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879 Naval Air Squadron

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879 Naval Air Squadron
879 NAS badge
Active1 October 1942 - 7 January 1946
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeSingle-seat fighter squadron
RoleFleet fighter squadron
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Motto(s)Si vis defendere oppugna
(Latin for 'Attack is the best means of defence')
EngagementsWorld War II
Battle honours
  • Salerno 1943
  • South of France 1944
  • Aegean 1944
Insignia
Squadron badgeWhite, a peregrine falcon reguardant proper perched upon a portcullis black ( 1943)
Identification MarkingsAA+, later D4A+ Seafire
Aircraft flown
FighterFairey Fulmar
Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Seafire

879 Naval Air Squadron (879 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm that was active during the Second World War. It was formed in 1942, and from 1943 was equipped with Supermarine Seafire fighters, operating mainly in the Mediterranean Sea. It took part in the Allied landings at Salerno, Italy in 1943 and Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France. It was disbanded in 1946.

Service

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879 Squadron was formed on 1 October 1942 at RNAS St Merryn when it was split from 809 Squadron. It was a carrier-based fighter squadron equipped with Fairey Fulmar two-seat fighters. The squadron moved to Old Sarum Airfield in November that year and carried training on army support operations, before moving to RNAS Stretton in March 1943 for re-equipping with Supermarine Seafire Ib fighters. More army-co-operation training followed at RAF Andover in June, with the squadron re-equipping with new Seafire L.IIcs.[1]

The squadron deployed aboard the escort carrier Attacker in July 1943,[1] forming an all Seafire airwing aboard Attacker with 886 Squadron when the carrier sailed for the Mediterranean on 3 August 1943.[2][3] In September 1943, Attacker took part in the Allied landings at Salerno, Italy, the carrier's Seafires providing fighter cover for the landings.[2][4] The squadron flew 75 patrols over the beachhead,[1] claiming one Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter damaged.[5] After the end of her duties off Salerno, Attacker returned to Britain for refit,[2] with 879 Squadron disembarking.[1] Further training followed, with the squadron strength increasing to 20 Seafires in February 1944.[1]

In April 1944, the squadron again embarked on Attacker, this time as the sole embarked squadron, with the carrier sailing for the Mediterranean in May.[2][6] When Attacker arrived in the Mediterranean, the squadron was split up, with some detachments at Gibraltar and Blida, and others to Italy where they were attached to squadrons of the Desert Air Force, including 4 Squadron SAAF, carrying out bombing and reconnaissance operations in support of the army.[1][7] The squadron re-embarked on Attacker at the end of July 1944, and from 15 August took part in Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France, providing air cover for the landings, carrying out ground attack and reconnaissance operations, with the squadron having several pilots specially trained in reconnaissance operations attached.[1][8] The squadron had flown 193 operational missions by the time Attacker withdrew on 23 August.[2]

From 14 September, Attacker took part in Operation Outing, an offensive by the Royal Navy against German forces in the Aegean Sea, with 879 Squadron's Seafires carrying out armed reconnaissance and attack operations, continuing with similar operations over the Aegean through September and October, and covering amphibious landings on Mytilene and Piskopi as the Germans retreated from the Aegean.[2] The squadron disembarked at Dekheila in Egypt in December 1944, not re-embarking on Attacker until April 1945, when the carrier was on passage to Ceylon to join the East Indies Fleet.[1][2] The squadron flew operations over the Malay Peninsula shortly before VJ-Day, but returned back to Britain on Attacker, disembarking on 10 November 1945 and disbanding at RAF Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland on 7 January 1946.[1]

Aircraft operated

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The squadron has operated a number of different aircraft types, including:[9]

  • Fairey Fulmar Mk.II (October 1942 - March 1943)
  • Supermarine Spitfire Mk Va (March - May 1943)
  • Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb/hooked (March - May 1943)
  • Supermarine Seafire Mk.Ib (March - June 1943)
  • Supermarine Seafire L Mk.IIc/LR Mk.IIc (June 1943 - November 1945)
  • Supermarine Seafire L Mk.III (March 1944 - November 1945)
  • Supermarine Seafire F Mk.XVII (November 1945 - January 1946)

Battle honours

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The battle honours awarded to 879 Naval Air Squadron are:[10]

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879 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force stations in the UK and overseas, and also a number of Royal Navy escort carriers and other airbases overseas:[9]

  • Royal Naval Air Station St Merryn (HMS Vulture) (1 - 10 October 1942)
  • Royal Naval Air Station Charlton Horethorne (HMS Heron II) (10 October - 18 November 1942)
  • Royal Air Force Old Sarum (18 November 1942 - 22 March 1943)
  • Royal Naval Air Station Stretton (HMS Blackcap) (22 March - 26 April 1943)
  • Royal Air Force Dundonald (26 April - 1 May 1943)
  • Royal Naval Air Station Stretton (HMS Blackcap) (1 May - 17 June 1943)
  • Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton (HMS Heron) (17 June - 8 July 1943)
  • Royal Naval Air Station Machrihanish (HMS Landrail) (8 - 30 July 1943)
  • HMS Attacker (30 July - 6 October 1943)
  • Royal Air Force Andover (6 October - 29 November 1943)
  • Royal Naval Air Station Burscough (HMS Ringtail) (29 November - 9 December 1943)
  • Royal Air Force Andover (9 - 19 December 1943)
  • Royal Naval Air Station Burscough (HMS Ringtail) (19 - 30 December 1943)

Commanding officers

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List of commanding officers of 879 Naval Air Squadron:[9]

  • Lieutenant(A) R.J.H. Grose, RNVR, from 1 October 1942
  • Lieutenant S.F.F. Shotton, RNR, from 17 October 1942
  • Lieutenant Commander(A) R.J.H. Grose, RNVR, from 15 January 1943
  • Lieutenant Commander(A) D.G. Carlisle, SANF(V), from 7 October 1943
  • Lieutenant Commander P.E.I. Bailey, RN, from 28 October 1944
  • Lieutenant J.M. Howden, RNZNVR, from 4 March 1945
  • Lieutenant Commander(A) B.H. Harriss, RN, from 7 May 1945
  • disbanded - 7 January 1946

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 299
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Hobbs 2013, p. 140
  3. ^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 394
  4. ^ Shores et al. 2018, pp. 346–347
  5. ^ Shores et al. 2018, p. 360
  6. ^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, pp. 299, 394
  7. ^ Shores et al. 2021, pp. 141, 146–147
  8. ^ Shores et al. 2021, pp. 208–209
  9. ^ a b c Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 248.
  10. ^ Wragg 2019, p. 179.

Bibliography

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  • Ballance, Theo; Howard, Lee; Sturtivant, Ray (2016). The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm. Air Britain Historians Limited. ISBN 978-0-85130-489-2.
  • Hobbs, David (2013). British Aircraft Carriers: Design, Development and Service Histories. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-138-0.
  • Shores, Christopher; Massimello, Giovanni; Guest, Russell; Olynyk, Frank; Bock, Winfried; Thomas, Andy (2018). A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940–1945: Volume Four: Sicily and Italy to the Fall of Rome: 14 May, 1943 – 5 June 1944. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-911621-10-2.
  • Shores, Christopher; Massimello, Giovanni; Guest, Russell; Olynyk, Frank; Bock, Winfried; Thomas, Andy (2021). A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940–1945: Volume Five: From the Fall of Rome to the End of the War 1944 – 1945. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-911621-97-3.
  • Sturtivant, Ray; Ballance, Theo (1994). The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
  • Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-9303-6.


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