818 Naval Air Squadron
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History |
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| 24. August 1939 | 818 NAS formed at RNAS Evanton |
| 24. June 1942 | 818 NAS disbanded at Katukurunda |
| 19. October 1942 | 818 NAS reformed at RNAS Lee-on-Solent |
| 14. October 1944 | 818 NAS disbanded at Cochin |
| 1. May 1945 | 818 NAS reformed at RNAS Rattray |
| 15. August 1945 | 818 NAS disbanded at RNAS Rattray |
| Planes: |
Swordfish I (9)
Albacore I
Swordfish II (6)
Barracuda II
| 818 NAS Deployments | ||||
| 818 NAS Commanding Officers | ||
| Lt-Cdr J. E. Fenton, RN | Aug 1939 | Mar 1940 |
| Lt-Cdr P. G. O. Sydney-Turner, RN | Mar 1940 | Oct 1940 |
| Lt-Cdr T. P. Coode, RN | Oct 1940 | Jul 1941 |
| Lt-Cdr T. W. B. Shaw, DSC, RN | Jul 1941 | Jun 1942 |
| Lt-Cdr A. H. Abrams, DSC, RN | Oct 1942 | Jul 1943 |
| Lt-Cdr(A) W. H. Lloyd, RNVR | July 1943 | Oct 1944 |
| Lt-Cdr(A) B. W. Vigrass, RNVR | May 1945 | Aug 1945 |
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History |
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The squadron was formed at RNAS Evanton at a torpedo reconnaissance squadron with 9 Swordfish Is in August 1939, two months prior to the original planning due to the threat of war, where it embarked on HMS Ark Royal at Scapa to search for shipping off Norway. In April 1940 the squadron embarked on HMS Furious to defend Norway, and on 11 April attacked 2 German destroyers in Trondheim Fjord. In May and June 1940, the squadron operated from Thorney and Carew Cheriton under the RAF Coastal Command in the Channel, then embarked on HMS Ark Royal in the middle of the month for the Mediterranean where attacks were made on the Vichy French Fleet at Oran, including attempts to attack the French battleship Strasbourg. Subsequently attacks were made on Sicily, and on the Italian battleship Littorio on 27 November 1940, and to provide Malta convoy escorts, followed by bombing and mining operations on Leghorn, Genoa, Pisa and La Spezia naval docks in February 1941. In May 1941 HMS Ark Royal sailed to the North Atlantic in search of the German battleship Bismarck, 810 and 818 NAS led the attack which crippled the Bismarck. Two of the 818 NAS aircraft succeeding in hitting the Bismarck with 2 torpedo hits which enabled the Fleet to subsequently sink the Bismarck. Re-equipped with 9 Albacore Is the squadron embarked on HMS Formidable in February 1942 for Ceylon to protect against Japanese attacks, but with a reduction in the threat of attack the squadron was disbanded in June 1942. In October 1942 the squadron re-formed at RNAS Lee-on-Solent with Swordfish II and embarked on HMS Unicorn in March 1943 for convoy escorts to Gibraltar, 6 aircraft being used in August 1943 for duties during the Sicily landings. In November 1943 a reduced squadron sailed in HMS Unicorn to join the Eastern Fleet, disembarking in Ceylon. The squadron being disbanded at Cochin in October 1944. The squadron was reformed at Rattray in May 1945 as a torpedo bomber reconnaissance squadron with 18 Barracuda IIs where it was intended to join the 22nd Carrier Air Group in a Colossus-class carrier. However the squadron was disbanded on VJ-Day, August 1945. - Has anyone more Informations about this Squadron - |