So many eminent writers have written excellent books about the Swordfish and the actions for which it is most famous - Taranto, Bismarck, Channel Dash etc. 

The Swordfish is known for these actions, but they far from define its capability.

We have concentrated on the aircraft, its versatility, its ability to operate in conditions where others couldn't and, most importantly, its crews. All this with reference to its operational tasking and environment rather than specific actions.

We have drawn on a range of sources, but in particular the autobiographies of a number of Swordfish crew members.

It's crammed with over 40 pages of information and pictures and we hope you find it a fascinating read..........and it's free!

We hope you enjoy it.

We certainly think so!

Bespoke design hand drawn & digitally mastered using DTG technology which limits cracking & fading of the image thus ensuring a longer lasting fresh design. 

Cartoon aviation theme available in a variety of colours.

Fabric: 100% Organic combed ringspun cotton
Weight: 140gsm

Recommended washing at 40 degrees or below , do not dry clean.

Please allow 5-7 working days for dispatch - as this item is printed to order.

The Pinger community are rightly proud of their role and service as well as their 'cab', the Sea King that served us so well.

 A quality navy blue T shirt you can wear for many years.

...Aircraft & Events as recorded in official documents.

It's unbelievable to see how much fascinating detail has been packed into this tome. It draws on 5 key documents.

1) Diary of Important Operations, Flanders, 1916
2) Disposition of Aircraft, 24 February, 1917
3) Royal Naval Air Service Communiques Nos 1 to 14;
4) Truing up of Aeroplanes: Issued by the Air Department Sept 1st, 1916.
5) The Grain drawings

This unique treasure trove of visual reference will appeal to historians, students and enthusiasts.

Hardback.

Written by veteran Fleet Air Arm helicopter pilot Larry Jeram-Croft, these 364 pages tell the story of a very capable, highly respected and much loved naval aircraft. Based primarily on the words of those who flew and maintained it. Essential reading for anyone interested in an aircraft that contributed so much in a wide variety of roles. 

 Hardback.

""The art of command is...to be the complete master, and yet the complete friend of every man on board; the temporal lord and yet the spiritual brother of every rating; to be detached and yet not dissociated.'
This Officer's Handbook gathers together useful advice and instruction for those naval officers fighting the Second World War on all aspects of their job, expressed in the benevolent language of the day, when authority was respected.
The Handbook has been compiled and edited by Brian Lavery, who provides commentary and an introduction. Sections include: the Officer's Aid Memoire containing notes of the training course at one of the officer training schools; Notes for medical officers and treatment of battle casualties afloat; Notes for captains on taking command of their first ship; Notes for commanding officers; Notes on the handling and safety of ships and notes on dealing with disobedience and mutiny.
While suffused with nostalgia and charm, the various contents of this book are an authentic presentation of matters of training, authority and deportment in the wartime navy. The book is sure to appeal not only to those who served in the war or had a relative who was in the officer class, but also to anyone who wants to gain a greater understanding of the day-to-day administration of the wartime navy.

'In the few short years after 1914 the Royal Navy practically invented Naval Warfare, not only producing the first effective aircraft carriers, but also pioneering most of the techniques and tactics that made Naval air power a reality.' This is a details book about the operational and technical achievements of the RNAS, the operations, the technology that underpinned them and the people who carried them out - all during a revolutionary period of development that changed naval warfare globally forever.

Hardback.

Comics normally feature the unbelievable or the fantasy superhero. 'The Stringbags' features both of those - the unbelievable achievements of the World War Two Swordfish and the heroism of their crews.

Produced in graphic form, this excellent book is superbly illustrated. Both writer and artist have paid a great deal of attention to detail as they portray events in which the Fairey Swordfish played a pivotal role - The Battle of Taranto, the sinking of the Bismarck and the Channel Dash etc. 

Written and illustrated by a multi award winning team who have worked with DC and Marvel!

Young or old, the graphic presentation enhances the pithy narrative rather than detracting from it.

Comic in format, but not in content. Very much like the FAA itself, this book has real heart and deals well with being simultaneously academic, informative, entertaining, respectful, reverential and emotive.

