793 Naval Air Squadron (793 NAS) was a

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

(FAA)

naval air squadron A naval air squadron (NAS) is the title of naval aviation squadrons in some countries. Poland The Polish ''Morski Dywizjon Lotniczy'' #Naval Air Squadron# was formed in 1920 with two ''Escadrille''s# United Kingdom The squadrons of the Fleet A ...

of the United Kingdom’s

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

(RN) which disbanded during October 1945. It was formed in October 1939 at RNAS Ford (HMS ''Peregrine''), as an Air Towed Target Unit, as part of No.1 Observer School. From 1940 to disbandment it operated at RNAS Piarco (HMS ''Goshawk''),

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

History

Air Towed Target Unit (1939–1945)

793 Naval Air Squadron formed at RNAS Ford (HMS ''Peregrine''), located at

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, in

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on the 25 October 1939, as an Air Towed Target Unit and operating

Blackburn Roc The Blackburn Roc (company designation B-25) was a naval fighter aircraft designed and produced by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It took its name from the mythical bird of the tales of the Arabian Nights, the Roc. It was op ...

Mk.I aircraft, a British naval turret fighter which was used to tow targets for fighter aircraft training. A detachment was provided at

RAF Warmwell Royal Air Force Warmwell or more simply RAF Warmwell is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station near Warmwell in Dorset, England from 1937 to 1946, located about 5 miles east-southeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dor ...

, in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, to tow targets for fighter aircraft based at

RAF Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, during August 1940. On the 18 August 1940, a formation of

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

, or Stuka,

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s, attacked RNAS Ford as part of a large ''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

'' force attacking

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

s around Hampshire and Sussex. Twenty-eight personnel were killed and seventy-five were wounded in the raid, which also destroyed seventeen aircraft, damaged twenty-six more and caused significant infrastructure damage. The only part of the squadron to escape destruction was the detachment. The raid prompted 793 Naval Air Squadron to be stood down and moved to RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS ''Daedalus''), situated in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, in preparation for sailing to relocate to

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, located in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, operating from RNAS Piarco, on the island of Trinidad, which began on the 18 November 1940. The squadron's role was to support the training of observers for the Fleet Air Arm. It formed part of the No. 1 Observer School operating out of , Royal Naval Air Station Piarco, working alongside three Observer Training Squadrons:

749 Naval Air Squadron 749 Naval Air Squadron (749 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It was active from 1941 through to 1945, formed as an Observer Training Squadron, as part of No.1 Observer School at RNAS ...

750 Naval Air Squadron 750 Naval Air Squadron (750 NAS) is a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) which provides training for both Royal Navy Observers and Royal Air Force (RAF) Weapon Systems Officers (WSOs) in managing nav ...

and

752 Naval Air Squadron 752 Naval Air Squadron (752 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). Formed in May 1939, at RNAS Ford (HMS ''Peregrine'') as an Observer Training Squadron, it was active through to 1945 as par ...

. Here, 793 Naval Air Squadron also operated

Miles Martinet The Miles M.25 Martinet was a target tug aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) that was in service during the Second World War. It was the first British aircraft to be designed specifically for target towing. Work on t ...

T.T.1 for target towing,

Fairey Fulmar The Fairey Fulmar is a British carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft/fighter aircraft which was developed and manufactured by aircraft company Fairey Aviation. It was named after the northern fulmar, a seabird native to the British Isles. The ...

, a British

carrier-borne A carrier-based aircraft (also known as carrier-capable aircraft, carrier-borne aircraft, carrier aircraft or aeronaval aircraft) is a naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. Carrier-based aircraft must be able to launch i ...

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

, and

Fairey Albacore The Fairey Albacore is a single-engine biplane torpedo bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation. It was primarily operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) during the Second World War. The Albacor ...

a single-engine

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

aircraft. 793 Naval Air Squadron operated from RNAS Piarco (HMS ''Goshawk'') for the remainder of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, finally disbanding there on the 10 October 1945.

Aircraft flown

The squadron has flown a number of different aircraft types, including: *

Mk.1

(October 1939 - August 1940, November 1940 - August 1944) *

Mk.II

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

/fighter aircraft (September 1943 - May 1945) *

Mk.I

(November 1943 - October 1945) *

T.T.1

target tug A target tug is an aircraft which tows an unmanned drone, a fabric drogue or other kind of target, for the purposes of gun or missile target practice. Target tugs are often conversions of transport and utility aircraft, as well as obsolescent c ...

(April 1944 - October 1945)

Naval air stations

793 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy, both in the UK and overseas: * Royal Naval Air Station Ford (HMS ''Peregrine''), Sussex, (25 October 1939 - 1 October 1940) ** Royal Air Force Warmwell, Dorset, (Detachment 14 - 24 August 1940) * Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent (HMS ''Daedalus''), Hampshire, (1 October 1940 - 12 October 1940) * -transit- (12 October 1940 - 18 November 1940) * Royal Naval Air Station Piarco (HMS ''Goshawk''), Trinidad, (18 November 1940 - 10 October 1945) * disbanded - (10 October 1945)

Commanding fficers

List of

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

s of 793 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment: *

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

( A) J.N.Gladich,

RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two Volunteer Reserves (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve (United Kingdom), ...

, from October 1939 * Lieutenant Commander(A) K.D.R. Davis, RNVR, from November 1940 * Lieutenant Commander(A) F.C. Booth, RNVR, from June 1944 * Lieutenant Commander(A) F.B. Gardner, RNVR, from December 1944 * Lieutenant Commander(A) S.J. McDowell, RNVR, from August 1945 * disbanded - October 1945

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{Royal Naval Air Squadrons 700 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons Military units and formations established in 1939 Air squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War II Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II