Military unit
825 Naval Air Squadron
is a
Royal Navy
Fleet Air Arm
Naval Air Squadron which was re-commissioned on 10 October 2014 and currently flies the
AgustaWestland Wildcat HMA2
.
[1]
It was a carrier-based squadron that was formed on 8 October 1934 from the aircraft and personnel of
824 Naval Air Squadron
.
[2]
It operated in most of the theatres of the
Second World War
, carrying out a number of attacks on prominent German warships, including the
battleship
Bismarck
in the Atlantic and the pocket battleships
Scharnhorst
and
Gneisenau
and
heavy cruiser
Prinz Eugen
during their
Channel Dash
.
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
The squadron also saw action in later conflicts, including the
Korean War
and the
Falklands War
.
History
[
edit
]
Pre-war history
[
edit
]
825 Squadron's first assignment after commissioning was to board the aircraft carrier
HMS
Eagle
for service on the
China Station
. This was short-lived, and by January 1935 both the squadron and the carrier were in the
Mediterranean
.
[7]
The squadron was transferred to
Hal Far
, Malta in March, while
Eagle
returned to Britain for a refit.
HMS
Glorious
replaced
Eagle
, and the squadron alternated its time between the carrier and the aerodrome at Hal Far. They returned briefly to the UK in May 1937 to attend the Coronation
Fleet Review
, before retaking their station in the Mediterranean, and were transferred to
Admiralty
control on 24 May 1939.
[2]
[7]
Wartime service
[
edit
]
Mediterranean and the North Sea
[
edit
]
With the outbreak of the
Second World War
in September 1939, 825 Squadron embarked on HMS
Glorious
at Dekheila,
Egypt
and headed into the Indian Ocean and the
Red Sea
to search for enemy shipping. They carried out these duties throughout the rest of 1939, returning the Mediterranean in January 1940, where they again returned to Hal Far.
[8]
The squadron re-embarked on
Glorious
in March and sailed to Britain to defend Norway after the
German invasion
. On their arrival, they disembarked at
RNAS Prestwick
. With the sinking of HMS
Glorious
by the
German
battleships
Scharnhorst
and
Gneisenau
on 8 June 1940, the squadron was transferred to operate from
Worthy Down
,
Detling
and
Thorney Island
, covering allied forces in France and the
Low Countries
as the German forces advanced.
[8]
They were active in covering the
Dunkirk evacuation
, during which they lost eight of their 12 aircraft; five were lost in a single bombing raid on 29 May 1940,
[8]
including its commander
Jimmy Buckley
who was awarded the
DSC
for his actions during this period.
[9]
Atlantic and the
Bismarck
[
edit
]
The depleted squadron was brought up to nine aircraft in July 1940 and embarked aboard
HMS
Furious
. They then operated off the Norwegian coast in September, carrying out night attacks on
Trondheim
and
Tromsø
. After the British withdrawal, the squadron remained aboard
Furious
, and by February 1941 was off the
Gold Coast
.
[8]
They joined
HMS
Victorious
in May 1941, and took part in the
Home Fleet
's hunt for the battleship
Bismarck
. After sighting
Bismarck
on 24 May, aircraft from the squadron carried out an attack on 25 May, scoring a single hit which slowed her. Another series of attacks by
Fairey Swordfish
of
810
and
818 Naval Air Squadrons
flying from
HMS
Ark Royal
the following day succeeded in disabling
Bismarck
'
s steering gear. She was subsequently engaged by ships of the Home Fleet and sank on 27 May.
[8]
The Channel Dash
[
edit
]
The squadron embarked on
Ark Royal
in June 1941 to provide cover for the
Malta Convoys
. Aircraft of 825 Squadron carried out raids on targets in
Pantellaria
,
Sardinia
and
Sicily
in September.
[8]
A number of the squadron's aircraft were lost in the sinking of
Ark Royal
on 14 October. The remainder flew to
Gibraltar
, where the squadron was disbanded. It was re-formed with Fairey Swordfish at
RNAS Lee-on-Solent
in January 1942, and tasked with a torpedo bomber reconnaissance duties.
[8]
Six of the squadron's aircraft flew off from
RAF Manston
to attack
Scharnhorst
and
Gneisenau
and the
heavy cruiser
Prinz Eugen
in the
English Channel
, as they carried out
Operation Cerberus
. The attacking aircraft failed to score any hits, and all six were lost.
[8]
The Commanding Officer?
Eugene Esmonde
?was posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross
. Five of the aircrew survived, and were also decorated.
[4]
[8]
Arctic and Atlantic convoys
[
edit
]
After regrouping at Lee-on-Solent in March 1942, the squadron sent three aircraft aboard
HMS
Avenger
where they covered the
Arctic convoys
to
Russia
.
[8]
They attacked six
U-boats
, and shared credit with the
destroyer
HMS
Onslow
for sinking
U-589
. The squadron then operated under
No. 16 Group
RAF Coastal Command
, flying out of Thorney Island and Exeter.
[8]
They then embarked aboard HMS
Furious
in March 1943, covering convoys sailing to
Iceland
and making sweeps for enemy submarines off Norway. They transferred to
HMS
Vindex
with six
Sea Hurricane IICs
, and later another three
Fulmar IIs
to cover the
Atlantic convoys
. Aircraft from the squadron sank
U-653
on 15 March 1944 and
U-765
on 6 May 1944.
[8]
825 Squadron was re-equipped with 12 Swordfish IIIs in August and sailed with
Vindex
to cover the Arctic convoys. They sank
U-354
on 22 August 1944, while the squadron's Sea Hurricanes damaged another and claimed another as a possible kill that same day.
