Devoid of conventional aircraft carriers and relying on land-based RAF assets for protection, in the late 1970s the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm found itself without a fixed-wing fighter for the first time in its history. Bertie Simmonds discovers that, thankfully, it wasn’t for long
By the late 1970s, Britain’s ability to project power and guarantee the safety of its assets and allies abroad was hampered by the retirement of the Royal Navy’s carriers and its conventional fixed-wing fighter and attack force.
