HMS Bulwark's late-1950s air group combined Sea Hawks for day fighter and attack work with Sea Venoms for night and all-weather interception. Gannets covered anti-submarine duties, while Skyraiders supplied airborne early warning. Whirlwind helicopters added anti-submarine and ship-rescue capability. The roughly forty-aircraft total illustrates how many specialized missions had to share one deck. It also shows why aircraft growth and specialization steadily tightened the limits of Britain's smaller carrier hangars.
Notable Point · 2:01:44-2:02:40
Inside a late-1950s British carrier air group
HMS Bulwark's embarked aircraft show how fighters, night interception, anti-submarine warfare, early warning, and rescue fit into one air group.