Talk:RAF Hal Far

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Designation

What was this base's proper designation? RAF or RNAS? If the RN Fleet Air Arm used the field, why was it called RAF? Confusedly, De728631 (talk) 23:22, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Reply: It was used by both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, but in Malta it is mostly known as RAF Hal-Far. Technically speaking, it was used for a longer period by the RNAS but locals still refer to the airfield as RAF Hal Far. Regards, Jeancarl_grech

Whatever the locals thought, its designation changed with the changes of principal occupants. From 1918 to 1937 the FAA was submerged in the RAF. The airfield was RNAS Hal Far (HMS Falcon) from 1946 to 1965. The title of the article was better as it was originally - Hal Far Airfield. A more comprehensive history of this airfield may be found here - http://www.aviationinmalta.com/AirfieldsAirlines/HalFarAirfield/tabid/320/language/en-GB/Default.aspx Dmgerrard (talk) 19:03, 29 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Infobox / lead image

This image has served as the first thing people see since 2012. When I first saw it, my eyes were quite naturally drawn to the two US Navy F9F Cougar aircraft, and my head spun because I thought RAF Hal Far was mostly RAF and Royal Navy. Yes it is a high quality image, and yes if you look really carefully you can just see RAF Hal Far somewhere underneath the aircraft. But the aircraft are a huge distraction, and the fact they are not even types that would normally be associated with Hal Far makes it entirely inappropriate. This image will be replaced by one where you can actually see the airfield, unless I hear a compelling argument to the contrary. WendlingCrusader (talk) 01:41, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Too much detail?

In the sections headed 'RAF squadrons' and 'RN squadrons', there are two related issues;

either there is a vast amount of detail, typically describing a unit that spent not much more than a 'long weekend' at Hal Far.
e.g. No. 74 Squadron RAF between 11 September 1935 and 21 September 1936 with the Demon

Note that the above is just one of many examples, compounded in this case by not even explaining who or what is the 'Demon'. (It's ok, I can work that one out, but it is still an issue)

or, there is simply a link to a squadron, with zero indication as to it's relevance to Hal Far
e.g. 1831 Naval Air Squadron (erm, that's it!)

Whilst this detail makes the article very complete, it also detracts from telling us which units were actually based at Hal far, as opposed to those that merely passed through, stopping off for a change of laundry. I'm guessing a fair few units came to Malta for a bit of gunnery training in beautiful clear blue skies. And a bit of sunshine and a splash in the Med. Scrolling down such a long list is positively hard work, and it does not enrich the article. Indeed, the detail given here is sometimes more exhaustive than the equivalent details written on the pages covering individual squadrons, for whom Hal Far was just a staging post between bigger assignments.

TLDR?; is a Bullet List really necessary here, or can we simply write the squadron links as plain text, and maybe pull out the relatively significant units for further elaboration?

Per MOS:EMBED

Embedded lists should be used only when appropriate; sometimes the information in a list is better presented as prose.

Now maybe the above isn't directly applicable in this case - I'm here to listen to any responses. But the basic fact remains that the lists in this article are lengthy. And a colossal waste of page space. Please help me find a solution. Or tell me I'm wrong!

WendlingCrusader (talk) 18:02, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Just a quick footnote to the above; I am mostly talking about short-term detachments at Malta in peacetime. The story of 229 Squadron (for example) is another matter, with it arriving in March 1942, possibly already under-strength, and then almost immediately losing their squadron leader and other personnel in combat, resulting in the squadron being disbanded just one month later. They, and others, are well-deserving of an honourable mention. WendlingCrusader (talk) 23:51, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]