761 Naval Air Squadron (761 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). It was formed at HMS ''Heron'', RNAS Yeovilton, as the Advanced Training Squadron of the Fleet Fighter School, in 1941. The squadron moved to HMS ''Dipper'', RNAS Henstridge, in 1943, as part of the No. 2 Naval Air Fighter School. It remained at HMS ''Dipper'' and in this role, until January 1946, when the squadron disbanded.

History

Naval Air Fighter School (1941–1946)

761 Naval Air Squadron formed, on 1 August 1941, at RNAS Yeovilton (HMS ''Heron'') near

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. It was formed out of

760 Naval Air Squadron 760 Naval Air Squadron (760 NAS) is a List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons, Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The squadron first formed in April 1940 as No.1 Fleet Fighter Pool with a variety of aircraft types before stan ...

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

carrier-based 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 ...

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 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 tasked as the Advanced Training Squadron of the Fleet Fighter School, and it used RNAS Haldon (HMS ''Heron'' II) for air firing practice. During 1942,

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 ...

, a carrier-based turret fighter aircraft and

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

I, a single-seat fighter aircraft, were received by the squadron. On 10 April 1943, 761 Naval Air Squadron relocated to RNAS Henstridge (HMS ''Dipper''), situated near

Henstridge Henstridge is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated east of Sherborne in the South Somerset district, near the border with Dorset. The parish includes the hamlet of Yenston. In 2011, the village had a population of 1,814. ...

, in

, as part of No.2 Naval Air Fighter School. At this point, the squadron was equipped with a mix of eighteen Supermarine Spitfire and

Supermarine Seafire The Supermarine Seafire is a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. It was analogous in concept to the Hawker Hurricane variants#Sea Hurricanes, Hawker Sea Hurricane, a navalised aircraft ...

, the latter a

navalised A navalised aircraft (or navalized aircraft) is an aircraft that has been specifically designed for naval use, in some cases as a variant of a land-based design. An aircraft based on an aircraft carrier is called carrier-based aircraft. Characte ...

Spitfire fighter aircraft, along with six

Miles Master The Miles M.9 Master was a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer designed and built by aviation company Miles Aircraft, Miles Aircraft Ltd. It was inducted in large numbers into both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) durin ...

, an advanced trainer aircraft. Utilising 'D' Flight, trainees went about real deck landing training on the , , and the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

, (converted from an

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

), . Supermarine Seafire was the main aircraft operated by the squadron and by June 1944, sixty-eight Supermarine Seafire fighter aircraft were being used, consisting various marks. 761 Naval Air Squadron disbanded at RNAS Henstridge (HMS ''Dipper'') on 16 January 1946.

Aircraft operated

The squadron has operated a number of different aircraft types, including: Supermarine Type 377 Seafire Mk

Mk.I

(August 1941 - April 1943) * Fairey Fulmar Mk.II reconnaissance/fighter aircraft (August 1941 - April 1943) *

I fighter aircraft (April 1942 - July 1942) *

Mk I fighter aircraft (September 1942 - July 1944) *

I advanced trainer (April 1943 - November 1943) * Miles Master II advanced trainer (April 1943 - January 1946) *

Mk Ib fighter aircraft (April 1943 - March 1945) * Supermarine Spitfire Mk Va fighter aircraft (April 1943 - January 1945) * Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb fighter aircraft (April 1943 - January 1945) * Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb "hooked" fighter aircraft (November 1943 - February 1945) * Supermarine Seafire Mk III fighter aircraft (April 1944 - January 1946) * Supermarine Seafire F Mk IIc fighter aircraft (July 1944 - August 1945) *

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Ro ...

III advanced trainer (November 1944 - January 1946) * Supermarine Seafire F Mk XV fighter aircraft (July 1945 - January 1946) * Supermarine Seafire F Mk XVII fighter aircraft (November 1945 - January 1946)

Naval air stations

761 Naval Air Squadron operated from a couple of naval air stations of the Royal Navy, in England: * Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton (HMS ''Heron'') (1 August 1941 - 10 April 1943) * Royal Naval Air Station Henstridge (HMS ''Dipper'') (10 April 1943 - 16 January 1946) ** 'D' Flight DLT *** (1 - 5 May 1944 / 18 - 20 May 1944) *** (26 - 27 August 1944) *** HMS ''Ravager'' (27 January - 2 February 1945 / 21 - 22 June 1945 / 18 - 23 August 1945) * disbanded - (16 January 1946)

Commanding officers

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 761 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 ...

C.P. Campbell-Horsefall, RN, from 1 August 1941 *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

R.C. Hay, , RM, from 1 January 1942 * Lieutenant(A) R.B. Pearson, RN, from 21 July 1942 * Lieutenant(A) W.C. Simpson,

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 12 September 1942 * Lieutenant A.C. Wallace, RN, from October 1942 * not identified, from November 1942 * Lieutenant Commander(A) R.J. Cork, , RN, from 10 April 1943 * Lieutenant Commander(A) R.H.P. Carver, DSC, RN, from 15 November 1943 * Lieutenant Commander(A) S.G. Orr, , RNVR, from 20 September 1944 * Lieutenant Commander(A) P.N. Charlton, , RN, from 27 April 1946 * disbanded - 16 January 1946 Note: Abbreviation (A) signifies Air Branch of the RN or RNVR.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{Royal Naval Air Squadrons 700 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons Military units and formations established in 1941 Air squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War II