ABSTRACT
In several periods during the first century of its lifetime, British naval aviation came under attack from those targeting it for savings or wishing to transfer its roles and budget to the Royal Air Force. The Radical Review' saw the Royal Navy in a fight for the very survival of its fleet carriers and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). After the end of the Second World War, the Royal Navy in common with the other services faced the formidable challenges of rapid demobilisation while also assessing and incorporating the lessons of the war. British defence policy therefore sought to reconcile an atomic weapons programme with a peacetime continental commitment in Western Europe, extensive overseas interests and the ability to protect vital sea communications. One important difference between the Swinton Committee, formally titled the Cabinet Committee on the Defence Review, and the earlier stages of the Radical Review was the volte-face performed by the Minister of Defence.
