Royal Navy FCs
Canadian B,
Your comments about Freddies coming ashore and struggling to handle the job may well have been valid several years ago however, having worked closely with the D School, I am confident that the standard of FC coming out of the RN has improved hugely. They are a professional bunch who have a superb approach to training. I would go as far to say that in some areas, they could show us a thing or two.
In days prior to the MDA system, RAF FCs were maxed out on every sortie dealing with civil traffic. This was the area that caught out the RN chaps who had previously been controlling a pair of SHAR off the west coast! The MDAs have taken the workload away in many areas to the point where the live phase of RAF FC training has reduced from 60-70 hours to 20-30.