797 Naval Air Squadron

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797 Naval Air Squadron
ActiveJuly 1942 - 24 October 1945[1]
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeFleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
RoleFleet Requirements Unit
SizeSquadron
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Garrison/HQRNAS Katukurunda (HMS Ukussa)
RNAS Colombo Racecourse (HMS Bherunda)
Insignia
Identification MarkingsR8A+ (Defiant from 1944)
L9A+ (Beaufighter later)
L0A+ (later)[2][3]
Fairey Swordfish, an example of the type used by 797 NAS

797 Naval Air Squadron (797 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which last disbanded in October 1945 in Ceylon. Its role was a Fleet Requirements Unit which formed at HMS Ukussa, Royal Naval Air Station Katukurunda, in Ceylon, in July 1942. The squadron moved to RNAS Colombo Racecourse (HMS Bherunda) in October 1943. It had a Communications Flight which became 742 Naval Air Squadron in December 1943 and the following summer it had an ‘X’ Flight deployed for target towing for a couple of gunnery schools in Bombay, India and which eventually moved to 722 Naval Air Squadron.

History of 797 NAS

Fleet Requirements Unit (1942 - 1945)

797 Naval Air Squadron formed at

Gloster Sea Gladiator, a British biplane fighter aircraft and Fairey Swordfish, a biplane torpedo bomber, were also acquired in 1943, and Fairey Albacore biplane torpedo bomber aircraft were added later.[4] The squadron relocated to RNAS Colombo Racecourse (HMS Bherunda), located within Colombo Racecourse, in the Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Ceylon,[6] on 1 October 1943 and shortly afterwards the Blackburn Skua were withdrawn and replaced with Boulton Paul Defiant, a British interceptor aircraft.[2]

In August 1943, three

Grumman Avenger, an American torpedo bomber aircraft, Fairey Barracuda, a British carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber and Bristol Beaufighter, a twin-engine multirole combat aircraft, added to the squadron. In July 1945 the squadron briefly operated six de Havilland Mosquito, also a twin-engine multirole combat aircraft. 797 Naval Air Squadron disbanded on 24 October 1945.[7]

Aircraft flown

Blackburn Skua L2923 in Fleet Air Arm markings

The squadron has flown a number of different aircraft types, including:[8][3]

Naval Air Stations

797 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy, overseas:[3]

Commanding Officers

List of commanding officers of 797 Naval Air Squadron with month and year of appointment:[8]

  • Lieutenant(A) F.L. Page, RNVR, from July 1942
  • Lieutenant(A) K.C. Winstanley, RNVR, from December 1943
  • disbanded - 24 October 1945

References

Citations

  1. ^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 120.
  2. ^ a b Wragg 2019, p. 138-139.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 97.
  4. ^ a b Wragg 2019, p. 138.
  5. ^ "Katukurunda". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Colombo Racecourse". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  7. ^ a b Wragg 2019, p. 139.
  8. ^ a b "797 Naval Air Squadron". www.wings-aviation.ch. Retrieved 17 January 2024.

Bibliography

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