Royal Navy Fairey Swordfish of 810 NAS Squadron of HMS Courageous.

The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. British naval flying started in 1909, with the construction of an airship for naval duties.[10] In 1911 the Royal Navy graduated its first aeroplane pilots at the Royal Aero Club. At the onset of the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm consisted of 20 squadrons with only 232 frontline aircraft, and 191 additional trainers. By the end of the war the strength of the Fleet Air Arm was 59 aircraft carriers, 3,700 aircraft, 72,000 officers and men and 56 Naval air stations. The aircraft carrier had replaced the battleship as the capital ship of the RN and its aircraft were now its principal offensive weapons. The top scoring fighter ace with 17 victories was Commander Stanley Orr. Notable Fleet Air Arm operations during the war included the Battle of Taranto, the sinking of the Bismarck, the attempt to prevent the Channel Dash, Operation Tungsten against the Tirpitz and Operation Meridian against oil plants in Sumatra.