Royal Naval Air Station Twatt, (RNAS Twatt; or HMS ''Tern'') is a former military airfield, located near Twatt,

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

, Scotland, 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 was built by 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, Tra ...

and was commissioned on 1 April 1941 (on books of HMS ''Sparrowhawk''). On 1 January 1942 it became an independent command as HMS ''Tern''. The

airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

was designed to provide accommodation for disembarked Front-Line squadrons and accommodation for disembarked Ship's Flight Aircraft and was home to the Home Fleet Fleet Requirements Unit,

771 Naval Air Squadron 771 Naval Air Squadron (771 NAS) of the Fleet Air Arm was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It was formed on 24 May 1939 at , Lee-on-Solent as a Fleet Requirements Unit with 14 Fairey Swordfish ...

. The airbase is situated near two notable landmarks, on the south east side of Loch of Isbister, with Brough Head north west. The town of

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

is south east and the town of

Stromness Stromness (, ; ) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland, Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital. Etymology The name "Stromnes ...

lies to the south. Twatt was mainly used as a training airfield. On 30 March 1944 initial plans were to make Twatt the only airfield suitable to aid the disembarkation of squadrons of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

. It closed and was ‘

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

’ on 20 October 1945 to care and maintenance, on the books of HMS ''Owl''. During the 1970s it was proposed to merge with nearby RAF Skeabrae to create a large

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

base, but

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

was chosen instead.

History

Construction

There was an operational requirement that identified the need for

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

s in

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

, Orkney and

Northern Scotland Northern Scotland was an administrative division of Scotland used for police and firefighting, fire services. It consisted of Highland (council area), Highland, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands, and the Western Isles. The police serv ...

(SOM 358/40) during Spring 1940, with the site at Twatt being surveyed. It was chosen by 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 ...

(FAA) for use with disembarking squadrons from the Royal Navy's

, along with a number of support and facilities squadrons. The airfield was one of the earliest purpose built naval airfields in Britain. It was situated between two

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s on

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

, with Loch of Ibister to its north, and constructed by

contractors A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the c ...

, along with

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

engineers.

Station design

It was constructed with four hard

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

s and associated facilities. The

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled a ...

was built on top of the operations block. The main technical area was situated to the south west of the site, with other

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s and dispersal areas spread around the airfield. There were twenty-eight hangars with twenty-one used for the FAA squadrons and seven for storage. The site also had one Aircraft Repair Shed (ARS), which was a

Bellman hangar The Bellman Hangar was designed in the United Kingdom in 1936 by the Directorate of Works structural engineer, N. S. Bellman, as a temporary aircraft hangar capable of being erected or dismantled by unskilled labour with simple equipment and to b ...

measuring x The others we made up of sixteen Mains hangars, each measuring x and twelve Skeabrae hangars which measured x . Accommodation consisted living quarters at Skogar Camp with additional quarters at Linklater and West Quoys, with capacity for 173

Officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and 7 W.R.N.S.

with 965 Chiefs, P.O.s and ratings and 35 W.R.N.S. Chiefs, P.O.s and ratings.

Second World War (1939–1945)

Various front line Fleet Air Arm squadrons and their associated aircraft used RNAS Twatt for short periods of time after disembarking from Royal Navy aircraft carriers before they anchored in

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

. Two Fleet Air Arm units did have a more permanent presence at the airbase.

700 Naval Air Squadron 700 Naval Air Squadron (700 NAS) is a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) Maritime Unmanned Air System squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). Known as 700X Naval Air Squadron, where the 'X' is used to designate 'experimental', it is currently the R ...

(700 NAS), which provided final training for catapult aircraft aircrew before they embarked on their assigned ships, remained at the airbase from June 1942 until disbanding during 1944.

(771 NAS), a Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU), arrived from RNAS Hatston (HMS ''Sparrowhawk'') around the same time as 700 NAS arrived and stayed at RNAS Twatt for three years. It operated a number of different aircraft types, undertaking various tasks, supporting the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow. One of the roles of the airbase was to provide an airfield to a Fleet Requirements Unit, which was tasked with operational training for the Home Fleet, which was based in Scapa Flow. In July 1942,

relocated to RNAS Twatt, from RNAS Hatston (HMS ''Sparrowhawk''), which was also located on Orkney. It brought with it a variety of aircraft including

Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a retired biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was a ...

