Telegraphist Air Gunners (TAG) Association

2009 marks the Centenary Year of Naval Aviation. It was on 7th May 1909 that the Admiralty first set aside £35,000 for the development of an airship, beginning a process that was to lead to the formation of the Fleet Air Arm as we know it today.

Those hundred years have seen a breathtaking development from flimsy aircraft that struggled to leave the ground to supersonic stealth fighters. As technology has developed, so too has ideology; Naval Aviation began the 20th century as an interesting sideshow in the armament of the Royal Navy, and ended it as the centrepiece.

The aircraft carrier now marks out the premier league navies from the rest. It is the punch of the nation and a symbol of its power. Countless Prime Ministers have found that the carrier has been indispensable to the execution of their foreign policy: Thatcher sent hers to the Falklands; Major sent his to Bosnia; Blair sent his once to Sierra Leone and twice to Iraq.

Those are only the most recent crises and there were numerous others even between those. In many of these conflicts, success was not only helped by carrier-borne aircraft – it depended on them.

Fly Navy 100 is a programme of events and publications that aims to celebrate and commemorate this remarkable centenary. It aims to showcase among both the public and the Service communities
the endurance, flexibility, and above all potency, of Naval Aviation.

FLY NAVY 100