A4 Hardback

Images are from The Stringbags by Garth Ennis and PJ Holden (Dead Reckoning, 2020) and are used with publisher permission.

Aerial attack by Zeppelin was a daunting spectre in Britain as the prospect of war came closer. After hostilities commenced the Royal Naval Air Service had the responsibility of attacking the Zeppelins in their hangars where they were most vulnerable. This was Britain's first strategic bombing campaign.

Paperback.

This is the true story of Commander R 'Mike' Crosley, a Seafire pilot during WW II. 

An amazing account of a Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot who began serving on HMS Eagle on the Malta convoy run. He graduated to flying the Supermarine Seafire & by the end of the war he had command of his own squadron. The author describes in vivid detail his experiences, both the excitement and the terror of flying a superb aircraft in combat. 

Hooks that fold away are invaluable where space is precious.

Isn't it true that the coat you want to wear is always the one that is buried under two others?

These all-brass hooks are sturdy with independently swivelling arms. Great quality and extremely effective in helping to keep your coats, bags, dog leads etc organised in less space.

Brilliant on board or at home. Highly recommended!

So many stories are represented by a crest that may have been a centrepiece in a Ship's Wardroom for decades.

This is the original high quality embroidered badge that was officially supplied to the Royal Navy.

Approx 14 x 6cm.

All proceeds contribute to Navy Wings, keeping important historical aircraft flying.

A 30mm training or 'ballast' round mounted on a solid wood plaque. These rounds, identical in size and weight to the real thing, were used in armourers drill to replicate the feel of the real thing when practicing arming an aircraft. They also enabled pilots to fly an aircraft weighted as if fully armed.

30mm cannon rounds were used in the Aden cannon that were a feature of almost every British cannon carrying aircraft from the Hawker Hunter until the Tornado. 

NB The plaque is for illustration purposes only.

It could easily be wall mounted and repurposed with hooks as a key holder or with fittings/holes as a pen holder for your desk. 

Presented with belt clip.

Dimensions: 14 x 28cm

We've just received a small delivery of badges for USAAF squadrons. As always, these are big, bold and eye catching. Ideal if you're a collector of hard to find memorabilia. We have just 1 of each. 

Paperback.

Marvellously colourful first hand stories about the 'Jungly' Squadrons and their missions. Often out of the limelight, the rotary wing of the FAA plays a vital role, both aggressive and supportive, ship to ship, ship to sea and ship to land. So much of what the Navy and Fleet Air Arm have achieved, and continue to achieve, is the result of the rotary wing units.

As HRH Prince Charles puts in in his introduction -

'Over the years, both in peace time and in war, the Junglies have earned an enviable reputation for 'getting the job done'; a reputation as justified in the current theatres of conflict as it was in those early days in the jungles of Borneo. This has called for qualities which we readily associate with the Junglie: determination, resourcefulness, quick thinking and courage, all of which I witnessed in abundance during my time in 845 (SQN). The other ubiquitous quality I greatly enjoyed was the Junglies' irrepressible sense of humour, examples of which are much in evidence in this book.

The book, I feel sure, only scratches the surface of the veritable mine of Jungly tales, some no doubt apocryphal, some very slightly embellished, but all definitely worthy of re-telling. I warmly commend it to you.'

Collated by (the legendary) veteran pilot John Beattie, edited by Rick Jolly and with illustrations courtesy of Lee Howard.

Fleet Air arm classic aircraft -  View From The Cockpit series is now discontinued ONLY Firebrand left !

An extraordinary collection of facts, illustrations and narrative. Packed with technical detail and commentary from those who flew and maintained these classic aircraft. A must for aircraft enthusiasts.

Paperback.

British built Nimrod entered service with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm in 1932 on HMS Glorious.

Bespoke design hand drawn & digitally mastered using DTG technology which limits cracking & fading of the image thus ensuring a longer lasting fresh design. 

Cartoon aviation theme available in a variety of colours.

