The Navy Wings Collection is a civilian-run naval aviation heritage organization based at the Royal Navy aerodrome, RNAS Yeovilton, in Somerset, England. They inherited the mantle of the famed Royal Navy Historic Flight (RNHF) at its disbandment in 2019, and continue to maintain and operate the surviving RNHF fleet from the same hangars that organization once did, but funded by a charitable entity, the Fly Navy Heritage Trust. Navy Wings also involves other privately-owned aircraft with a British naval pedigree under the same umbrella. The past couple of years have been challenging for this important outfit though, not least because of the difficulties which the global pandemic has presented, but also because of a recent accident involving their Hawker Sea Fury T.20 VX281. Thankfully, neither of the aircrew were seriously injured during VX281's forced landing, but the historic fighter incurred significant structural damage and will need a major rebuild - and major financing - befo
A COUNTY Durham artist has spoken of the honour of meeting the pilot who crippled the German battleship Bismarck with a torpedo 80 years ago today. Steven Fox, of Esh Winning, met Lieutenant Commander John Moffat after being invited by a member of the Royal Navy Historic Flight to produce two works of art based on the Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber, which attacked the Bismarck. He was given the opportunity to make preliminary drawings and photographs of Fairey Swordfish LS 326 at Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Base and later exhibited his work on board HMS Bulwark ata Battle of the Atlantic Event, Liverpool in May 2013.