The Disastrous Fall and Triumphant Rise of the Fleet Air Arm from 1912 to 1945

Former FAA Fighter Pilot Henry Adlam critiques the Fleet Air Arm's policy across two world wars, logging milestones, mistakes, and successes. He argues that the service was led by Sea Eagles led by Penguins, resulting in disasters and a triumphant turnaround. The book offers engaging new insights and critical candor, setting it apart from other Fleet Air Arm histories.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 30 July 2022
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

In this captivating critique of the Fleet Air Arm's policy across two world wars, former FAA Fighter Pilot Henry Adlam charts the course of its history from 1912 to 1945, logging the various milestones, mistakes, and successes that characterized the service history of the Fleet Air Arm. Offering criticism on the service hierarchies that made up the Fleet, backed up by his having served in six Carriers and flown from them in all five theaters of sea warfare during five years of the Second World War, Adlam presents a highly entertaining and potentially controversial study that is sure to appeal to a wide array of aviation enthusiasts.

Adlam charts the catalogue of errors that blighted the history of the Naval Air Service, which followed the disastrous decision in April 1918 to transfer the whole of the Air Service of the Royal Navy to form the new RAF. The main and overriding criticism that the author finds with the Fleet Air Arm lies in the manner in which it was led. Adapting the oft-quoted Lions led by Donkeys description of the British Army, Adlam describes the activities of the Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War as the result of Sea Eagles led by Penguins practices, when experienced pilots were led into battle by senior members of the Navy who possessed little or no flying experience. This led to a whole host of disasters costing many lives amongst flight personnel.

Adlam charts the errors that blighted the history of the Fleet Air Arm and shows how its recovery and the triumphant turnaround of its fortunes were all the more remarkable. Taking the reader on a journey from inception during First World War service, throughout all the many disasters and successes that followed between the Wars and on into the Second World War and beyond, this book offers engaging new insights into the history of the Fleet Air Arm and its role in the defense of the British Empire.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399074902