, a

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

Hawker Henley The Hawker Henley was a British two-seat target tug derived from the Hawker Hurricane that was operated by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Design and development In 1934 Air Ministry Specification P.4/34 was issued which cal ...

, a two-seat

target tug A target tug is an aircraft which tows an unmanned drone, a fabric drogue or other kind of target, for the purposes of gun or missile target practice. Target tugs are often conversions of transport and utility aircraft, as well as obsolescent c ...

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 th ...

, an

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 ...

-based

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

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 ...

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 ...

, an aircraft carrier-based

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

fighter,

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...

, a twin-engine

light bomber A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance. The earliest light bombers were intended to dr ...

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 privatel ...

, a biplane fighter,

Vought Chesapeake The Vought SB2U Vindicator is an American carrier-based dive bomber developed for the United States Navy in the 1930s, the first monoplane in this role. Vindicators still remained in service at the time of the Battle of Midway, but by 1943, al ...

an American aircraft carrier-based dive bomber, and

Martin Maryland The Martin Model 167 Maryland was an American light bomber Martin Maryland
Milit ...

, an American light bomber (the squadron and the latter aircraft were directly responsible for starting the chain of events that led to the

sinking Shipwrecking is any event causing a ship to wreck, such as a collision causing the ship to sink; the stranding of a ship on rocks, land or shoal; poor maintenance, resulting in a lack of seaworthiness; or the destruction of a ship either intent ...

of the German

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

'' Bismarck'' whilst stationed at HMS ''Sparrowhawk'', just prior to moving to HMS ''Tern''). In the later part of 1942

Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter" to meet the RAF requirement for day and ...

target tug aircraft began to arrive. The converted turret

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are c ...

supplemented the Blackburn Skua and Blackburn Roc target tugs. From 1943 these three aircraft types were replaced with

Miles Martinet The Miles M.25 Martinet was a target tug aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) that was in service during the Second World War. It was the first British aircraft to be designed specifically for target towing. Work on t ...

which was specifically designed as a target tug aircraft.

Douglas Boston The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for ...

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

variants were acquired to operate alongside the twin-engined Bristol Blenheim and Martin Maryland light bombers. All these types exercised the ships of the Home Fleets' and shore-based,

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

guns and also provide targets for

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

practice and calibration.

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

single seat fighter aircraft, provided higher speed targets and these aircraft replaced the Vought Chesapeake dive bombers. ‘A’ Flight of 700 NAS, which was equipped with

Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus is a British single-engine Amphibious aircraft, amphibious biplane designed by Supermarine's R. J. Mitchell. Primarily used as a maritime patrol aircraft, it was the first British Squadron (aviation), squadron-service ai ...

, a single-engine amphibious biplane, moved to HMS ''Sparrowhawk'' and became ‘B’ Flight of 771 NAS, on 24 March 1944. The flight swapped its Supermarine Walrus for

Supermarine Sea Otter The Supermarine Sea Otter was an amphibious aircraft designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. It was the final biplane flying boat to be designed by the company, and the last biplane to enter service with both the R ...

, a biplane amphibious aircraft. In the following August the flight became

721 Naval Air Squadron 721 Naval Air Squadron (721 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). 721 Naval Air Squadron formed at HMS ''Gadwall'', RNAS Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the beginning of March 1945, as a Fleet ...

. In 1945 the Hawker Hurricane aircraft were replaced with the faster Vought Corsair, an American fighter aircraft. In February of that year the squadron received its first

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

with the arrival of

Hoverfly Hoverflies, also called flower flies or syrphids, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the l ...

I, a two-seat helicopter. The squadron operated a detachment at

RAF Warmwell Royal Air Force Warmwell or more simply RAF Warmwell is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station near Warmwell in Dorset, England from 1937 to 1946, located about 5 miles east-southeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dor ...

