First Pilot To Ever Land On Aircraft Carrier Commemorated
A ceremony to commemorate the pilot who completed the first successful aircraft landing on a moving ship is taking place today.
100 years ago today Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning landed a Sopwith Pup on HMS Furious in a landmark achievement.
Tragically, the brave pilot later lost his life when attempting to repeat the landing a week later, on August 7th.
His aircraft, one of the first of its kind at the dawn of aviation, lost power, resulting in the plane being swept overboard by strong winds.
Sadly Dunning, trapped inside the plane, was drowned. Despite his untimely death, his legacy lives on.
This year is particularly special, this being labelled the ‘Year of the Carrier', with HMS Queen Elizabeth having departed on sea trials.
A memorial to Squadron Commander Dunning stands in Orkney, on the shore of Swanbister Bay, unveiled in 1992 on the 75th anniversary of his death.
To mark the centenary, the Royal Navy is to re-dedicate the memorial by the installation of a new plaque.
Soon after, a flypast by a Royal Navy Hawk T Mk 1 from 736 Naval Air Squadron, is set to take place.
The Hawk will overfly the memorial with wings extended, symbolically in the manner of an aircraft approaching a carrier landing.
Lieutenant Commander Barry Issitt, Commanding Officer of 736 Naval Air Squadron said:
"The event itself is of particular significance to the Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm as it marks the first successful landing of a fixed-wing aircraft on a ship underway at sea; a moment that would be the genesis for the establishment of the pre-eminence of aircraft carriers.”
"It is all the more poignant considering the current regeneration of the UK's carrier capability, with HMS Queen Elizabeth currently conducting sea trials not far from the location of Dunning's landing, with Merlin helicopters from 820 Naval Air Squadron operating from her flight deck."
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
