[4] After qualifying as a pilot, he became commanding officer of 805 Naval Air Squadron in the Western Desert in late 1941 during the Second World War.
[4] He went on to command 878 Naval Air Squadron in Sicily from early 1943 before becoming air commander on the aircraft carrier HMS Searcher, in which role he led the attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz as part of the Home Fleet Strike force of Operation Tungsten, and then became air commander on the aircraft carrier HMS Emperor.
[4] Fell next served as air commander on the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney during the Korean War.
[5] He was then chief of staff to the Commander Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe from 1972 before retiring in 1974.
[3] Fell collapsed and died at the wheel of his car on 3 December 1976, near his home at Stoughton, West Sussex.