The Royal Navy entered the war with two main carrier aircraft. These were the Blackburn Skua and the Fairey Swordfish. A third aircraft, the Gloster Sea Gladiator, was originally procured for defense of naval bases ashore, but would see sea service with carriers. 1940 saw the introduction of the Fairey Fulmar, a two seat fighter, and the Fairey Albacore, intended as a replacement for the Swordfish. It also saw the first deliveries of the Grumman Martlet, the British name for the American F4F Wildcat. In 1941, the Sea Hurricane, a navalised version of the RAF's Hurricane fighter, was introduced (though it only served with catapult ships until 1942). The Seafire was brought into service in 1942, with the Fairey Barracuda, Vought Corsair, Grumman Hellcat and Grumman Avenger entering service in 1943. The Fairey Firefly was the last major new aircraft, joining the carrier force in 1944.

The Blackburn Skua was a low-winged monoplane dive-bomber/fighter, the Fleet Air Arm's first all-metal aircraft. It was a two-seater aircraft, powered by the Bristol Perseus engine giving it a top speed of just under 200 knots. It had an armament of four .303in Browning MGs in the wings, plus a .303in Lewis or Vickers K gun on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit. In the dive-bombing role, it carried a single 500lb bomb under the fuselage, plus up to four 20lb bombs under the wings; these were used in training, or were replaced with flares for night attacks. It was a somewhat slow aircraft compared to contemporary fighters, but compared well to other dive-bombers like the D3A1 'Val' or SBD. The Skua saw fairly frequent use in the first years of the war, with its high point coming during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Here, Skuas shot down a number of German bombers and reconnaissance aircraft (Britain's first ace pilot was a Skua pilot) and sank the German cruiser Konigsberg and a number of merchant ships. However, it would be phased out as new, better, fighters became available. A turret-fighter version of the Skua was constructed; known as the Blackburn Roc, it replaced the Skua's armament with a powered turret with four .303 Brownings. It was even slower than the Skua, and was not a success, seeing only brief service aboard Glorious.

The Fairey Swordfish was a biplane strike aircraft, which entered service in 1936. It had a crew of three, though one could be replaced with a long-range fuel tank. It was armed with a single torpedo carried under the fuselage; this could be replaced with up to 1,500lbs of bombs or depth charges on underwing mounts. Later models, which replaced the fabric skin of the wings with metal, could carry RP-3 rockets for use against surfaced subs and land targets. There was also a single forward firing .303in Vickers gun and a rearward firing Lewis gun on a flexible mount. Swordfish had a rugged construction, with a strong frame of steel tubes with a fabric skin. This, combined with the highly reliable Bristol Pegasus engine and forgiving flying characteristics, meant that it was very highly respected by its pilots. It served, with only minor modifications, throughout the war, one of the few aircraft to do so. It saw service in every major theatre of the war, to great effectiveness; it sank more total tonnage than any other aircraft. High points in its career include the raid on Taranto, the hunt for the Bismarck and the Battle of Cape Matapan. Once its frontline career was ended by newer, more capable aircraft, it moved on to a career as an anti-submarine aircraft, flying from escort carriers and shore bases until 1945.

The Sea Gladiator was a navalised version of the RAF's Gladiator biplane fighter, ordered as the threat of war became clear in 1938. The main differences between the two was that the Sea Gladiator had an arrester hook and catapult attachment for carrier operations, plus an inflatable dinghy for overwater emergencies and a different radio compatible with naval standards. The Sea Gladiator had two .303 Brownings in the wings and two in the nose, between the cockpit and the Bristol Mercury engine. They were ordered mainly to protect naval bases, operating from airfields ashore. British pre-war doctrine held that carrier aircraft would be low-performance aircraft, and thus dedicated fighters would not be needed. However, Sea Gladiator did see service aboard carriers. 18 Sea Gladiators flew from Glorious during the Norwegian Campaign, while a small flight flew from Eagle in the Mediterranean. It was soon replaced by more modern monoplane fighters.

