724 Squadron RAN
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724 Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm flying squadron. The squadron was formed for the first time in 1945 and was last disbanded in 1984.


History

724 Squadron was first formed on 10 April 1945 as a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
naval air communications unit. The squadron made daily flights between Sydney and Melbourne until 31 May 1946 when it was disbanded. 724 Squadron was recommissioned as an Australian unit on 1 June 1955 at the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) main air station HMAS ''Albatross''. The squadron's role was to carry out fixed-wing conversion training and it was initially equipped with Wirraway,
Hawker Sea Fury The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft ...
and
Fairey Firefly The Fairey Firefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was developed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Avia ...
propeller-driven aircraft and
de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...
jets. The squadron's role changed in October 1956 when it absorbed most of the decommissioned 723 Squadron's de Havilland Sea Venom fighters and
Fairey Gannet The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed for the Royal Navy, being the first fixed-wing aircraft to combine both the search an ...
anti-submarine aircraft and
Bristol Sycamore The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore was an early helicopter developed and built by the helicopter division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. The name refers to the seeds of the sycamore tree, ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', which fall with a rotating motio ...
helicopters. As part of this change 724 Squadron's Wirraways, Sea Furies and Fireflys were transferred to other units. In its new role the squadron provided Sea Venom and Gannet operational training on board the RAN's only aircraft carrier, HMAS ''Melbourne''. Three 724 Squadron pilots were killed during separate flying accidents during 1956. 724 Squadron's make-up continued to change in 1957 and 1958. The Sycamores were transferred back to the recommissioned 723 Squadron in early 1957 and the Gannets moved to 725 Squadron during 1958. This left 724 Squadron equipped with Sea Vampires and Sea Venoms. In 1959 the squadron formed an aerobatic team called the Ramjets which was equipped with Sea Venoms and performed at air shows across Australia. The squadron's role and aircraft inventory expanded during the early 1960s as the RAN wound-down its fixed-wing aircraft operations. 724 Squadron absorbed 725 Squadron in June 1961 and 805 Squadron and 723 Squadron in June and November 1963 respectively. As a result of these changes the squadron's aircraft complement eventually included Sea Venoms, Gannets, Vampires, Fireflies, Dakotas and
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. Between 1963 and 1968 724 Squadron and 816 Squadron were the only FAA squadrons operating fixed-wing aircraft. During this time the squadron's roles included all-weather fighter, anti-submarine warfare and operational flying training along with fleet support, trials and communications tasks. 724 Squadron became an all-jet conversion training squadron again in December 1968 and was equipped with two-seat trainer variants of the new McDonnell Douglas A-4G Skyhawk, Vampires and Venoms. The Vampires and Venoms were replaced by new
Aermacchi MB-326 The Aermacchi or Macchi MB-326 is a light military jet trainer designed in Italy. Originally conceived as a two-seat trainer, there have also been single and two-seat light attack versions produced. It is one of the most commercially successf ...
trainers between 1970 and 1972. Despite its rating as a second-line training unit, 724 Squadron participated in some fleet exercises and used its Skyhawks to provide close air support to
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...
units during ground manoeuvres. The squadron's Skyhawks were also used in a new aerobatic team called the Checkmates. In June 1982 HMAS ''Melbourne'' was decommissioned without being replaced. As a result, the RAN's fixed-wing aircraft squadrons were rapidly decommissioned. 724 Squadron absorbed 805 Squadron's Skyhawks in July 1982 and transferred its Macchis to the
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
in 1983. The squadron was decommissioned at HMAS ''Albatross'' on 30 June 1984 and its Skyhawks were later sold to the Royal New Zealand Air Force.


Notes

The "Checkmates" were an aerobatic team operated by 805 Sqn (VS 805) which was the front line Skyhawk sqn. Aircraft on this team at one stage sported a chess knight logo on the tailfin instead of the red/white check pattern. (The aircraft of 724 sported a similar pattern but in blue/yellow


References

* {{Royal Naval Air Squadrons Flying squadrons of the Royal Australian Navy 700 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1984