HMS ''Nabberley'' was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

Mobile Naval Operating Air Base (MONAB) at the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) base

RAAF Bankstown Bankstown Airport is an airport and business park located in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, approximately from the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), Australia and west of Sydney Airport. It is situated on of land and has three paral ...

at Bankstown,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. HMS ''Nabberley'' was also known as MONAB II and

Royal Naval Air Station The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, 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 Lockheed Martin F-35 ...

(RNAS) Bankstown.

History

Assembled at

RNAS Ludham Royal Air Force Ludham or more simply RAF Ludham is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Ludham, Norfolk. History The airfield at Ludham was built by Richard Costain Ltd and became operational in November 1941 as a second ...

and Royal Navy Air Establishment Risley,

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...

, in October 1944. The duties of HMS ''Nabberley'' were changed from that of a MONAB to that of a Receipt and Dispatch Unit shortly after formation causing some administration problems. Due to accommodation issues 600 ratings were based at , in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

. HMS ''Nabberley'' commissioned as an independent command on 18 November 1944. The stores, equipment and vehicles sailed from Gladstone Dock,

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

on 20 November upon (LS 1974) and personnel of MONAB II, in company with elements from and other units sailed from Liverpool upon on 22 December 1944 for passage to Australia. carrying an advance party of MONAB II arrived in Sydney on 1 December 1944. The advance party arrived at RAAF Bankstown in Sydney, together with 16 crated aircraft (8 Corsair IIs and 8 Martinet TT.Is) requestioned from the Royal Navy Aircraft Depot at

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. The aircraft were assembled with RAAF assistance and the first aircraft assembled (Corsair II JT537) was test flown on 18 January 1945. After the main party arrived in Sydney on 25 January 1945, some proceeded directly to Bankstown, however most were temporarily accommodated

Warwick Farm Racecourse Warwick Farm Racecourse is a racecourse at Warwick Farm, a south-west suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used as a racecourse for Thoroughbred horse racing. The racecourse is owned and operated by the Australian Turf Club. ...

(

Camp Warwick Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

), a part of , the Royal Navy barracks in Sydney, until accommodation was sorted out. RAAF Bankstown was officially transferred on a loan basis to Royal Navy on 27 January 1945 and stores and equipment began to arrive at the station. The base was commissioned as HMS ''Nabberley'', RNAS Bankstown on 29 January 1945. The personnel began assembling crated aircraft and carrying out pre-issue test flights as a Receipt and Dispatch Unit. A total of 2,500 test flights were undertaken during the operation of HMS ''Nabberley''. Prince Henry,

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...

, the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia. On 23 August 1945 the aircraft from the disbanded 1834 and

1835 Events January–March * January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist. * January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history ...

squadrons were delivered from for disposal. HMS ''Nabberley'', MONAB II, was paid off on 31 March 1946. The airfield returned to RAAF control.

Commanding officers

* Commander E. P. F. Atkinson, 18 November 1944

Units based at HMS ''Nabberley''

* 723 Fleet Requirements Unit (28 February–1 May 1945) * 724 Naval Air Communications Squadron * Aircraft Erection Unit * Aircraft Equipping & Modification Unit * Aircraft Storage Unit * Maintenance, Storage & Repair 3, 4, 7 & 8

Squadrons based at HMS ''Nabberley''

* 723 Naval Air Squadron (28 February–1 May 1945) ( Martinet TT.I and Corsair II). Redesignated as 723 Fleet Requirements Unit. * 724 Naval Air Squadron (10 April 1945) ( Expediter I and Anson I) *

1830 Naval Air Squadron 1830 Naval Air Squadron (1830 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's 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 ...

(4–24 May 1945) (Corsair II) *

1833 Naval Air Squadron 1833 Naval Air Squadron (1833 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm between 1943 and 1945 and then again from 1947 to 1957. First creation The squadron was first formed on 15 July 1943 at the US Naval Air Station at ...

(4 May 1945 only) (Corsair II) * 'A' Flight 1701 Naval Air Squadron (24 July–7 August and 15–21 October 1945) (

Sea Otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the sma ...

)

Aircraft carriers squadrons disembarked from/embarked to

Satellite airfields

* Nil

References

{{City of Canterbury-Bankstown topics, state=collapsed Military history of Sydney during World War II Nabberley City of Canterbury-Bankstown