770 Naval Air Squadron
| 770 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 7 November 1939 - 1 May 1940 1 January 1941 - 1 October 1945[1] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Type | Fleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron |
| Role |
|
| Size | Latin for 'There's company aloft') |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge | Blue, upon clouds melting white a cock proper. Wartime unofficial, badge and motto transferred to 790 Naval Air Squadron[2] |
| Identification Markings | individual letters (all types 1941-1942) C8A+ (all types 1943-1944) B8A+ then D8A+ (all types from 1944-1945)[2][3] |
770 Naval Air Squadron (770 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It last disbanded at HMS Nighthawk, RNAS Drem in October 1945. 770 Naval Air Squadron initially formed as a Deck Landing Training Squadron at HMS Daedalus, RNAS Lee-on-Solent, in November 1939. Embarked in HMS Argus, and operated from the aircraft carrier and Hyeres la Palyvestre in the south of France, until it disbanded in May 1940. It reformed at HMS Merlin, RNAS Donibristle, on New Year’s Day 1941, as a Fleet Requirements Unit out of 771 Naval Air Squadron’s 'X' Flight. It moved to HMS Jackdaw, RNAS Crail, in June 1941, then two and half years later it moved to HMS Jackdaw II, RNAS Dunino in January 1944, before finally moving to HMS Nighthawk in July.
History of 770 NAS
Deck Landing Training (1939 - 1940)
770 Naval Air Squadron formed at
Fleet Requirements Unit (1941 - 1944)
770 Naval Air Squadron reformed as a Fleet Requirements Unit at
On 29 January 1944 the squadron moved to
Aircraft operated
The squadron operated a variety of different aircraft and versions:[2]
- Gloster Sea Gladiator fighter aircraft(November 1939 - April 1940)
- de Havilland DH.60M Moth trainer aircraft(November 1939 - April 1940)
- Blackburn Skua dive bomber and fighter aircraft (November 1939 - April 1940, October 1941 - December 1943)
- Fairey Swordfish I torpedo bomber (December 1939 - April 1940)
- Blackburn Roc fighter aircraft (January 1941 - December 1943)
- Percival Proctor II radio trainer (December 1941 - May 1942)
- Vought Chesapeakedive bomber (May 1942 - June 1944)
- Boulton Paul Defiant TT Mk I target tug (August 1942 - August 1943)
- de Havilland Tiger Moth trainer aircraft (August - September 1943)
- Supermarine Seafire L Mk IIc fighter aircraft (September 1943)
- Miles Martinet TT.Mk I target tug (September 1943 - October 1945)
- Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV light bomber (March 1944 - June 1945)
- Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIC fighter aircraft (May 1944 - April 1945)
- de Havilland Mosquito B Mk.25 bomber (July - October 1945)
- Supermarine Seafire F Mk IIc fighter aircraft (July - October 1945)
- de Havilland Mosquito PR Mk.XVI photo-reconnaissance aircraft (September - October 1945)
770 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air station of the Royal Navy, in the United Kingdom, a Royal Navy aircraft carrier and a number of Royal Air Force stations:[2]
1939 - 1940
- Royal Naval Air Station LEE-ON-SOLENT (HMS Daedalus) (7 November 1939 - 13 November 1939)
- HMS Argus Detachment (9 - 13 November 1939)
- HMS Argus (13 November 1939 - 21 November 1939)
- HMS Argus/Hyères la Palyvestre (21 November 1939 - 1 May 1940)
- disbanded - (1 May 1940)
1941 - 1945
- Royal Naval Air Station DONIBRISTLE (HMS Merlin) (1 January 1941 - 1 June 1941)
- Royal Naval Air Station CRAIL (HMS Jackdaw) (1 June 1941 - 29 January 1944)
- Royal Air Force EvantonDetachment (7 December 1943 - 1 May 1944)
- Royal Naval Air Station DUNINO (HMS Jackdaw II) (29 January 1944 - 25 July 1944)
- Royal Naval Air Station DREM (HMS Nighthawk) (25 July 1944 - 1 October 1945)
- Royal Air Force Ouston Detachment (19 - 23 April 1945)
- Royal Naval Air Station AYR (HMS Wagtail)Detachment (30 June 1945)
- Royal Air Force Charterhall (Mosquito Flight) (1 July - 1 October 1945)
- Royal Naval Air Station ARBROATH (HMS Condor)Detachment (3 - 14 September 1945)
- disbanded - (1 October 1945)
Commanding Officers
List of commanding officers of 770 Naval Air Squadron with day, month and year of appointment:[3][2]
1939 - 1940
- not identified
1941 - 1945
- Lieutenant E.W. Lawson, RN, from 1 January 1941
- Lieutenant H.E.R. Torin, RN, from 5 May 1941
- Lieutenant Commander(A) W.H.C. Blake, RN, from 29 October 1941
- Lieutenant Commander(A) H.T. Molyneaux, RNVR, from 13 November 1941
- Lieutenant Commander(A) A.F.E. Payen, RNVR, from 4 April 1942
- Lieutenant Commander(A) D.R.M. Manthorpe, RNVR, from 5 April 1944
- Lieutenant Commander(A) J.M.L. Wilson, RNZNVR, from 13 August 1945
- disbanded - 1 October 1945
References
Citations
- ^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 88.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 71.
- ^ a b c d e Wragg 2019, p. 130.
- ^ "FAA Bases Home Page". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Drem". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 3 March 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.
- Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
- Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. ISBN 978-0-7509-9303-6.