1772 Naval Air Squadron

1772 Naval Air Squadron
1772 Naval Air Squadron
	1772 NAS badge
Active	1 May 1944 - 10 March 1946
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Two-seat fighter squadron
Role	Fighter Squadron
Size	twelve aircraft
Part of	Fleet Air Arm 7th Carrier Air Group (July 1945 - March 1946);
Home station	See Naval air stations section for full list.
Motto(s)	Tenax propositi; (Latin for 'Steadfast of purpose')
Engagements	World War II Pacific War Air raids on Japan; ;
Battle honours	Japan 1945
Insignia
Squadron Badge Description	Per fess red and blue, a bow strung full draught in pale white with an arrow winged and flighted point downwards wings interlaced all gold (1944)
Identification Markings	single letters; 4A+ (October 1943); 270-281 (June 1945)
Tail Codes	S (June 1945)
Aircraft flown
Fighter	Fairey Firefly

1772 Naval Air Squadron (1772 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA), which last disbanded, at Portsmouth, in March 1946. The squadron formed at HMS Ringtail, RNAS Burscough as a Fighter Squadron during May 1944. It joined HMS Ruler for passage to Australia leaving January 1945 and disembarking at HMS Nabstock, RNAS Schofields, mid-March. The squadron embarked in HMS Indefatigable in July, joining the British Pacific Fleet for attacks againgst the Japanese home islands. After the end of the Second World War it dropped supplies on PoW camps.

History

Two-seater Fighter Squadron (1944 - 1946)

1772 Naval Air Squadron formed at RNAS Burscough (HMS Ringtail), Lancashire, England, on 1 May 1944, as a two-seater fighter squadron. It was equipped with twelve Fairey Firefly I, a carrier-borne fighter, anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft. During November the squadron undertook deck landing training (DLT) using the Ruler-class escort carrier HMS Empress.^[3] On completion of the training the squadron received new aircraft fitted with long-range fuel tanks (the original aircraft being re-allocated to 766 Naval Air Squadron.^[2]

The squadron travelled to RNAS Belfast (HMS Gadwall), Belfast, Northern Ireland in January 1945^[2] where it prepared for embarking on the name ship of her class, HMS Ruler, for passage to the Pacific, for operations with the British Pacific Fleet, and departed on 20 January.^[3] disembarking for RNAS Schofields (HMS Nabstock), New South Wales, on 18 March 1945.^[4] It embarked in the Implacable-class aircraft carrier HMS Indefatigable on 7 July, becoming part of the 7th Carrier Air Group, for attacks against the Japanese home islands.^[2]

After V-J Day the squadron dropped supplies on PoW camps in Japan^[3] and HMS Indefatigable spent four days anchored in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender in September. The aircraft carrier with its air group sailed for the United Kingdom at the end of January 1946. 1772 Naval Air Squadron disbanded on arrival at Portsmouth on 10 March.^[2]

Aircraft flown

1772 Naval Air Squadron flew only one aircraft type:^[2]

Fairey Firefly I fighter and anti-submarine aircraft (May 1944 - March 1946)

Battle honours

The battle honours awarded to 1772 Naval Air Squadron are:

Japan, 1945^[3]

Naval air stations

1772 Naval Air Squadron operated from a couple of naval air stations of the Royal Navy, in the United Kingdom and one overseas in Australia, and a couple of RN escort carriers and a RN fleet carrier:^[2]

Royal Naval Air Station Burscough (HMS Ringtail) (1 May 1944 - 16 January 1945)
- HMS Empress (Detachment deck landing training DLT 25 - 27 November 1944)
Royal Naval Air Station Belfast (HMS Gadwall) (16 - 20 January 1945)
HMS Ruler (20 January - 18 March 1945)
Royal Naval Air Station Schofields (HMS Nabstock) (18 March - 7 July 1945)
HMS Indefatigable (7 July - 18 September 1945)
Royal Naval Air Station Schofields (HMS Nabstock) (18 September - 18 November 1945)
HMS Indefatigable (18 November - 22 December 1945)
Royal Naval Air Station Schofields (HMS Nabstock) (22 December 1945 - 31 January 1946)
HMS Indefatigable (31 January - 10 March 1946)
disbanded - (10 March 1946)

Commanding officers

List of commanding officers of 1772 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:^[3]^[2]

Lieutenant Commander(A) A.H.D. Gough, RN, from 1 May 1944
Lieutenant Commander(A) L.C. Wort, , RNVR, from 3 November 1944
Lieutenant Commander(A) D.J. Holmes, RNVR, from 24 September 1945
disbanded - 10 March 1946

References

Citations

^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 339.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 278.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Wragg 2019, p. 190.
^ "Schofields". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 8 May 2024.

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.