8:00am Friday 3rd July 2009
By Steve Sowden
THE Duke of Edinburgh will be at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton today to officially open a new exhibition celebrating 100 years of naval aviation.
In 1909, the Royal Navy commissioned its first aircraft. Called Mayfly, this was a gigantic 512ft long airship. Its purpose was to exploit its ability to climb above the sea and see over the horizon.
Surface shipping can only see four miles to the horizon but an airship flying at up to 5,000 feet can see over 95 miles.
Sadly, the size of the Mayfly was its downfall and it broke in two during its second tests.
Undaunted, the Royal Navy continued to develop aircraft and the new Fly Navy 100 exhibition dramatically illustrates the re-markable speed of this development, from airships and early biplanes to the formidable Sea Harrier.
Included within the exhibition are nine important aircraft including the first aircraft to have taken part in a naval battle in 1916 – a Short 184, the first helicopter to be commissioned by the Royal Navy – a Westland Dragonfly, the Sea King helicopter flown by Prince Andrew during the Falklands conflict and a Sea Harrier which shot down an Argentine Sky Hawk. A series of cinema presentations tells the story.
The Royal Navy’s passion for aircraft has been enabled through its investment in aircraft carriers and the Fleet Air Arm Museum has devoted another exhibition hall to replicating the flight deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.
The Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton houses Europe’s largest collection of naval aircraft as well as the first British built Con-corde.
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