Wet Deck Landing for Harrier on HMS Ark Royal MOD 45151258

The Naval Strike Wing (NSW) was a flying unit of the

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 ...

of the

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 ...

. It consisted of elements of both 800 and 801 Naval Air Squadrons, but operated as a single unit. It was equipped with Harrier GR7 and GR9 aircraft and its role was close air support. At the time was the only front line fast jet squadron for the Royal Navy.

History

The Naval Strike Wing (NSW) was formed on 9 March 2007 (following the re-forming of 800 Naval Air Squadron in 2006, and 801 Naval Air Squadron on 9 March 2007). It included elements of 801 and 800 Naval Air Squadrons, amalgamated into a single operational unit for deployment either on land or aboard the Royal Navy's

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 ...

s. Equipped with the GR.7 and GR.9 variants of the

British Aerospace Harrier II The British Aerospace Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN). The aircraft was the latest developme ...

, a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft, it was based at RAF Cottesmore, NSW was the Naval component of Joint Force Harrier. In January 2008 the Naval Strike Wing embarked in as the

light aircraft carrier A light aircraft carrier, or light fleet carrier, is an aircraft carrier smaller than the Fleet carrier, standard carriers of a navy. The precise definition of the type varies by country; light carriers typically have a complement of aircraft onl ...

led a multi-national Task Group to the Indian Ocean on a four month operation, including taking part in exercise ‘Orion 08’. The NSW deployment consisted of four Harrier jet aircraft, seven pilots along with sixty engineers and technicians. On 1 April 2010, NSW reverted to the identity of 800 Naval Air Squadron, flying the Harrier GR9 and GR9A variants. Following the decision to withdraw the Harrier from service in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, a Harrier GR9 made its last flight from a Royal Navy

, , on 24 November 2010.

Force Commanders

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 Naval Strike Wing (NSW): *

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

A.P. Orchard, RN, from 9 March 2007 * Commander K.W. Seymour, RN, from 6 June 2007 * Commander D.J. Lindsay, RN, from 29 April 2009 * ''became 800 Naval Air Squadron'' - 1 April 2010

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Naval aviation units and formations of the United Kingdom * Military units and formations established in 2007 British wings {{UK-mil-unit-stub

History

Force Commanders

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography