RCN FAA sleeve title & Uniform

[RCN]

I have not had the time to add more posts & insignia to the RCN section due to summer work schedule, but cottages are closing upnow so can get back to some serious posting!


I was fortunate to be able to acquire a fairly rare RCN FAA sleeve title recently. I have never seen one of these before but I knew they existed.

A lot of Canadians are unaware that the RCN had a fairly good FAA representation in 2WW. RCN FAA Officers & Ratings manned two RN Aircraft Carriers, HMS Nabob & HMS Puncher in the mid & latter part of 2WW. RCN Officers & Ratings also served in A/C's of the FAA in the Pacific theatre.
viz: Lieut Robert Hampton Gray won the only RCN/RCNVR VC in the Pacific Theatre whilst serving on A/C HMS Formidable on 9 Aug 1945.

So I show below the FAA sleev title in gold wire & also how it would be worn on a Ratings 2WW uniform tunic.

RCN Bryan

[Guzzman]

Hi Bryan

The FAA sleeve title is just one of a host of similar sleeve titles that appeared in the Royal Navy during the Second World War (another example was RNP for Royal Naval Patrol). All of them were completely unofficial but tolerated during the war. In 1948 the Admiralty decided that such sleeve titles would no longer be allowed and they were all banned.

Pete

[servicepub]

Bryan,
Another Canadian pilot on the Formidable was Charles Butterworth. The day after Hammy grey, his friend, went down Charley did the same thing but survived. He was awarded an immediate DSC. His father was a RNAS pilot in the First World War.
I knew him well as a teen (I dated his daughter) and respected him. His medals were donated to the Canadian Aviation Museum.