, in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England, from 14 June to 1 August 1945. 771 NAS left RNAS Twatt on 25 July 1945, moving south along with the Home Fleet following

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

, to RNAS Zeals (HMS ''Hummingbird''), in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England.

formed at RNAS Hatston (HMS ''Sparrowhawk'') on 21 January 1940. It moved its HQ the short distance across Mainland, Orkney, to RNAS Twatt (HMS ''Tern'') during June 1942 and at that point the squadron was equipped with sixty-three Supermarine Walrus amphibious biplanes. At the time the squadron moved its HQ, known as ‘A’ Flight, to RNAS Twatt it provided a ten-week training course for new catapult Flights. The final two weeks of the course were spent attached to ‘A’ Flight at RNAS Twatt for final training, before joining their allocated ship. The training was broken down into an initial three weeks of aerodrome flying, consisting circuits and

landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " spl ...

dive-bombing A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

and

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

, at RNAS Donibristle (HMS ''Merlin''), in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

. A second three-week block was spent at RNAS Dundee (HMS ''Condor'' II), a seaplane base / repair depot, in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, where the focus was on water operations, which included night landings. Week seven was a catapult course aboard HMS ''Pegasus'', a Royal Navy aircraft carrier/

seaplane carrier A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

, in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

. Week eight was then a return to RNAS Donibristle (HMS ''Merlin''). As

was being introduced to Royal Navy

capital ships The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic i ...

, and with the emergence of the

Merchant Aircraft Carrier A merchant aircraft carrier (also known as a MAC ship, the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's official 'short name') was a limited-purpose aircraft carrier operated under British and Dutch civilian registry during World War II. MAC ships ...

(MAC ship) and the

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

the need for catapult aircraft greatly reduced and by July 1943 the squadron was down to twenty aircraft. 700 NAS disbanded the following year on 24 March 1944, with the remains of 'A' Flight becoming 771 NAS ‘B' Flight at HMS ''Sparrowhawk''. A number of Fleet Air Arm torpedo bomber reconnaissance squadrons and fighter squadrons spent time at RNAS Twatt (HMS ''Tern'') either working up for deployment, returning from deployment, or passing through between airbases throughout the Second World War.

812 Naval Air Squadron 812 Naval Air Squadron (812 NAS), also referred to as 812 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It most recently operated with Fairey Gannet between November 1955 and December 1956. ...

arrived from RNAS Hatston on 25 June 1941. The

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 ...

was Lieutenant Commander W. E. Waters, DFC. The squadron was equipped with Fairey Swordfish I and II torpedo bombers, and it worked up for three weeks until 16 July 1941 when it embarked onto the aircraft carrier for Operation EF (1941), which included the raid with 812 Naval Air Squadron on the Finnish port of

Liinakhamari Liinakhamari (; ; ) is an ice-free harbour and a rural locality in Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. The harbour belonged to Finland from 1920 until 1944 when it was ceded to the Soviet Union. Liinakhamari was handed over to Fin ...

Petsamo Petsamo may refer to: * Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922 * Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland * Pechengsky District Pechengsky District (; ; ; ; ) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Mur ...

. On 28 July 1941, the Fairey Swordfish I torpedo bombers of

818 Naval Air Squadron 818 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier-based squadron formed in August 1939. It served on a number of the Navy's aircraft carriers during the Second World War, serving in most of the theatres of the war, before decommiss ...

arrived at RNAS Twatt from RNAS Arbroath (HMS ''Condor''), after returning from Malta convoy escort on HMS ''Furious''. The stay was short and two weeks later the squadron moved to RNAS Machrihanish (HMS ''Landrail'') on 12 August 1941.

821 Naval Air Squadron 821 Naval Air Squadron (821 NAS), sometimes referred to as 821 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It was a carrier based squadron formed on 3 April 1933 with the transferral and am ...

