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Flying operations and incidents

A wobbly landing resulting in a broken port undercarriage strut.

Above, left & right:  Sub Lt. D.A. Davis flying Swordfish Mk.II LS240 ‘G’ makes a tricky landing in a heavy swell, the aircraft caught the last wire before ending up on its nose, 10 March 1944.

Above, left & right:  A badly damaged Swordfish - it's engine having been ripped from it's mounts by a deck crash the airframe is stripped of all usable equipment before being dumped overboard as a write0off.

 A Sea Hurricane of 824 squadron awaiting take off for a patrol, STRIKER's sister CVE HMS FENCER is sailing in formation with her.

A Sea Hurricane on final approach, arrestor hook down and moments from touchdown.

  Above left: Sub-Lieutenant E.C. Godden in Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc, NF674 'R' flies into the barrier after failing to catch a wire, June 7, 1944.

Above right: Another of 824 squadron's Sea Hurricanes ends up in the Barrier

Above, left & right: Sub-Lieutenant P.A. Clark in Sea Hurricane Mk.IIc, NF694 'U' flies into the barrier after failing to catch a wire, June 13, 1944.

Above left:  Grumman Wildcats replaced the Sea Hurricanes of 824 in the summer of 1944, these aircraft wear the invasion stripes for D-Day operations.  Above right: October 16 1944, Lt. R Moss in Wildcat JV442 ‘S’ of 824 squadron after an arrester wire broke and the aircraft broke through both flight deck barriers and hit the tail of Swordfish LS231 parked forward and slewed into the island structure. A member of the flight deck personnel, AM(A)2 Harry Barrow was killed

Governor General of Gibraltar Visits Striker

Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Eastwood, Governor General of Gibraltar, inspects the ship at Gibraltar.

 Convoy escort duties, North Atlantic, Gibraltar & Russia

Above & Below: Rough seas as seen from the stern of 'STRIKER'. Below left: Refuelling HMS 'EXE' astern in heavy seas.

Above: HMS FENCER seen from the Stern of STRIKER fighting her way through rough Atlantic seas.

Above: The USSR Arkhangelsk (ex. RN Battleship HMS Royal Sovereign) at Murmansk, Northern Russia. She was delivered to the Russian Navy as part of convoy JW60 - Loch Ewe to Murmansk, escorted by the cariers STRIKER & CAMPANIA in September 1944.

Above: Two shots of a concert given in the hanger of HMS STRIKER whilst anchored at Murmansk awaiting the return convoy, RA60, which departed Kola Inlet on the 28th for Loch Ewe.

Russian and British personnel attending the concert on STRIKER.