709 Naval Air Squadron

Last updated

709 Naval Air Squadron
Active15 September 1944 - 26 January 1946 [1]
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
TypeFleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
RoleGround Attack School
Size Squadron
Part of Fleet Air Arm
Home station RNAS St Merryn
Insignia
Identification MarkingsS5A+ [2]
Aircraft flown
Fighter
Supermarine Seafire L Mk III, of the type used by 709 NAS Supermarine 358 Seafire LFIII (20409439703).jpg
Supermarine Seafire L Mk III, of the type used by 709 NAS

709 Naval Air Squadron (709 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which last disbanded during January 1946. It formed in September 1944 within the School of Naval Air Warfare as the Ground Attack School using both the British Supermarine Seafire and the American Grumman Hellcat fighter aircraft for training. The squadron spent its whole sixteen month existence based at HMS Vulture, Royal Naval Air Station St. Merryn.

Contents

History of 709 NAS

Ground Attack School (1944 - 1946)

709 Naval Air Squadron formed at RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture) on 15 September 1944, as part of the School of Naval Air Warfare. [2] It was tasked as the Ground Attack School. [3] The squadron was initially equipped with Supermarine Seafire L Mk III. These were a navalised version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft, adapted for operation from an aircraft carrier. [2] The Supermarine Seafire aircraft had previously belonged to both 808 and 885 Naval Air Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm’s 3rd Naval Fighter Wing, which was in the process of converting to Grumman Hellcat fighter aircraft. [3]

The School also operated Grumman Hellcat, an American carrier-based fighter aircraft. These aircraft were used in training to apply lessons learned by the 3rd Naval Fighter Wing during the Normandy invasion. 709 Naval Air Squadron disbanded at RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture) during January 1946. [2] [3]

Aircraft operated

Grumman Hellcat, an example of the type used by 709 NAS Grumman F6F Hellcat, Chino, California.jpg
Grumman Hellcat, an example of the type used by 709 NAS

709 Naval Air Squadron operated a couple of different aircraft types and variants: [3]

709 Naval Air Squadron operated from a single naval air station of the Royal Navy, located in England, throughout its existence: [4]

Commanding Officers

List of commanding officers of 709 Naval Air Squadron with date, month and year of appointment. [3]

Related Research Articles

HMS Nabthorpe was a Royal Navy, (RN), Mobile Operational Naval Air Base (MONAB) situated at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base RAAF Station Schofields located at Schofields, New South Wales during the final year of the Second World War. HMS Nabthorpe was also known as MONAB III and Royal Naval Air Station Schofields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">778 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

778 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. During the Second World War the squadron was a Service Trials Unit (STU) initially based at HMS Daedalus, RNAS Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, England before moving to HMS Condor, RNAS Arbroath, Angus, Scotland on 6 July 1940. The squadron tested all types of aircraft that could be used by the Royal Navy. Key to this was testing new types for deck landing on aircraft carriers. Such aircraft included various types of Supermarine Seafires, Grumman Hellcats, Grumman Martlets, Grumman Avengers, and Vought Corsairs. The squadron was reformed on 5 November 1951 with Douglas Skyraider AEW.1 but was disbanded on 7 July 1952 to form the basis of 849 Naval Air Squadron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">879 Naval Air Squadron</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm

879 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm that was active during the Second World War. It was formed in 1942, and from 1943 was equipped with Supermarine Seafire fighters, operating mainly in the Mediterranean Sea. It took part in the Allied landings at Salerno, Italy in 1943 and Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France. It was disbanded in 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">885 Naval Air Squadron</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm

885 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. First formed on 1 March 1941, the squadron served as a fighter squadron during the Second World War. It operated in the Mediterranean in 1942–43, where it took part in Operation Torch, the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa, the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Allied invasion of Italy. In 1944 it took part in the Allied invasion of Normandy, spotting for Allied artillery bombardments and in 1945, was deployed as part of the British Pacific Fleet. It was abolished for the last time on 27 September 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">887 Naval Air Squadron</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm

887 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, which last disbanded during March 1946. It was formed as a Fleet Fighter squadron in May 1942 at HMS Daedalus, RNAS, Lee-on-Solent. The squadron embarked in HMS Unicorn during 1943 for convoy escort duties and later in the year to cover the allied landings at Salerno, Italy. At the end of 1943 it formed part of the 24th Naval Fighter Wing. 1944 saw it embark in HMS Indefatigable and the squadron saw action in operations against the german battleship Tirpitz during early 1944 and then joined the British Pacific Fleet at the end of the year. It was part of the attacks on the oil refineries at Palembang at the start of 1945 and later in the year it was involved in sorties around Tokyo, as part of the 7th Carrier Air Group, before V-J Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">708 Naval Air Squadron</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm

