788 Naval Air Squadron

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788 Naval Air Squadron
788 NAS badge
Active18 January 1942 - 11 June 1945[1]
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeFleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
Role
  • Eastern Fleet Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Pool
  • Fleet Requirements Unit
SizeSquadron
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Motto(s)Toyari saa yote
(Swahili for 'Ready at all hours')[2]
Insignia
Squadron BadgeBlue, over water in base barry wavy of four white and blue two flashes of lightning in saltire white surmounted by a target proper pierced in the bull by an arrow gold flighted white (1944)[2]
Fairey Swordfish, an example of the type used by 788 NAS

788 Naval Air Squadron (788 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which last disbanded during June 1945. The squadron formed at RN Air Section China Bay in Ceylon, in January 1942, as the British Eastern Fleet's Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Pool, however it lost half its strength during the heavy raids by Japanese carrier-borne aircraft in the April. The squadron regrouped at RNAS Tanga (HMS Kilele) in Tanganyika, East Africa to become a Fleet Requirements Unit and relocating almost immediately to RN Air Section Port Reitz, in Mombasa, where it remained operational for the next three years.

History of 788 NAS

Eastern Fleet's TBR Pool (1942)

788 Naval Air Squadron Formed at RN Air Section China Bay which had lodger facilities at

carrier-borne aircraft, whilst they were flying to collect torpedoes for an attack on the Japanese aircraft carriers.[2] The remainder of the unit then travelled to East Africa.[3]

Fleet Requirements Unit (1942 - 1945)

The remnants of the Eastern Fleet TBR Pool, relocated to RNAS Tanga (HMS Kilele), in

RAF Eastleigh, in Nairobi, Kenya, between May and November 1943.[2]

1944 saw the squadron receive some new aircraft and it was equipped with four

multi-role aircraft and a Supermarine Walrus amphibious maritime patrol aircraft.[3] 788 Naval Air Squadron disbanded at RN Air Section Port Reitz, Mombasa, on 11 June 1945.[5]

Aircraft operated

The squadron has operated a number of different aircraft types, including:[6][7]

Bristol Beaufighter Mk IIF night fighter

Naval Air Stations

788 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy, located overseas:[6][7]

  • RN Air Section CHINA BAY
    (16 February 1942 - 8 May 1942)
  • HMS Athene (passage) (8 May 1942 - 20 May 1942)
  • Royal Naval Air Station TANGA (HMS Kilele) (20 May 1942 - 24 June 1942)
  • RN Air Section PORT REITZ
    (24 June 1942 - 11 June 1945)
    • RAF Eastleigh
      Detachment (1 May - 7 November 1943)
  • disbanded - 11 June 1945

Commanding Officers

List of commanding officers of 788 Naval Air Squadron with day, month and year of appointment:[3][7]

  • Lieutenant Commander C.A. Kingsley-Rowe, RN, from 16 February 1942
  • Major V.B.G. Cheesman, RM, from 1 May 1942
  • Lieutenant E.M, Britton, RN, from 7 August 1942
  • Lieutenant W.N. Waller, RN, from 25 August 1942
  • Lieutenant Commander(A) E.H. Horn, RNVR, from 12 August 1943
  • Lieutenant Commander(A) J.A. Ansell, RNVR, from 25 October 1943
  • Lieutenant Commander(A) F.G. Hood, SANF(V), from 15 August 1944
  • disbanded - 11 June 1945

References

Citations

  1. ^ Sturtivant, Ballance 1994, p. 112.
  2. ^ a b c d Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 90.
  3. ^ a b c d e Wragg 2019, p. 136.
  4. ^ "Tanga". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Port Reitz". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b "788 Naval Air Squadron". www.wings-aviation.ch. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 91.

Bibliography

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