Fabric: 100% Organic combed ringspun cotton
Weight: 140gsm

Recommended washing at 40 degrees or below , do not dry clean.

Please allow 5-7 working days for dispatch - as this item is printed to order.

A series of wonderful reminiscences taken from aircrew and maintainers of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. These are the personal details that fill in the gaps of the historical timeline. We know what happened, but this tells us what it was like to be part of it.

Hardback.

Taken from the Archives of the Fleet Air Arm Museum, these reminiscences add the personal element to the historical data and illustrate the tremendously changing circumstances of the Fleet Air Arm from formation to Cold War.  'What emerges from these pages is a particular spirit, peculiar to the Fleet Air Arm and reflecting its somewhat hybrid nature; a spirit derived from a high level of professional competence combined with a certain irreverence towards authority'.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Aviation; Illustrated edition (18 April 2013)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9781781590928
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.03 x 2.87 x 24.16 cm

The Fleet Air Arm surmounted the difficulties that initially made this a very difficult carrier aircraft and transformed it into a winner. The classic gull wing shape of this extremely powerful and very effective late war fighter bomber is captured in detail in this diecast model.

This is a Limited Edition of just 900 models worldwide.

Don Sheppard was the only Fleet Air Arm Corsair Ace of WWII.

Applying to join the Fleet Air Arm at just 18 years old, Canadian pilot Donald Sheppard made his first operational sorties in support of Britain’s attempts to destroy the German battleship Tirpitz at the end of March 1944. He was aboard his home carrier HMS Victorious as she later traded the icy waters of the North Sea for a new assignment in the Far East, where the Indian Ocean saw Sheppard develop from a talented novice pilot into an air ace, one of only two Canadian Navy aces and the Fleet Air Arm’s only Corsair ace of the Second World War. 

Extract...

July 4, 1945 - A Toronto pilot of the Fleet Air Arm, Lieut. Donald J. Sheppard, Weybourne Cres., has shot down his fourth Japanese plane in the recent British Pacific Fleet attacks on the Ryukyu Islands in the Pacific. Lieut Sheppard, whose first operation with the Fleet Air Arm was in the attack on the German battle ship Tirpitz, bagged the Japanese plane after a 20-mile chase at 20,000 feet. The enemy plane blew up as Sheppard closed in and he was going so fast that he flew through the flames of the exploding plane, burning the elevators and tail of his Corsair.

This is a detailed diecast model (1/72) in its livery as it flew from HMS Victorious during the Battle of Okinawa on the 4th of May 1945.

Commander Charles Lamb was always in the thick of the action from the sinking of Courageous, through attacking E boats at Dunkirk, pathfinding for the raid on Taranto attacking shipping in the Mediterranean and the defence of Malta.

'This is a rare tale of determination, action and spirit by a man who was an inspiration to those around him. There is no finer account of war in the Fleet Air Arm'.

Paperback.

A really good cup of coffee is one of life's great pleasures and this is really good coffee. 

We've partnered with the Warbird Coffee Company who are aficionados with two passions - providing high quality real coffee and supporting heritage aircraft.

Stringbag coffee is sourced from Lake Toba, in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia,. The beans are parted from their fruit using the local technique called Giling Basoh or 'wet grinding' which imparts wonderful earthy tones into the coffee. This helps to create the smoky, spicy aromas for which Indonesian coffee is so highly regarded. 

Available in a variety of grinds, the taste is bold, complex and full of character. Perfect whether it's to get the wheels turning in the morning or to round off an evening meal with friends. 

Warbird Coffee Co will make a donation to Navy Wings for every bag of Stringbag coffee sold.

You enjoy great coffee and every cup you drink helps keep heritage aircraft in the sky. Perfect!

 To enjoy great coffee:

Don't use boiling water.

Allow it to sit for 3-5 minutes before pouring

Use the equivalent of a rounded dessert spoon/person. e.g. 4 rounded dessert spoons  in a 1.5pint cafetiere.

NB Regrettably, we are unable to supply USA or Canada due to international coffee trading restrictions.

Swordfish images courtesy of Lee Howard.