, equipped with Fairey Swordfish I, arrived on 12 August 1941 from RNAS Hatston. The squadron had recently reformed and was working up and training. On 5 November 1941 it moved north to

RAF Sumburgh Royal Air Force Sumburgh or more simply RAF Sumburgh is a former Royal Air Force satellite station that was located on the southern tip of the mainland island of the Shetland Islands, and was home to half of No. 404 Squadron RCAF (Royal Cana ...

after reports that

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's ''Tirpitz'' was in the area. Formed as a Fleet Fighter Squadron at the beginning of 1941, 880 Naval Air Squadron moved from RNAS St Merryn (HMS ''Vulture'') on the 14 August 1941. It was equipped with

Hawker Sea Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft. Some models were built in Canada by Canadian Car and Foundry. British variants Hurricane Mk I Hurricane Mk I (Early producti ...

Ib, a navalised version of the Hawker Hurricane single seat fighter aircraft, and was working up for embarkation on HMS ''Indomitable'' (92), a modified . It left for

, located on the mainland island of

, on 15 September 1941 and then onto the aircraft carrier during October. A

Fairey Albacore The Fairey Albacore is a single-engine biplane torpedo bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation. It was primarily operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) during the Second World War. The Albacor ...

torpedo bomber detachment from

817 Naval Air Squadron 817 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) during the Second World War. In 1941, the squadron operated Fairey Albacore aircraft in the Anti-Submarine Warfare role in Icelandic ...

, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Sanderson,

DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

, was at RNAS Twatt between 20 and 23 September 1941. It had disembarked from the ''Illustrious''-class

after operations in the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...

. It embarked back onto HMS ''Victorious'' for attacks on shipping in

Vestfjorden Vestfjorden (; sometimes shortened to ''Vestfjord'' in English) is a long fjord or oceanic sea in Nordland county, Norway. The name literally means "the west fjord", although it is called a fjord, it could best be described as a firth or an op ...

Following attacks on shipping around the

Lofoten Islands Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. There are two towns, ...

, operating from HMS ''Victorious'', a detachment of

832 Naval Air Squadron 832 Naval Air Squadron (832 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). The squadron was established as a Torpedo, Spotter, Reconnaissance (TSR) unit at HMS ''Daedalus'', RNAS Lee-on-Solent, in Ap ...

Fairey Albacore torpedo bombers stayed at RNAS Twatt between 20 and 23 September 1941. It then returned to HMS ''Victorious'' for anti-shipping strikes in the Bodø area.

809 Naval Air Squadron 809 Squadron (809 NAS), sometimes referred to as 809 Squadron, nicknamed ''Immortal'', is a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It currently operates the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning aircraft fro ...

, formed early 1941 as a two-seater Fighter squadron, arrived at RNAS Twatt from HMS ''Victorious'' on 26 October 1941, equipped with twelve

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 ...

II, a carrier-borne reconnaissance and fighter aircraft. During the following twelve months the squadron took part in several deployments on ''Victorious'' including escorting

Arctic convoys The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

to northern ports on the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and anti-shipping strikes in the Bodø area of Norway. One other notable sortie, during March 1942 809 Naval Air Squadron escorted the Fairey Albacore of 817 and 832 Naval Air Squadrons on an attack on the ''Tirpitz''. On 22 July 1942 809 NAS embarked onto ''Victorious'', for the final time from the Orkney airbase, before moving south to RNAS St Merryn (HMS ''Vulture''), in Cornwall, England.

819 Naval Air Squadron 819 Naval Air Squadron (819 NAS), also known as 819 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It most recently operated Westland Sea King between February 1971 and November 2001. Establish ...

arrived from RNAS Crail (HMS ''Jackdaw''), in Fife, on 27 January 1942. It operated with nine Fairey Swordfish I torpedo bomber. The squadron was working up for eventual embarkment on the , and it left after around four weeks later making the short journey to RNAS Hatston (HMS ''Sparrowhawk''), as part of working up, on 22 February 1942.

822 Naval Air Squadron 822 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadron before and during World War II. History Pre-war 822 squadron was formed on 3 April 1933 from a merger of No's 442 and 449 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flights at Netheravon and poste ...