U-344
was sunk jointly with the Fleet on 24 August, and
U-394
was sunk on 2 September.
[8]
The squadron transferred to
HMS
Campania
in March 1945, where the Sea Hurricanes were replaced by eight
Wildcat VIs
. They continued in the Arctic before returning to Britain. The Swordfish were then absorbed into
815 Naval Air Squadron
, followed by the Wildcats in May. 825 Squadron then ceased to exist.
[8]
825 Squadron was reformed in July 1945 at
RNAS Rattray
as a Canadian-manned force. It was intended that it would consist of 12
Barracuda IIs
, and form part of the 19th Carrier Air Group aboard a
Colossus
-class
aircraft carrier. This did not happen immediately, and the squadron remained a Royal Navy one.
[8]
Post-war service
[
edit
]
The commissioning of
HMCS
Warrior
in January 1946 led to the transferral of the squadron to the
Royal Canadian Navy
. It served with them until being renumbered 880 Squadron (RCN) in May 1951.
[8]
[10]
The 825 designation then returned to the Royal Navy, and the squadron reformed in June 1951 at
RNAS Eglinton
.
[3]
The squadron was recommissioned several times over the next decade, operating as an
anti-submarine
unit equipped with
Fairey Gannets
, and seeing service in the
Korean War
.
[3]
[11]
During this period, they spent time operating off
HMS
Ocean
. It then re-formed at
RNAS Culdrose
on 16 August 1960, equipped with
Whirlwind HAS.7s
. The squadron was deployed in the
Middle East
during crises between
Iraq
and
Kuwait
in 1961. It then transferred most of its aircraft to 824 Squadron, returning to the UK aboard
HMS
Victorious
. In late 1961 they took part in relief operations after
Mombasa
was hit by flooding.
[12]
They were again disbanded on 2 April 1962.
[3]
The outbreak of the
Falklands War
in 1982 led to the re-forming of the squadron on 3 May 1982 equipped with
Sea King HAS.2/2As
. The aircraft came from
706 Naval Air Squadron
, or were taken from other units or storage.
[3]
Eight Sea Kings sailed for the Falklands on 12 May, aboard the
Atlantic Causeway
, with another two sailing the following day aboard
Queen Elizabeth 2
. The squadron operated from Port San Carlos and then the Landing Site (LS) "Busby" at San Carlos Settlement where they were billeted with the local farmer. They returned to the UK in late July. They were disbanded at Culdrose on 17 September 1982.
[3]
[13]
Current formation
[
edit
]
825 Naval Air Squadron is currently the Royal Navy’s Operational Conversion Unit for Wildcat
[14]
after being re-commissioned as the Royal Navy's first frontline
Wildcat HMA2
Squadron on 10 October 2014, with the merger of
700(W) Naval Air Squadron
and
702 Naval Air Squadron
.
[1]
It operated the first four Wildcat Flights to convert and deploy to sea on
Type 45 destroyers
and
Type 23 frigates
. It delivers training to aircrew along with Air Engineers awaiting frontline qualification and is responsible for continuing Wildcat Tactical Development: identifying and understanding the significant potential of the aircraft.
[15]
Flights
[
edit
]
- 201 Flight (Wildcat HMA.2) ?
Voodoo
? aboard
HMS
Lancaster
between March 2015 and December 2015.
[16]
[17]
[18]
- 209 Flight (Wildcat HMA.2) between April and October 2016.
Aircraft operated
[
edit
]
The squadron operated a variety of different aircraft and versions:
Battle honours
[
edit
]
825 Naval Air Squadron has received the following
battle honours
:
[20]
- Dunkirk
1940
- English Channel
1940?42
- Norway 1940
- Bismarck
1941
- Malta Convoys 1941
- Arctic 1942?45
- Atlantic 1944
- Japan 1945
- Korea 1952
- Falkland Islands 1982
Commanding Officers
[
edit
]
- 2014-2018 Commander Simon Collins Royal Navy
- 2018-2020 Commander Duncan Thomas Royal Navy
- 2020 - 2021 Commander Scott Simpson Royal Navy
- 2021 - 2023 Commander Hugh Saltonstall Royal Navy
- 2023 - Present Commander Ben Dando Royal Navy
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Arthur, Max (1985).
Above All, Courage: The Falklands Front Line: First-hand Accounts
. London: Sidgwick & Jackson.
ISBN
0-283-99249-2
.
- Jameson, William (2004) [1957].
Ark Royal: The Life of an Aircraft Carrier at War 1939?41
(2nd ed.). London: Periscope Publishing.
ISBN
1-904381-27-8
.
- Lake, Alan (1999).
Flying Units of the RAF: The ancestry, formation and disbandment of all flying units from 1912
. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing.
ISBN
1-84037-086-6
.
- Milner, Marc (1999).
Canada's Navy: The First Century
. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
ISBN
0-8020-4281-3
.
- Rossiter, Mike (2007) [2006].
Ark Royal: the life, death and rediscovery of the legendary Second World War aircraft carrier
(2nd ed.). London: Corgi Books.
ISBN
978-0-552-15369-0
.
OCLC
81453068
.
- Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994).
The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm
.
Tonbridge
,
Kent
, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.
ISBN
0-85130-223-8
.
External links
[
edit
]
Official website
|
---|
Active
| Flying
| |
---|
Non-flying
| |
---|
Display team
| |
---|
|
---|
Inactive
| |
---|
|