X-Nico

unusual facts about HMS Furious



Handley Page HP.14

The R/200 was designed in 1917 to meet an Admiralty requirement for a two-seat reconnaissance-fighter capable of operating either as a floatplane or from the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers, the flush deck HMS Argus and the part converted cruiser HMS Furious.


see also

823 Naval Air Squadron

In November 1941 the squadron was reformed at Crail airfield in Fife, Scotland as a torpedo bomber reconnaissance (TBR) Swordfish squadron, subsequently sailing on HMS Furious in August 1942 with 9 Albacores for convoy duties.

Operation Pedestal

In his book, First Light, Geoffrey Wellum, who flew a Spitfire from HMS Furious as part of Operation Bellows, reports that the crowd fell silent as the ships entered harbour as a mark of respect for the crew who lost their lives aboard.