Life as a Naval Aviator

Ralph Dodds, 2nd June 2023

Ralph Dodds spent 32 years in the Navy/Fleet Air Arm, explaining that until the day he swopped his blue suit for a grey business one, it had felt like a paid hobby, and he loved every single minute of it.

Ralph spent a hour recalling stories and anecdotes from his wide and varied career, from the time his father took him to a Chatham Navy Day at the tender age of six (where the seed was sown) to his experiences as an observer with 829 Squadron flying Lynx helicopters, a machine that Ralph describes as the best chopper ever built.

At age 16, Ralph attended the Navy Interview Board and was told to go and get two ‘A’ levels. This he duly did and was admitted to Britannia Royal Naval College near Dartmouth on 17th September 1980. Ralph didn’t enjoy the first six months, mainly due to the 187 steps that were required to descend and climb from the collage to the training ship ‘Hindostan’.

In 1982 Ralph transferred to the Fleet Air Arm to train as an Observer on Lynx helicopters. He later served on HMS Alacrity( or Penelope, apologies for the confusion) in the Falklands and HMS Ark Royal during her sea trials. He successfully completed the Survival Training Course and the worm omelettes!

Ralph saw service at 750, 702 and 829 Squadrons.

His presentation was full of humour and rang many bells with ex service members in the audience. Most of the stories concerned alcohol..