889 Naval Air Squadron

Last updated

889 Naval Air Squadron
Active1942-1944
1945
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
Part of Fleet Air Arm

889 Naval Air Squadron (889 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. [1] [ unreliable source? ]

The squadron was formed in March 1942 as a fighter squadron, operating in North Africa and the Middle East before disbanding in February 1943. It was reformed in April 1944 at Colombo, Ceylon, as a fighter squadron and disbanded again in July 1944, and reformed in July 1945 as a Photographic Reconnaissance Unit.

When the war ended, 889 Squadron FAA, equipped with 6 Hellcat Is and II (PR) photo-reconnaissance variants, was preparing to depart from Scotland for the Far East (the squadron had been based at RAF Woodvale since its re-formation after VE Day, and practising carrier operations on HMS Trouncer before moving to HMS Ravager), to replace 888 Squadron FAA, and intended to photograph Japanese beaches prior planned invasion that was forestalled by the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With the cessation of hostilities, the squadron (which included pilot William Stevenson) was disbanded and the Hellcats dumped off the Scottish coast (the fate of many lend-lease aircraft that survived the war, which under the terms of the agreement were to be returned to the United States or paid for, while there was no requirement to refund the cost of aircraft that had been lost). [2] [ unreliable source? ] [3]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">784 Naval Air Squadron</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1844 Naval Air Squadron</span> Defunct Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and Reserve Air Squadron

1844 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) between 1943 and 1945 and then a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Air Squadron from 1954 to 1957. It formed in Northern Ireland at HMS Gannet, RNAS Eglinton, in December 1943, as a fighter squadron. It embarked in HMS Begum, in February 1944, for the Far East, arriving in Ceylon, in June and joining HMS Indomitable the following month. August, September and October saw the squadron undertake photographic reconnaissance and provide fighter cover for the attacks on Indaroeng and Emmahaven in Sumatra, then on Sigli, followed by the Nicobar Islands respectively.

References

  1. "889 Squadron". Fleet Air Arm Archive. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "INDEX OF NAVAL AIR SQUADRONS: 889 Squadron". Fleet Air Arm Archive. 23 February 2001. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. Foister, Louise (10 November 1995). "How the war interrupted a legal career". Mid-Ocean News. The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. Pages 5 and 9.