826 Naval Air Squadron
826 Naval Air Squadron | |
---|---|
Active | March 1940 – August 1943 December 1943 – October 1944 August 1945 – February 1946 ? – November 1955 March 1966 – March 1970 June 1970 – July 1993 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Navy |
Type | Carrier based squadron |
Role | Torpedo Spotter Reconnaissance (TSR) |
Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
Battle honours | Dunkirk 1940, English Channel 1940–44, Atlantic 1940, Matapan 1941, Crete 1941, Mediterranean 1941–43, Libya 1941–2, Falklands 1982, Kuwait 1991 |
826 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadron formed during World War II which has been reformed several times since then until last disbanded in 1993.
History
Second World War
No. 826 Squadron was formed at
In November 1940, the squadron embarked on the newly commissioned aircraft carrier HMS Formidable, which sailed for the Mediterranean via South Africa and the Red Sea, the squadron flying attacks against Massawa in Italian-ruled Eritrea on the way.[4] The squadron's strength was supplemented by two Swordfishes in March 1941 to replace losses. 826 Squadron took part in the Battle of Cape Matapan on 28 March 1941, damaging the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto.[4][5] On 26 May 1941, following an attack on an airfield on Karpathos, Formidable was badly damaged by German bombers, and was withdrawn from operations for repair, with 826 Squadron being detached for land-based operations.[4]
The Squadron was then deployed on night bombing raids over the
826 Naval Air Squadron reformed on 1 December 1943 at
Peter Butterworth, famous as an actor in the British Carry On film series, was flying for the squadron when he was shot down in 1940.
Post War
Canada
The squadron reformed on 15 August 1945, again equipped with Barracudas, with the intention of forming part of the air wing of
Reformation
826 Squadron reformed as part of the Fleet Air Arm in May 1951, equipped with Firefly Mk 5 (soon replaced by Firefly AS. Mk.6) in the anti-submarine role. The Squadron flew its Fireflys off the carriers HMS Indomitable, Theseus and Glory, before re-equipping with the new Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft in January 1955, becoming the first squadron to operate the Gannet. It embarked aboard HMS Eagle but disbanded in November 1955.[10]
Helicopters
The 826 designation was then reactivated in 1966 at
It was reformed a sixth time on 2 June 1970 with Westland Sea Kings,[12] serving on HMS Eagle until the carrier decommissioned in January 1972. The squadron then operated from the helicopter training ship RFA Engadine and from December 1972, from the cruiser HMS Tiger. It continued to operate its Sea Kings from Tiger until 1978, when it transferred to the carrier Bulwark, receiving Sea King HAS.5s in March 1981, and embarking on Hermes in September that year.[13] (Bulwark having been paid off in March 1981.[14])
Following the
After the end of the war, the Squadron was split into a number of independent flights operating from Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, and deployed in turn to the South Atlantic, these operations continuing until 1986. After that period, the Squadron was split into 4 flights of two Sea Kings each, operating from Type 22 frigates, RFAs and aircraft carriers as required.[16]
In December 1990, just prior to the start of the First
After the squadron's aircraft had been reallocated to 810 Naval Air Squadron and 819 Naval Air Squadron the squadron was again disbanded in July 1993.[18]
Aircraft operated
From | To | Aircraft | Version | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
March 1940 | August 1943 | Fairey Albacore | I | |
July 1940 March 1941 |
August 1940 September 1941 |
Fairey Swordfish | I | |
December 1943 | October 1944 | Fairey Barracuda | II | |
August 1945 | January 1946 | Fairey Barracuda | II(ASH) | Fitted with Air-to-Surface H radar |
January 1946 May 1947 |
February 1946 October 1950 |
Fairey Firefly | FR.1 | |
December 1948 | January 1949 | Fairey Firefly | T.1 | |
October 1950 | May 1951 | Grumman Avenger |
TBM-3E | |
May 1951 | January 1955 | Fairey Firefly | AS.6 | |
January 1955 | November 1955 | Fairey Gannet | AS.1 | |
March 1966 | October 1968 | Westland Wessex | HAS.1 | |
October 1968 | March 1970 | Westland Wessex | HAS.3 | |
June 1970 | December 1976 | Westland Sea King | HAS.1 | |
December 1976 | March 1981 | Westland Sea King | HAS.2/2a | |
March 1981 | May 1993 | Westland Sea King | HAS.5 | |
April 1988 | July 1993 | Westland Sea King | HAS.6 |
References
Citations
- ^ a b Brown 1972, p. 48.
- ^ Brown 1972, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Brown 1972, pp. 48–50.
- ^ a b c Brown 1972, p. 50.
- ^ "Fleet Air Arm 826 squadron profile". fleetairarmarchive.net. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Brown 1972, pp. 50–51.
- ^ Brown 1972, pp. 51–53.
- ^ Brown 1972, pp. 53–54.
- ^ Brown 1972, pp. 53–58.
- ^ a b c Brown 1972, p. 58.
- ^ Brown 1972, pp. 58, 61.
- ^ Brown 1972, p. 61.
- ^ Sturtivant and Ballance 1994, pp. 222–224.
- ^ Chesneau 1998, p. 146.
- ^ Burden et al 1986, pp. 247–250.
- ^ Sturtivant and Ballance 1994, pp. 223, 225–227.
- ^ Howard et al 2011, p. 255.
- ^ a b Sturtivant and Ballance 1994, p.223.
Bibliography
- Brown, David. Carrier Air Groups, Volume 1: HMS Eagle . Windsor, UK: Hylton Lacy Ltd., 1972. ISBN 0-85064-103-9.
- Burden, Rodney A., Michael A. Draper, Douglas A. Rough, Colin A Smith and David Wilton. Falklands: The Air War. Twickenham, UK: British Air Review Group, 1986. ISBN 0 906339 05 7.
- Chesneau, Roger. Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.London: Bloomsbury Press, 1998. ISBN 1-86019-875-9.
- Howard, Lee, Burrow, Mick and Myall, Eric. Fleet Air Arm Helicopters since 1943. Tonbridge: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 2011. ISBN 978-0-85130-304-8.
- Sturtivant, Ray. and Ballance, Theo. The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1994. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
External links