800 Naval Air Squadron
| 800 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
Latin for 'Never unprepared') | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lieutenant Commander Raymond Lygo (1954–55) |
800 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron formed on 3 April 1933 by amalgamating No's 402 and 404 (Fleet Fighter) Flights.
History
1930s
The squadron was first equipped with nine single-seat
In 1939, 800 Squadron was flying primarily Blackburn B-24 Skuas and a few
Second World War
During the
The squadron was regrouped with
1950s
During the Korean War, the Squadron and its Seafire F.47s were on board HMS Triumph and their first operation was a strike by 12 Seafires and 9 Fairey Fireflies on Haeju airfield on 3 July 1950. Because of their short range, the Seafires were frequently given the Combat Air Patrol task over the fleet. During the Inchon landings in September 1950 Seafires flew armed reconnaissance missions and spotted for the bombarding cruisers. But, by the end of the month, No 800 had only three serviceable aircraft and no replacements were available in the Far East. The inevitable crop of landing accidents and cumulative airframe stress damage meant the end of the Seafire's operational life. During the Korean War the squadron flew 245 offensive patrols and 115 ground attack sorties before Triumph was replaced by Theseus with its Sea Furies and Fairey Fireflies.
In August 1951 the
1960s
800 NAS reformed as a Supermarine Scimitar F.1 unit in July 1959 with six aircraft, under the command of Lt. Cmdr. D. P. Norman AFC at RNAS Lossiemouth, later re joining Ark Royal's air group in March 1960. After operating worldwide from the Ark, 800 returned to 'Lossie' in December 1963 and disbanded in February 1964, its aircraft being passed to 803NAS to bring that unit up to 16 aircraft. A month later 800 NAS recommissioned as a Blackburn Buccaneer S.1 squadron, equipped with 10 Buccaneers and four Scimitar F1s for service on the newly refitted Eagle. The latter aircraft were for the next two years operated by 800B Flight, their aircraft adorned with a 'foaming tankard' badge on their tails as they were to be used as in-flight refuelling tankers as the underpowered Buccaneer S.1 could not be launched from a carrier with a full weapons load and full fuel tanks. The Buccaneers were launched fully armed but with a light fuel load, and would then 'top up' from waiting Scimitars which had been launched previously. 800 NAS was the only FAA squadron organised this way, and it was an interim measure pending the arrival of the Mk 2 Buccaneer. In June 1966 the Mk 2s began to replace the Mk 1s and the Scimitars, completing the process by November of that year.
In March 1967 the oil tanker
During this period the squadron operated 14 Buccaneer S.2s, and as with its sister squadron 809 Naval Air Squadron aboard Ark Royal in the 1970s, the squadron normally kept ten strike aircraft ready, two more fitted with a specially designed reconnaissance pallet in the rotating bomb bay, and the final two aircraft were fitted with buddy refuelling pods as tanker aircraft. After covering the British withdrawal from 'East of Suez' Eagle returned home to pay off in January 1972, her squadrons flown back to their shore bases to disband. 800 Squadron returned to Lossiemouth and disbanded on 23 February 1972, and its aircraft were passed to the RAF.
1980s
On 31 March 1980, 800 NAS was recommissioned with five
Falklands War
On the outbreak of the
Post-Falklands
Post war, 809 NAS reacquired its aircraft and crews and returned to the UK alongside 800 NAS aboard Hermes, only to embark aboard the newly completed Illustrious and return to the Falklands so that Invincible could be relieved to return home. 809 NAS disbanded in December 1982 on return to the UK. Illustrious had been sent into the South Atlantic before being commissioned properly and spent the next few months catching up on preparations for full commissioning, after which 800 NAS was transferred to Illustrious in September 1983. Squadron strength was increased first to six Sea Harriers then gradually up to eight aircraft as a result of lessons relearned during the conflict. In the mid-1990s the squadron re-equipped with the more capable Sea Harrier FA.2.