One of these replacements was the Fairey Fulmar. The Fulmar was a two-seater fighter and scout aircraft, ultimately developed from the RAF's Battle light bomber. It had the standard British fighter armament of the early war, eight .303in Browning MGs in the wings. It was powered by the famous Rolls Royce Merlin, giving it a maximum speed of 250 knots. Its two crewmen meant that it could be used as a scout aircraft, with the second crewman acting as a navigator, spotter and radio operator. However, the added weight meant that it was a fairly poor fighter, slower than many of its counterparts. It was still fairly well-respected by its crews. It was manoeuvrable, especially in a dive, had long endurance for patrols, and good firepower. It gave sterling service in the Mediterranean, protecting the fleet and Malta convoys against Italian and German bombers, but suffered in the Indian Ocean against Japanese aircraft.

The Fairey Albacore was intended as a replacement for the Swordfish. Like its predecessor, it was a biplane aircraft, but had a number of refinements - the cockpit was fully enclosed, it had a variable-pitch propeller and flaps on the wings for enhanced low-speed manoeuvrability. It was fitted with the Bristol Taurus engine, more powerful than the Pegasus on the Swordfish and giving it an extra 15 knots of speed. However, it was still a slow, vulnerable aircraft. This, combined with a number of reliability issues with the Taurus and poor manoeuvrability meant that it didn't have the longevity of the aircraft it was procured to replace. Even so, it saw some successes - Albacores torpedoed the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto at Matapan, and it participated well in shore strikes during the invasions of French North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

The Martlet was, as mentioned, the American Wildcat, either directly purchased or lend-leased. It was a single-seat fighter, fast, manoeuvrable and fairly well-armed. There were several models of Martlet, but only two saw service aboard British fleet carriers. Martlet I was used for aircraft originally purchased by France, but redirected to Britain after the Fall of France, while Martlet III was for aircraft ordered by Greece just before the German invasion. Both saw service ashore; the former in defence of naval bases in the UK and the latter in the Egyptian Desert. The Martlet II used the Twin Wasp engine, and was armed with four .50 cal machine guns in the wings. Unlike the American aircraft on which it was based, it was fitted with a wing-folding mechanism. It entered service in 1941, and was well-received by British pilots. It saw service in the Indian Ocean in 1942, as well as during Operation Pedestal. Martlet IV was the American F4F-6, provided through lend-lease. Compared to Martlet II, it used the more powerful Wright Cyclone engine, had two extra .50 cals in the wings, and had additional armour and self-sealing fuel tanks. It was fairly effective, but generally outclassed by the land-based fighters entering service in 1942 and onwards. Wildcat V and VI (the naming schemes were harmonised from 1944) were lightened versions of the Martlet IV, flying from escort carriers which couldn't launch larger, faster aircraft like the Corsair or Hellcat.

The Sea Hurricane was an emergency procurement, intended to give the RN an ability to counter modern enemy aircraft. Like the Sea Gladiator before it, it was a navalised variant of the RAF's Hurricane fighter. Sea Hurricanes were not purpose-built, but were converted from existing aircraft; many early ones were somewhat worn-out Battle of Britain veterans. It used the Rolls Royce Merlin engine, and was armed with either eight .303in MGs or four 20mm Hispano cannon. To convert a Hurricane to a Sea Hurricane was a fairly simple business. Additional stiffening was added to the landing gear legs and other areas that might be damaged by catapult take-offs and arrested landings. An arrester hook and catapult spools were also added, to allow for these. There were four main models. The Mark IA was used by CAM ships (merchant ships with a catapult for a single fighter, for point defence against German maritime patrol aircraft), while the Mk. IB was the main carrier variant. The Mk. IC was a Mk. IB armed with the four 20mm cannon, and the Mk. IIC had the cannon armament and an uprated Merlin XX engine. While the Hurricane was definitely showing its age by 1942, it gave the Fleet Air Arm a capability it had largely lacked previously. It saw considerable success in the Mediterranean, covering the Pedestal Convoy, as well as on the Arctic routes.