1792 Naval Air Squadron

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1792 Naval Air Squadron
1792 Naval Air Squadron Badge.gif
1792 NAS badge
Active15 May 1945 – 17 April 1946
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
TypeTwo-seat fighter squadron
Role Night fighter
Size Squadron
Part of Fleet Air Arm
Motto(s)Nocte vincimus
(Latin for 'We conquer by night') [1]
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Lieutenant commander(A) S Dixon-Child, RNVR
Insignia
Squadron Badge DescriptionPer fess black and barry wavy of six white and block a dagger in pale white pommel and hilt gold winged white (1946) [1]
Identification Markingssingle letters
4A+ (HMS Ocean) [1]
Aircraft flown
Fighter Fairey Firefly NF.Mk I

1792 Naval Air Squadron (1792 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was formed in May 1945 at HMS Daedalus, RNAS Lee-on-Solent as a Night Fighter squadron. It was equipped with the Fairey Firefly NF.Mk I night fighter. The squadron joined HMS Ocean in December for service in the Mediterranean. On return to the UK the squadron was disbanded in April 1946. [2]

Contents

History

Night Fighter Squadron (1945 - 1946)

1792 Naval Air Squadron formed at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus), on 15 May 1945, as a night fighter squadron. It was equipped with Fairey Firefly NF.Mk I, a night fighter variant of the carrier-borne fighter, anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft, [3] which was fitted with radar in a centre-line container. [4] Around one month later the squadron moved north to Lancashire, relocating to RNAS Inskip (HMS Nightjar) on 15 June. [1]

During August it moved to RNAS Drem (HMS Nighthawk), East Lothian, Scotland, where the Naval Night Fighter School and Night Fighter Direction Centre were based. The squadron spent almost three months at RNAS Drem working up before moving to RNAS Machrihanish (HMS Landrail), Argyll and Bute, Scotland, on 27 November [5] and two weeks later embarked in the Colossus-class aircraft carrier HMS Ocean for the Mediterranean. [3]

Aboard the aircraft carrier it worked with 892 Naval Air Squadron, which operated Grumman Hellcat N.F. Mk II, the night fighter variant of the American carrier-based fighter aircraft, as a Night Fighter Air Group. Six weeks between 4 January and 8 February 1946 were spent at RNAS Hal Far (HMS Falcon), Malta, before returning to the UK in HMS Ocean, where the squadron disbanded on 17 April 1946. [1]

Aircraft flown

1792 Naval Air Squadron flew only one aircraft type: [1]

1792 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom, one overseas in Malta, and a Royal Navy aircraft carrier: [1]

Commanding Officers

List of commanding officers of 1792 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment: [3]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">770 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">784 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

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

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

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<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">799 Naval Air Squadron</span> Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Squadron

799 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which last disbanded during August 1952. It initially formed as a Pool Squadron in South Africa during September 1943, sharing Fairey Albacore aircraft with 798 Naval Air Squadron and providing flying time for aircrew prior to front line squadron assignment, disbanding in June 1944. It reformed in July 1945 as a Flying Check and Conversion Refresher Squadron at HMS Daedalus, RNAS Lee-on-Solent. Made up of three distinct flights, two of those operated away from Lee-on-Solent with a flight at HMS Siskin, RNAS Gosport, giving junior officers air experience, and another flight at HMS Dipper providing Supermarine Sea Otter conversion training. By May 1948 the whole unit had moved to HMS Heron, RNAS Yeovilton. In 1951, 799 Naval Air Squadron relocated to RNAS Machrihanish.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 280.
  2. Sturtivant, Ray (1994). The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Air-Britain. p. 341. ISBN   0-85130-223-8.
  3. 1 2 3 Wragg 2019, p. 190.
  4. Thetford 1991, p. 173.
  5. "Drem". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 6 May 2024.

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.
  • Thetford, Owen (1991). British Naval Aircraft since 1912. London, UK: Putnam Aeronautical Books, an imprint of Conway Maritime Press Ltd. ISBN   0-85177-849-6.
  • Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN   978-0-7509-9303-6.