RCN Sea Furies
Description
Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Sea Fury fighters fly as Combat Air Patrol (CAP) in the early dawn during naval exercises in the Carribean. Below them is a Canadian Task Group centered on HMCS MAGNIFICENT, a destroyer in the “plane guard” position astern as she prepares for deck launches. Canada’s Fleet Air Arm enjoyed a golden era from the late 40s to the mid sixties as the RCN deployed several types of carrier aircraft in HMCS WARRIOR, MAGNIFICENT and BONAVENTURE.
Historical Note
THE FLEET AIR ARM IN THE FIFTIES
The establishment of the RCN Fleet Air Arm after the Second World War and its initial phase of development in the late forties led to a period in the 1950s were the navy’s carrier capabilities advanced further. The harbinger of this process was the acceptance of newer and more effective carrier aircraft such as the Hawker Sea Fury. The Fury was the fastest propellor driven fighter developed and proved a exceptional, if at times difficult to handle, carrier borne aircraft.