In January 1998, in addition to 800 NAS's Sea Harriers FA.2s, RAF Harriers GR.7s operated from Invincible in the Persian Gulf, typically in a mix of seven FA.2s and seven GR.7s.
2000s
In April 2004, while based in Yeovilton the squadron was disbanded following the decision to withdraw the FA.2s early as a cost-saving measure. It was re-commissioned on 31 March 2006 under Commander Adrian Orchard, when 800 NAS became the first RN squadron within Joint Force Harrier as part of Number 1 Group within RAF Strike Command. In March 2007, the squadron combined with 801 NAS to form the Naval Strike Wing. On 1 April 2010, NSW reverted to the identity of 800 Naval Air Squadron.[8] The squadron disbanded later that year, as a result of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review and the subsequent withdrawal of Harrier fleet. The last Commanding Officer was Commander David Lindsay. In 2012 Kettering Sea Cadets were named 800 NAS to keep the squadron alive. Lt M Pether RNR Head of Flight within the Sea Cadet Corps, maintains the traditions of the Naval Air Squadron and will continue to do so until 800 NAS gets re-commissioned .[9]
Aircraft flown
The 800 squadron has flown 15 different aircraft types, including:
Pre-WW2 (Biplanes):
- Hawker Nimrod (1933–1939)
- Hawker Osprey(1933–1939)
- Gloster Gladiator (1938–1939)
WW2 (Monoplanes):
- Blackburn Skua (1938–1941)
- Blackburn Roc (1939)
- Fairey Fulmar (1941–1942)
- Hawker Sea Hurricane (1942–1943)
- Grumman Hellcat(1943–1945)
- Supermarine Seafire (1946–1950)
Post WW2 (Jets):
- Supermarine Attacker (1951–1954)
- Hawker Sea Hawk (1955–1956)
- Supermarine Scimitar (1959–1964)
- Blackburn Buccaneer (1964–1972)
- BAE Sea Harrier(1980–2004)
- BAe Harrier(2006–2010)
Battle honours
800 Naval Air Squadron has received the following battle honours.
- Norway 1940–4
- Mediterranean 1940–1
- Spartivento 1940
- Malta Convoys 1941–2
- Norway 1940–4
- Bismarck' 1941
- Diego Suarez 1942
- North Africa 1942
- South France 1944
- Aegean 1944
- Burma 1945
- Malaya 1949
- Falkland Islands 1982
References
Notes
- ^ Brown 1972, p.28.
- ^ Brown 1972, pp. 29, 31.
- ^ Brown 1972, p. 31.
- ^ Brown 1972, p. 32.
- ^ Burden et al. 1986 pp. 190, 192.
- ^ Burden et al. 1986, p. 208.
- ^ "BATT G. W. J. Lieutenant Commander, DSC – South Atlantic Medal Association (82)". 22 August 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "Naval Strike Wing". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
- ^ "Last trip for one of Britain's iconic aircraft". BBC News. 15 December 2010. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
Bibliography
- Brown, David (1972). Carrier Air Groups, Volume 1: HMS Eagle. Windsor, UK: Hylton Lacy Ltd. ISBN 0-85064-103-9.
- Burden, Rodney A.; Draper, Michael A.; Rough, Douglas A.; Smith, Colin A.; Wilton, David (1986). Falklands: The Air War. Twickenham, UK: British Aviation Research Group. ISBN 0-906339-05-7.
- "No. 800 Squadron: The First Operational Naval Unit to be Equipped with Jet Aircraft". Flight. Vol. LX, no. 2230. 19 October 1951. pp. 498–500.
- Sturtivant, Ray; Theo Ballance (1994). The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm (2 ed.). Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
- Thetford, Owen (1994). British Naval Aircraft since 1912 (4 ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
External links
- "Fleet Air Arm 800 Squadron". fleetairarmarchive.net. Fleet Air Arm Archive. 3 June 2005. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Drury, Tony (July 2008). "A History of 800 Naval Air Squadron". royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.