “pooled” their resources while retaining their separate identities. This was through shortage of aircraft. But they were only considered “Squadrons” not “Wings”. So there was:-

Naval Air Squadron Malta - described in “Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm” as

“A temporary amalgamation for operational purposes of 828 and 830 at Hal Far March-December 1942.”

830 had formed at Malta in June 1940 from a deck landing training squadron based in the south of France, with Swordfish. It was joined on Malta in Oct 1941 by 828 with Albacores. Both squadrons had been operating together because the Swordfish got radar before the Albacores, and would be used to locate targets for the Albacores. But by March 1942, 830 was down to about 3 serviceable aircraft. From Dec 1942 all the resources were devoted to 828, and 830 became a paper organisation until formally disbanded in March 1943.

RN Fighter Squadron - described as “A temporary amalgamation of 803, 805, and 806 Sqns at Dekheila on 2 August 1941, for operations in the Western Desert, with a total of 16 Hurricanes and 8 Martlets.....which regained their own identities in February 1942.”

Hobbs in “Taranto and Naval Air Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1940-1945” notes that the three squadrons were “reorganised as a Naval Fighter Squadron in Aug 1941 under the command of Lieutenant Commander AF Black RN of 805 NAS, although each squadron preserved its own identity.” Much of their work related to providing air cover for coastal movements.

In Feb 1942 803 & 806 were withdrawn, re-equipped with Fulmar II and sent to Ceylon just in time to defend the island from Japanese attack.

Fatboy Coxy
Member
Posts: 872
Joined: 26 Jul 2009, 17:14
Location: Essex, UK

Re: Fleet Air Arm With The British Pacific Fleet

#6

Post by Fatboy Coxy » 20 Jan 2023, 19:40

Hi Ewan, don't know if you have a copy of Osprey Elite series, no 165, The British Fleet Air Arm in World War II.

Under a section called Command Structure, sub section Embarked air groups, they write

As with squadron personnel, AFOs also laid down the numbers of FAA executive personnel embarked on each carrier. The table at the top of page 24 details the composition of the executive of the air groups embarked on the four carriers in service in 1939. (these are Eagle, Ark Royal Glorious and Furious) A third officer would join the carrier executive later in the war - the 'wing leader'

Its not detailed very well, the writing before has been discussing AFO (Admiralty Fleet Orders) 1939, and the change from RAF control.

It then goes on to say
Emulating the RAF, the Fleet Air Arm would group several squadrons together into a wing, normally led by an RN lieutenant commander but sometimes by a Royal Marine major. Whereas RAF wings were usually composed of three squadrons, naval wings were much more variable depending on assets available, with some wings having as many as five squadrons, and some a single squadron. To avoid confusion with the RAF, FAA wings were given the prefix 'Naval' and also named after their role.- e.g. 7th Naval Fighter Wing, or 11th Naval TBR Wing.
From June 1945 the British Pacific Fleet adopted the American practice of squadrons being formed together into Carrier Air Groups, normally led
by a commander but in some cases by a lieutenant commander or Royal Marine major.

All as clear as mud to me!
Regards
Fatboy Coxy

Currently writing https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/ ... if.521982/

EwenS
Member
Posts: 446
Joined: 04 May 2020, 12:37
Location: Scotland

Re: Fleet Air Arm With The British Pacific Fleet

#7

Post by EwenS » 20 Jan 2023, 23:27

Cody
I don’t have a copy of that Osprey book. But this might help.

From the 1920s there was a command structure ON the carrier and separate from the flights / squadrons. In those days the squadrons were RAF and about 50% of the pilots. While aboard ship they were under the control of the RN. So a structure had to exist in the ship to control them, plan missions and advise the ship’s captain in relation to the operation of those aircraft as well as supporting their operations. Since then such a shipboard organisation has existed and remains in existence on carriers to this day, although the individual functions might have changed a bit over the years.

So this would be led by a Commander Flying acting as the aviation advisor to the ship’s Captain and in overall charge of aviation matters on the carrier. Under him would be a Lieutenant Commander (Flying) (often referred to as “Little F”) responsible for flight deck operations. There would also be a couple of deck landing control officers (DLCO or batsmen). And there would be a staff to support them including such as meteorologists and even medical staff. Responsibilities would include planning air operations and briefing the aircrew in the individual squadrons as well as supervising all flight deck and hangar deck aircraft movements.

Some of the aircrew from Taranto rose to these kinds of positions by 1944/45. Charles Lamb, who piloted a Swordfish at Taranto, for example spent time as Lt Cdr (Flying) on Indefatigable and then Implacable in 1944/45, before being injured in a flight deck accident in June 1945 during the attack on Truk. Another was “Percy” Gick decorated for his actions during the Bismarck chase who in 1944 became Lt Cdr (Flying) on Vindex, before becoming the Air Group Commander of 15th CAG on Venerable.

These positions are separate from the flight/squadron/wing flying roles which might move around different carriers over time.

7th Naval Fighter Wing formed on 30 Oct 1943 at Eglinton in Northern Ireland to control the following squadrons on the carriers noted:-
800 & 804 Hellcat on Emperor
881 & 896 Wildcat on Pursuer
882 & 898 Wildcat on Searcher

By June 1944 having 2 squadrons on each carrier was found unwieldy so the squadrons on each ship were amalgamated into a single larger double strength squadron and 804, 896 & 898 disbanded. The Wing itself disbanded in Dec 1944 as the squadrons were reallocated elsewhere. 800 went to the 3rd NFW.

11th Naval TBR Wing was formed at Ulunderpet in southern India in April 1944 from renumbering 45th Naval TBR Wing with 822 & 823 Barracuda squadrons. The 45th had formed in October 1943 and was originally intended for Indefatigable. But with Indefatigable delivered late and the the panic over Japanese fleet move to Singapore in Jan/Feb 1944 the Wing was shipped out to India. The squadrons were amalgamated in July 1944 when the Wing itself was disbanded.

Fatboy Coxy
Member
Posts: 872
Joined: 26 Jul 2009, 17:14
Location: Essex, UK

Re: Fleet Air Arm With The British Pacific Fleet

#8

Post by Fatboy Coxy » 21 Jan 2023, 11:47

Thank you Ewan, that's most helpful
Regards
Fatboy Coxy

Currently writing https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/ ... if.521982/

Post Reply

Return to “WW2 in the Pacific & Asia”