Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:50:45-2:51:05

An early landing accident aboard Furious

A cautious answer points to an early Furious landing accident while preserving uncertainty over whether it was definitively the first.

Aircraft CarriersCarrier OperationsFlight Deck SafetyHMS FuriousNaval Aviation
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Question

What was the Royal Navy's first carrier-aircraft crash?

Short answer

Dr. Clarke recalls an aircraft bouncing into the after part of HMS Furious during landing, with the people involved surviving.

Notes

Dr. Clarke presents the identification from memory rather than as a categorical archival finding. The aircraft appears to have bounced during its approach and struck the back of HMS Furious. He adds that everyone was all right, making the episode an early lesson in the difficulty of landing on a ship rather than a fatal disaster.