801 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) was a

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wi ...

squadron of the

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 Fr ...

formed in 1933 which fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

and the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...

Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force

The squadron was formed on 3 April 1933 as part of the Fleet Air Arm, with the promotion of No. 401 Flight to squadron status. The squadron was equipped with the Fairey Flycatcher and Hawker Nimrod aboard . The Flycatchers were replaced in 1934 by the

Hawker Osprey The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraf ...

and the Nimrods were retired in 1936. The squadron was re-equipped with the

Blackburn Skua The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single- radial engine aircraft by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as t ...

and

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...

in 1939 just before the squadron was transferred to the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

Second World War

In January 1940, 801 NAS was based at

RNAS Donibristle RNAS Donibristle is a former Fleet Air Arm base located east of Rosyth, Fife, and northwest of Edinburgh. From 1918 to 1939 the station was called RAF Donibristle. History The following units were posted here at some point: ;Royal Air Force ...

with the

, playing a key role in the early part of the war with operations in Norway while deploying from the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. In September, 801 Squadron embarked on for raids on the northerly parts of the Norwegian coast. Following an attack on Trondheim on 22 September, Skua L2942 piloted by Sub-Lieutenant Bernard Wigginton with Leading Aircraftman Kenneth King as his gunner, was unable to find their carrier and crash landed in neutral

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. In 1943 880 Naval Air Squadron formed the 30 Naval Fighter Wing on . In June 1945, naval fighter wings were reformed as carrier groups with 801 NAS,

828 NAS 828 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in September 1940 as a torpedo spotter reconnaissance squadron. It operated in a number of the theatres of the Second World War, carrying out a number of attacks ...

, 880 NAS and 1771 NAS becoming the 8th Carrier Air Group. In August 1941 they re-equipped with Sea Hurricanes at RNAS Yeovilton, Captain George Clifton Baldwin commanded the station from 1966-1968) The squadron deployed to the Mediterranean aboard , then to . During this deployment 801 NAS claimed thirteen enemy aircraft of various types, for the loss of three Hurricanes and four Fulmars. Two of the Fulmars were brought down by

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...

Korean War

In March 1951, 801 NAS received

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 ...

s and the squadron saw active service during the

flying from . ''Glory'' was deployed in theatre from 3 April 1951 to 30 September 1951 and from 8 November 1952 to the Korean Armistice Agreement of 27 July 1953. 801 NAS was embarked on the second tour of duty. Sea Furies could be armed with either two bombs or four rockets and drop tanks in both cases. The aircraft were mainly used in the ground attack role armed with bombs and rockets, but they were also engaged in air-to-air combat with the much faster MiG-15. SeaFury launch

The squadron suffered seven casualties.

1960s to 1980s

On 18 March 1962, 801 squadron was reformed at Lossiemouth in the strike role with

Buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 168 ...

s. In July 1962 they embarked 10 aircraft in for the Far East. The squadron subsequently received the 1967 Boyd Trophy, an annual award for the best squadron in the Fleet Air Arm, for its efforts in bringing the Buccaneer into service. 801 transferred to with 7 aircraft in 1968 for a further spell in Eastern waters. In March 1969 the ship returned home to spend the next year in Home and Mediterranean waters. The squadron eventually disbanded at Lossiemouth on 21 July 1970. In January 1981 the squadron re-equipped with the Sea Harrier FRS.1 at RNAS Yeovilton.

Falklands War

The squadron operated the Sea Harrier equipped with

Blue Fox radars __NOTOC__ The Ferranti Blue Fox was a British multi-role airborne radar designed and built for the Royal Navy by Ferranti Defence Systems in the late 1970s. It had a mixed record in service, and was replaced by the more capable Blue Vixen. Design ...

aboard during the

. The squadron was supplemented by five pilots from 899 NAS and was under the command of Lieutenant Commander Nigel "Sharkey" Ward. On 18 May a further four pilots of 809 NAS transfer to the squadron from

MV Atlantic Conveyor ''Atlantic Conveyor'' was a British merchant navy ship, registered in Liverpool, that was requisitioned during the Falklands War. She was hit on 25 May 1982 by two Argentine air-launched AM39 Exocet missiles, killing 12 sailors. ''Atlantic ...

with their four Sea Harrier FRS.1 aircraft. ;801 NAS Pilots *Lieutenant Commander Nigel 'Sharkey' Ward (CO) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Lieutenant Commander Doug Hamilton *Lieutenant Charlie Cantan *Lieutenant Alan Curtis (KIA), *Lieutenant Brian Haigh *Lieutenant Stephen Harrison-Thomas Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Flight Lieutenant Ian Mortimer *Lieutenant Mike Watson ;899 NAS Pilots *Lieutenant Commander Robin Kent *Lieutenant Commander John Eyton-Jones (KIA) *Lieutenant Commander Mike Broadwater. *Flight Lieutenant Paul Barton 809 NAS Pilots * Lieutenant Commander Tim Gedge * Lieutenant Commander Dave Braithwaite * Lieutenant Commander Alistair Craig * Lieutenant Dave Austin 801 Squadron shot down 8 Argentine aircraft. *1 May 1982 - A Mirage III of FAA Grupo 8 shot down north of West Falkland by Barton using a Sidewinder. The Argentine pilot ejected. *1 May 1982 - A Mirage III of FAA Grupo 8 damaged in same incident north of West Falkland by Thomas using a Sidewinder air-to-air missile. The Mirage was then shot down over Stanley by Argentine anti-aircraft defences killing the pilot. *1 May 1982 - A Canberra B62 of FAA Grupo 2 was shot down north of Falklands by Curtis using a Sidewinder. The Argentine pilots ejected but were not rescued. *21 May 1982 - A

