Limited War and Crisis Management: Naval Aviation in Action from the Korean War to the Falklands Conflict

Abstract

This chapter examines the employment of naval aviation in support of British policy overseas in the period from the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 to the Falklands Conflict in 1982. It focuses on the way in which naval aviation played a key role in the Royal Navy's attempt to meet the needs of national policy beyond the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) region, placing a particular emphasis on the role of sea-based aviation. The Fleet Air Arm fulfilled many important duties ashore, not least in support of the counter-insurgency campaigns during the Malayan Emergency and later in Borneo during Confrontation. The chapter also focuses on sea-based aviation, the particular advantage possessed by such aircraft, compared to the land-based alternative, in meeting the challenge posed by limited war and crisis management operations beyond Europe. The Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) articulated very different visions of how best to support British policy overseas.