The British Fleet Air Arm in World War II

Observer trainingThe role of the observer saw significant changes throughout the war. In 1939 pilots and TAGs were part of a squadron, whereas observers were part of a ship’s company; hence, when the squadron disembarked for a period ashore, the observers would be left on board to fly with the next squadron to embark. This oddity stemmed from the fact that observers were always RN, whereas pilots during the interwar period were predominantly RAF officers serving at sea. This mentality even extended to the fact that observers were not given any sort of flying badge or ‘wings’ for display on their uniform until well after the outbreak of war.

For regular RN observers, as with pilots, training began at BRNC Dartmouth before ‘transferring branch’ across to become an observer. Once greater numbers of observers were required the majority were recruited through the RNVR, and therefore carried out the initial seven weeks of their training at HMS St Vincent as naval airmen 2nd class. As with all RNVR officers, those recruited under the age of 20 were ranked as temporary midshipmen on completion of their initial flying training, whereas older recruits were temporary acting sub-lieutenants, or temporary sub-lieutenants if over the age of 21. Initial training at St Vincent segregated ab-initios into alternate courses made up of pilots and observers respectively. Following promotion to leading naval airman, trainee observers were then sent to Whale Island, Portsmouth, for gunnery tuition, before moving on to wireless and visual signalling. Training in the air began at either Lee-on-Solent or Ford, and later RNAS Yeovilton and RNAS Arbroath, with ab-initio observers training on Blackburn Sharks and Percival Proctors. In 1941 some elements of observer training were moved as far away from the UK as Trinidad. Navigation formed a large part of the early syllabus, as did tactics and fleet strategy, since it was thought imperative that the observer have a sound awareness of where his squadron fitted into the overall tactical picture of the battle. This was coupled with exercises in dead reckoning, spotting fall of shot, and recognition of friendly and enemy vessels.

The end of this first stage of flying training was immediately followed by short courses in reconnaissance photography and air gunnery at St Merryn, before attendance at Greenwich Naval College for a two-week ‘spoon and fork’ course (so named because the course covered, among other things, the niceties of wardroom behaviour required of a naval officer). Observers were commissioned at the end of their time at Greenwich; they then moved to operational conversion squadrons to acquaint themselves with their individual aircraft type, before being added to the trained strength of front-line squadrons.