709 Naval Air Squadron
Active15 September 1944 - 26 January 1946[1]
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeFleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
RoleGround Attack School
SizeSquadron
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Garrison/HQRNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture)
Insignia
Identification MarkingsS5A+[2]
Aircraft flown
Fighter
Supermarine Seafire L Mk III, of the type used by 709 NAS

709 Naval Air Squadron (709 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which last disbanded during January 1946. It formed in September 1944 within the School of Naval Air Warfare as the Ground Attack School using both the British Supermarine Seafire and the American Grumman Hellcat fighter aircraft for training. The squadron spent its whole sixteen month existence based at HMS Vulture, Royal Naval Air Station St. Merryn.

History of 709 NAS

Ground Attack School (1944 - 1946)

709 Naval Air Squadron formed at RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture) on 15 September 1944, as part of the School of Naval Air Warfare.[2] It was tasked as the Ground Attack School.[3] The squadron was initially equipped with Supermarine Seafire L.Ill. These were a navalised version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft, adapted for operation from an aircraft carrier.[2] The Supermarine Seafire aircraft had previously belonged to both 808 and 885 Naval Air Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm’s 3rd Naval Fighter Wing, which was in the process of converting to Grumman Hellcat fighter aircraft.[3]

The School also operated Grumman Hellcat, an American carrier-based fighter aircraft. These aircraft were used in training to apply lessons learned by the 3rd Naval Wing during the Normandy invasion. 709 Naval Air Squadron disbanded at RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture) during January 1946.[2][3]

Aircraft operated

Grumman Hellcat, an example of the type used by 709 NAS

709 Naval Air Squadron operated a couple of different aircraft types and variants:[3]

Naval Air Stations

709 Naval Air Squadron operated from one naval air stations of the Royal Navy, located in England, throughout its existence:[4]

Commanding Officers

List of commanding officers of 709 Naval Air Squadron with month and year of appointment.[3]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 31.
  2. ^ a b c d Wragg 2019, p. 114.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 18.
  4. ^ Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 17.

Bibliography

  • 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.
  • Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (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.


Categories