Aviation Art of No.899 Sqn

Sea Harrier

Sea Harrier
No profile available

Sea Vixen
Manufacturer : De Havilland

Sea Vixen
The de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen was a twin boom, two seat jet fighter of the Fleet Air Arm during the 1950s–1960s, originally known as the DH.110, an aircraft designed for both the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm (FAA). The de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen was designed as an all-weather, missile-armed, high-speed jet fighter. The Royal navy required a fighter to replace the aging De Havilland Sea Venom and the Fleet Air Arm took the Sea Vixen, but the Royal Air Force did not, instead opting for its competitor the Gloster Javelin. The first De Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen prototype first flew on 26 September 1951 piloted by WW2 ace John Cunningham. In 1952 tragedy struck while the aircraft was being demonstrated at the Farnborough Airshow on 6th September 1952. Following a display by a Sea Vixen on its ability to break the sound barrier, it disintegrated, killing 31 people, including the aircraft's two crew: test pilot and record breaker John Derry and Tony Richards.

Crew: Two, Length: 55 ft 7 in (16.94 m) Wingspan 51 ft 0 in (15.54 m) Height: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) Empty weight: 27,950 lb (12,680 kg) Loaded weight: 41,575 lb (18,860 kg) Maximum takeoff weight 46,750 lb (21,205 kg) Powerplant: 2×Rolls Royce Avon Engines Mk.208 Maximum speed Mach 0.91 (690 mph, 1,110 km/h) at sea level Range 790 mi (1,270 km) with internal fuel Service ceiling: 48,000 ft (15,000 m) Rate of Climb: 9,000 ft/min (46 m/s) Armament: Rockets: 4 × Matra rocket pods with 18 × SNEB 68 mm rockets each Missiles: 4 × Red Top or Firestreak missiles Bombs: 2 × 500 lb (227 kg) bombs.

Spitfire
Manufacturer : Supermarine
Built : 20351

Spitfire
Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954.

No.899 Sqn FAA
Pilot and aircrew signature details

Lieutenant Commander M J Callaghan
Our estimated value of this signature : £10

Lieutenant Commander M J Callaghan

Joined the RN in 1966. Mike qualified as a Buccaneer Observer in 1968 and served in 800 Squadron (HMS EAGLE) and completed three tours with 809 Squadron (HMS ARK ROYAL). He also served as an instructor on 736 Squadron (Buccaneer OFT) at RNAS Lossiemouth and with 237 OCU (the RAF Buccaneer Operational Conversion Unit) at RAF Honington. After the final commission in HMS ARK ROYAL, Mike joined the staff of the Sea Harrier Intensive Flying Trials Unit (IFTU) at RNAS Yeovilton in 1979, which introduced the aircraft into RN service. When the IFTU became the HQ Squadron (899), Mike remained on the staff as an instructor to assist in the training of the pilots for the first frontline squadrons. In 1981, he was appointed to the staff of HQ 3 Commando Brigade RM as the Brigade Aviation Officer. Barely having completed his Arctic Warfare Training in Norway in 1982, he deployed with the Brigade to the Falklands, embarked in HMS FEARLESS. As part of the planning team for the amphibious assault, he had a key role in co-ordinating the offensive air, helicopter support and fire support aspects of the campaign. He even waded ashore from a landing craft in San Carlos! In 1984, Mike was appointed to the NATO HQ in Oslo, Norway (HQ AFNORTH). Returning to UK in 1986, he became the Operations Officer, RNAS Yeovilton, His final RN appointment in 1989 was as a member of the Directing Staff at the Maritime Tactical School, with responsibilities for Sea Harrier and carrier operations. On retiring from the RN in 1991, Mike joined British Aerospace (now BAE SYSTEMS) and has been involved in a number of programmes including the Future Aircraft Carrier. He is now based in Bristol and lives in Bath with his wife and daughter.

Lieutenant Commander J E Eatwell RN
Our estimated value of this signature : £10

Lieutenant Commander J E Eatwell RN

Joined the Royal Navy as an Air Cadet in 1956 and went straight to sea in HMS Theseus, part of the Home Fleet Training Squadron. He commenced Observer training in September 1956 flying Sea Prince, Firefly, Gannet, Brigand and Sea Venom aircraft, before embarking with 894 Sea Venom Squadron in HMS Eagle in 1958. He received training at De Havilland for the Sea Vixen and embarked on HMS Ark Royal with 892 Squadron, the first Sea Vixen Squadron in 1960, transferring to HMS Victorious for a deployment to the Far East. After a tour with 899 Headquarters Squadron, he transferred to the Buccaneer S Mk 1 in 1963 and then received training as a Photographic Interpreter (PI) prior to joining 800 squadron in HMS Eagle as a Photo Recce Specialist. This was followed by a tour instructing in 736 Squadron before rejoining 800 Squadron with the Mk 2 Buccaneer for another embarked tour in HMS Eagle covering the withdrawal from Aden. Further appointments at Lossiemouth as Station Intelligence Officer and P I to Flag Officer Aircraft Carriers, Operations Staff in HMS Eagle and as a Trials Officer at RAE Farnborough followed. His final four years were spent at the Joint School of Photographic Interpretation, responsible for the selection and training of all RN. WRNS and RNR PIs. He retired from the RN in 1976 but remained active as a PI and Intelligence Officer in the RNR, finally retiring in 1993.

Aces for : No.899 Sqn FAA
A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name.
Name	Victories	Info
R H Reynolds	4.50