, operating with Fairey Albacore torpedo bomber, moved from RNAS Machrihanish (HMS ''Landrail'') on 27 September 1942. It remained at RNAS Twatt for almost three weeks before returning to the airbase HMS ''Landrail'', on 16 October 1942, where it embarked onto the aircraft carrier HMS ''Furious'' for operations, two days later. Albacore 820 NAS off North Africa 1942

820 Naval Air Squadron 820 Naval Air Squadron (802 NAS), also referred to as 820 Squadron, is a carrier-based Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It currently operates the Merlin HM2 in two capacities, either for anti-su ...

passed through RNAS Twatt between 2 and 10 October 1942. The squadron was equipped with Fairey Albacore biplane torpedo bombers. It was working up when it left for RNAS Hatston, on its way to embark onto the to support with the North African landings, on 21 October. The carrier was assigned to Force H for

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

, where two of 820 Naval Air Squadron Fairey Albacore torpedoed and sank the . 884 Naval Air Squadron, a Fleet Fighter squadron, arrived at RNAS Twatt, disembarking from HMS ''Victorious'', on 23 November 1942. Equipped with

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 ...

IIc, a navalised version of the

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 ...

single seat fighter aircraft, it then supported Nos 13 and 14 Groups with fighter defence, moving to

RAF Turnhouse Royal Air Force Turnhouse, or more simply RAF Turnhouse, is a former Royal Air Force Sector Station located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is now Edinburgh Airport. History A landing ground was first established at Turnhouse in 1915. The airfield ...

, located in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, on 14 December 1942. Hawker Sea Hurricane equipped

804 Naval Air Squadron 804 Naval Air Squadron (804 NAS), also referred to as 804 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It most recently operated the Supermarine Scimitar between March 1960 and September 1961 ...

, a fighter squadron, arrived at RNAS Twatt on 8 February 1943, from

RAF Ouston Royal Air Force Ouston or more simply RAF Ouston is a former Royal Air Force station that was located near the village of Stamfordham and the village of Heddon-on-the-Wall on Hadrian's Wall near Newcastle upon Tyne. It was built as a Second Wo ...

, in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, England, having been a lodger unit there. It provided a detachment for the

, between 15 and 26 February, to RNAS Hatston and then back to RNAS Twatt on 24 February, before moving south to RNAS Charlton Horethorne (HMS ''Heron'' II), in

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 ...

, England, on 6 April 1943.

Post VE day

With Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945 and the disbandment of the catapult training unit, 700 NAS, the previous year, the airbase saw a lot less activity. A couple of FAA squadrons passed through shortly after VE Day and the Fleet Requirements Unit remained at RNAS Twatt until July 1945.

802 Naval Air Squadron 802 Naval Air Squadron (802 NAS), colloquially called 802 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It most recently operated the Hawker Sea Hawk between 1956 and 1959, notably during the S ...

relocated from RNAS Arbroath on 21 June 1945. It had reformed the previous month and was equipped with two variants of Supermarine Seafire. The squadron continued its operational work-up before leaving for RNAS Ayr (HMS ''Wagtail'') on 18 July 1945, readying for eventual deployment on the for the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. It was formed from aircraft carriers, other surface warships, submarines and supply vessels of the RN and British Commonwealth ...

. It was planned to form part of the Fleet Air Arms 9th Carrier Air Group. The formation was cancelled following

V-J Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on wh ...

The Royal Navy during the Second World War A26090

On 20 July 1945 the

Grumman Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...

II equipped

846 Naval Air Squadron 846 Naval Air Squadron is a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). The squadron represents one of the two primary AgustaWestland Merlin HC4 Squadrons that constitute the Royal Navy's Commando Helicopt ...

moved from RNAS Hatston. It was planned to form part of the Fleet Air Arms

4th Carrier Air Group This is a list of Fleet Air Arm groups of the Royal Navy (RN), the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), that were either formed or planned. There were two types of groups: there were Carrier Air Groups that administere ...

within the British Pacific Fleet, for the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of her class , however, the formation was cancelled following Victory over Japan Day. The squadron moved to RNAS Crail (HMS ''Jackdaw'') on 1 September 1945.

Units

The following units were here at some point: *

807 Naval Air Squadron 807 Naval Air Squadron (807 NAS) sometimes referred to as 807 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It most recently operated the Supermarine Scimitar F.1 strike aircraft between Octobe ...

History

Construction

Station design

Second World War (1939–1945)

Post VE day

Units

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography