1771 Naval Air Squadron (1771 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The squadron was the first British & Commonwealth unit to fly over Japan in World War II.[2]
| 1771 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1 February 1944 - 16 October 1945[1] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Type | Two-seat fighter squadron |
| Role | Fighter Squadron |
| Size | twelve aircraft |
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
History edit
Two-seater Fighter Squadron (1944 - 1945) edit
1771 Squadron formed at RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron), Somerset, on 1 February 1944 as a two-seater fighter squadron. It was equipped with twelve Fairey Firefly I, a carrier-borne fighter, anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft.[3] At the beginning of March the squadron relocated to RNAS Burscough (HMS Ringtail), Lancashire,[4] which had day and night fighter facilities.[5] In late June early July, deck landing training was done on the Ruler-class escort carrier HMS Trumpeter. Early August saw the squadron move to RNAS Machrihanish (HMS Landrail), Kintyre, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and mid-month HMS Ravager, an Attacker-class escort carrier provided deck landing training.[4]
Aircraft flown edit
1771 Naval Air Squadron flew only one aircraft type:
References edit
Citations edit
- ^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 339.
- ^ "Crews of the First British Aircraft to Fly over Japan. July 1945, in the British Escort Carrier HMS Implacable. On 17 July 1945 Fairey Firefly Fighters of 1771 Squadron Operating from Implacable Became the First Aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm to Fly over Japan".
- ^ Wragg 2019, p. 190.
- ^ a b Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 278.
- ^ "Burscough". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
Bibliography edit
- 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.
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