Pilots of the British naval aviation 2SV

The UK Naval Air Force (FAA) was established in 1924. They were part of the Air Force as a ship-based and deck-based aviation command, and only in the spring of 1939 were they transferred to the direct subordination of the fleet. Their tasks included reconnaissance, adjustment of fire, strike operations against warships and merchant ships, protection against enemy submarines and aircraft. At the beginning of the Second World War, the air force of the fleet consisted of 20 squadrons with 232 aircraft, mainly reconnaissance aircraft and torpedo boats. Among the operations carried out by the FAA, one can note the attack on the Italian fleet in Taranto, the sinking of the battleship Bismarck, the countering of the breakthrough of German ships through the English Channel, the "Wolfram" operation against the battleship Tirpitz. Fleet aviation pilots also took part in the Battle of Britain, such as 804 Air Squadron, which was armed with Sea Gladiator fighters.