708 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which disbanded during February 1946. It formed during October 1944 at HMS Daedalus, RNAS Lee-on-Solent, as the Firebrand Tactical Trials Unit, before moving to nearby RAF Gosport the following January. Tasked with looking into issues distinct to the Blackburn Firebrand the unit also performed deck landing training and torpedo exercises with the aircraft. The squadron moved to RNAS Ford where a number of personnel including the CO provided the core for the formation of 813 Naval Air Squadron, the Fleet Air Arm’s initial operational Blackburn Firebrand unit. The squadron relocated to RNAS Fearn at the beginning of December and then in January 1946 it moved to RNAS Rattray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">715 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

715 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval air squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm created in July 1936 to serve as a catapult flight of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force. It was elevated to squadron status at the end of 1937, before being disbanded in January 1940. It was re-formed in August 1944 to operate as the Fighter Wing of the School of Air Combat, before being disbanded in March 1946, and absorbed into 736 Naval Air Squadron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">719 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

719 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It initially formed in 1944 as a Fighter Air Firing Training Squadron, at HMS Vulture, RNAS St Merryn, within the School of Air Combat, but at the start of 1945 it disbanded into 794 Naval Air Squadron. The squadron reformed in 1946 at HMS Owl, RNAS Fearn, as a Strike Training Squadron, before moving to HMS Gannet, RNAS Eglinton, where it became an Anti-submarine Training Squadron, disbanding there in 1949. The squadron reformed the following year at HMS Gannet as the Naval Air Anti-submarine School and remained there becoming the Naval Anti-Submarine Operational Flying School, eventually disbanding in 1959. However, in 1960, the squadron reformed, again at HMS Gannet, as the Joint Anti-submarine School Flight, this time operating helicopters. 719 Naval Air Squadron was granted first line status on 5 October 1961 and renumbered to 819 Naval Air Squadron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">733 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

733 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was active between January 1944 and December 1947, entirely in Ceylon, as a Fleet Requirements Unit, based mainly at R.N. Air Section China Bay, which became HMS Bambara, RNAS Trincomalee, China Bay, Ceylon. The squadron initially formed at R.N. Air Section Minneriya, at RAF Minnerya, Ceylon, two weeks after an advance party arrived there, remaining for three months after formation before relocating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">741 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

741 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which last disbanded during November 1947. It was initially active, between March 1943 and March 1945 as an Observer Training Squadron at HMS Condor, RNAS Arbroath, Scotland, as part of the No. 2 Observer Training School. It reformed at HMS Vulture, RNAS St. Merryn, England, as an Operational Flying Training Unit in August 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">748 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

748 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was initially formed, at HMS Vulture, RNAS St Merryn, as a Fighter Pool Squadron, before becoming No. 10 Naval Operational Training Unit. The squadron moved to HMS Dipper, RNAS Henstridge, in February 1944 and then onto HMS Heron, RNAS Yeovilton in the March. In September 1944, 748 Naval Air Squadron moved to HMS Goldcrest, RNAS Dale, in Wales, remaining for just under twelve months, before moving back to HMS Vulture, RNAS St Merryn in August 1945, where it disbanded in February 1946. During its existence, the squadron was equipped with numerous aircraft and various marks, operated by the Fleet Air Arm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">757 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

757 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was first formed as a Telegraphist Air Gunner Training Squadron in 1939, operating out of RNAS Worthy Down, but after three months it went into abeyance, only to reform again in the same role, at the same location, in 1941 and operating until 1942. It then reformed as a Fighter Pool Squadron & Operational Training Unit at RNAS Puttalam, in Sri Lanka, in 1943. After a brief spell at RNAMY Tambaram, in India, the squadron finally disbanded at RNAS Katukurunda, in Sri Lanka, at the beginning of 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">760 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

760 Naval Air Squadron is a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The squadron first formed in April 1940 as No.1 Fleet Fighter Pool with a variety of aircraft types before standardising in 1941 on the Hawker Sea Hurricane. In this role it disbanded in December 1942. In May 1944 760 NAS briefly reformed as an Anti-Submarine Operational Training Squadron before disbanding into 766 Naval Air Squadron in November. Reformed again as part of No.1 Naval Air Fighter School in April 1945 it converted fighter pilots to the Vought Corsair and then the Supermarine Seafire until 23 January 1946 when it disbanded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">761 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

761 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was formed at HMS Heron, RNAS Yeovilton, as the Advanced Training Squadron of the Fleet Fighter School, in 1941. The squadron moved to HMS Dipper, RNAS Henstridge, in 1943, as part of the No. 2 Naval Air Fighter School. It remained at HMS Dipper and in this role, until January 1946, when the squadron disbanded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">768 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