Pucará The Pucará culture was an archaeological culture which developed in Qullaw, along the north-western shore of Lake Titicaca. It was characterized by a hierarchy of sites made up several smaller centers and villages scattered throughout the nort ...

of FAA Grupo 3 was shot down near Darwin by Ward in one of three Sea Harriers using 30 mm cannon fire. The pilot ejected from the aircraft at about 40 ft above the ground, he survived and walked back to Goose Green. *21 May 1982 - Three Dagger As of FAA Grupo 6 were shot down north of Port Howard, West Falkland using Sidewinders, two by Thomas and the other by Ward. All three Argentine pilots successfully ejected. *1 June 1982 - A

C-130E Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

of FAA Transport Grupo 1 was shot down 50 miles north of Pebble Island by Ward using two

AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prove ...

s and cannon. The crew of seven were killed.

Losses

801 NAS lost four aircraft and two pilots during the conflict. *6 May 1982 - Two aircraft (XZ452 and XZ453) collided in bad weather while flying a night sortie south east of East Falkland, investigating a radar contact close to the burnt-out wreck of . Both pilots - Lt Cdr Eyton-Jones in XZ452 and Lt Curtis in XZ453 - were killed and no trace of either aircraft found. *29 May 1982 - Sea Harrier ZA174 was being made ready for take-off, and slid off the deck when ''Invincible'' turned sharply into the wind. The pilot - Lt Cdr Broadwater - ejected and was picked up. *1 June 1982 - XZ456 was shot down while on an armed recce by a Roland surface-to-air missile to the south of

Port Stanley Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...

, by GADA 601. The pilot - Flight Lieutenant Mortimer - ejected and was rescued by a Sea King from

820 NAS 820 Naval Air Squadron is a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron flying the AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 in an Anti-Submarine role from RNAS Culdrose. The Squadron was formed at RNAS Gosport on 3 April 1933 with the transferral of the ...

after nine hours in the water.

Gallantry Awards

Lieutenant Commander Ward and Lieutenant Thomas were each awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

for their conduct and leadership throughout the campaign. Lieutenant Commander Kent and Flight Lieutenant Mortimer were both Mentioned in Despatches. Lt Curtis was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches

1982 to 2000s

In March 1997, 801 NAS was deployed onboard HMS Illustrious as part of the Carrier Task Group assigned to the Armilla patrol when it took part in Operation Jural, enforcing the 'no fly' zone over southern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Equipped with FA2 Sea Harriers, the Squadron operated alongside GR7 Harriers from

No.1 Squadron RAF Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft. It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth. The squadron motto, ' ...

who had joined them on the carrier for a month of combined exercises and operations. Between 7–12 March, the Harriers flew 28 sorties (18 over Iraqi territory).

Decommissioning

On Tuesday 28 March 2006 a ceremony was held at RNAS Yeovilton, with Commander A J W Rae as the last Sea Harrier squadron commanding officer, to mark the withdrawal from service of the Royal Navy's Sea Harrier FA2s. The final Sea Harrier was withdrawn from service on 31 March 2006 at RNAS Yeovilton and the squadron disbanded. Prior to decommissioning, all aircraft adopted the

omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. The ...

symbol on their tail-fin in recognition of 801 NAS being the last operators of an all-British fixed-wing fighter aircraft. This harks back to the use of this symbol by

892 Naval Air Squadron 892 Naval Air Squadron (892 NAS) was a carrier-based fighter squadron of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was formed in 1943, flying Grumman Martlets, and was the only operational Fleet Air Arm squadron to fly the McDonnell Douglas P ...

, whose McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1s were the last conventional fixed-wing aircraft used by the

. 801 NAS was due to recommission in March 2007, under the command of Commander K Seymour, to operate the Harrier GR7 and GR9 from

RAF Cottesmore Royal Air Force Station Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the ...

. However, due to lack of manpower all former 801 and 800 NAS (their sister squadron) personnel formed a " Naval Strike Wing" within RAF Cottesmore, thus severing all remaining ties to their former home at RNAS Yeovilton. On 1 April 2010, Naval Strike Wing reverted to the identity of 800 Naval Air Squadron.

Aircraft flown

During its lifespan, 801 Squadron has flown fourteen different aircraft types: *

BAE Sea Harrier The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/ vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered servic ...

FRS.1 & FA.2 *

Blackburn Buccaneer The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccane ...

S.1 & S.2 *

Hawker Sea Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. Some versions were built in Canada by the Canada Car and Foundry Co Ltd British variants Hurricane Mk I ; Hurricane Mk I ...

Ia & Ib *

II *

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 ope ...

I * Fairey Flycatcher I *

Gloster Sea Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...

* de Havilland Sea Hornet PR.22 & F.20 * Hawker Nimrod I *

FB.11 & T.20 *

Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design origina ...

FGA.4 & FGA.6 *

Supermarine Seafire The Supermarine Seafire is a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. It was analogous in concept to the Hawker Sea Hurricane, a navalised version of the Spitfire's stablemate, the Hawker Hurr ...

Ib, IIc, L.IIe, L.III & F.XV *

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...

Va & Vb

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

RAF Cottesmore entry on squadron

{{Royal Naval Air Squadrons Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) 800 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Falklands War Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Korean War Military units and formations established in 1933 Military units and formations disestablished in 2007