768 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It last disbanded at HMS Gannet, RNAS Eglinton, Northern Ireland, in March 1949, having been formed as a Deck Landing Control Officer Training Squadron, in December 1948, to ensure one American-style signal trained DLCO could be located at every FAA station. It first formed as part of the Deck Landing Training School at HMS Condor, RNAS Arbroath, in January 1941, as a Deck Landing Training Squadron. Advanced training was in HMS Argus, for which a detachment was maintained at HMS Landrail, RNAS Machrihanish, where it wholly moved to in March 1943. September saw a move to RAF Heathfield, Ayr, followed by a further move to HMS Sanderling, RNAS Abbotsinch in January 1944. Training used escort carriers on the Firth of Clyde and a detachment was maintained at (Heathfield)Ayr throughout this period, with the squadron returning there in July 1945, at this time HMS Wagtail, RNAS Ayr. In August the squadron moved to HMS Corncrake, RNAS Ballyhalbert in Northern Ireland but then in October it joined up with the Deck Landing School at HMS Peewit, RNAS East Haven, Scotland, where it disbanded in April 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">777 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

777 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, which formed as a Fleet Requirements Unit in West Africa during the Second World War. Throughout most of 1943, the squadron was responsible for the air defence of Sierra Leone. It disbanded at HMS Spurwing, RNAS Hastings, Sierra Leone, during December 1944. The squadron reformed in May 1945, from 'B' Flight of 778 Naval Air Squadron, as a Carrier Trials Unit operating aboard HMS Pretoria Castle, and using shore bases at HMS Siskin, RNAS Gosport, and HMS Peregrine, RNAS Ford in England, and HMS Wagtail, RNAS Ayr, in Scotland. 777 Naval Air Squadron number was assigned to the aircraft collection at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in April 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">787 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

787 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which disbanded in January 1956. It formed in March 1941, at HMS Heron, RNAS Yeovilton, out of 804 Naval Air Squadron as a Fleet Fighter Development Unit. Almost every type of fighter was received by the squadron for testing and evaluation for naval use. A move to RAF Duxford in June 1941 saw it become the Naval Air Fighting Development Unit, attached to the Royal Air Force's Air Fighting Development Unit. The squadron undertook rocket projectile test, continuous development of fighter tactics and even helping Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance squadrons in evading fighter attack. Post Second World War it continued its trials task and also undertook Rebecca radar trials and ASH, US-built air-to-surface-vessel radar trials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">790 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

790 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which disbanded in November 1949 at RNAS Culdrose. It initially formed during 1941 as an Air Target Towing Unit, at HMS Landrail, RNAS Macrihanish, in Scotland, from elements of two other Fleet Air Arm squadrons, however, this only lasted for three months and the unit was disbanded, absorbed into 772 Naval Air Squadron. It reformed the following year, in July 1942, tasked as a Fighter Direction Training Unit, at RNAS Charlton Horethorne. It provided support for the Fighter Direction School and had short spells at RAF Culmhead and RNAS Zeals, before reloacting to RNAS Dale in Pembrokeshire, next to the new purpose built Air Direction School, HMS Harrier or RNADC Kete, in 1945. The squadron moved to HMS Seahawk in Cornwall during December 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">794 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

794 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which disbanded in March 1947. The squadron formed as an Air Target Towing Squadron, at HMS Heron, RNAS Yeovilton, during August 1940, although operated target tug aircraft out of the satellite, RNAS Haldon. In April 1943 it provided a detachment at RAF Warmwell as an air firing unit and three months later the squadron relocated to RNAS Angle and became the Naval Air Firing Unit. Further moves followed in quick succession, to HMS Goldcrest, RNAS Dale, in September, HMS Dipper, RNAS Henstridge, in November and HMS Heron II, RNAS Charlton Horethorne in December and by which time the squadron was designated No. 1 Naval Air Firing Unit, but disbanded in June 1944. The squadron reformed at HMS Vulture, RNAS St Merryn, in January 1945, as the School of Air Firing and later in the year was tasked to support the newly formed Ground Attack School. It moved to HMS Gannet, RNAS Eglinton, during August, and at this point had three flights providing courses for aerial warfare, airstrike and aerial reconnaissance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">798 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

798 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which disbanded in March 1946. It formed at RNAS Lee-on-Solent, in October 1943, to provide advanced conversion courses, it initially operated with various single and twin-engined aircraft. Twin-engined aircraft broke away to become 762 Naval Air Squadron during March 1944. It had a detachment at RNAS Stretton for operational training for new Fairey Barracuda squadrons, but returned to HMS Daedalus at the beginning of August. The unit’s role changed slightly during 1945, providing refresher training, including Fleet Air Arm ex-Prisoners of War at RNAS Halesworth. The squadron moved to RNAS Hinstock, although operated out of its satellite RNAS Peplow, during November 1945.

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Ballance, Theo; Howard, Lee; Sturtivant, Ray (2016). The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm. Air Britain Historians Limited. ISBN   978-0-85130-489-2.
  • Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN   0-85130-223-8.
  • Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN   978-0-7509-9303-6.