The Royal Navy Observer School grew out of HM Naval Seaplane Training School at

RNAS Lee-on-Solent Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent (HMS ''Daedalus'') was one of the primary shore airfields of the Fleet Air Arm. First established as a seaplane base in 1917 during the First World War, it later became the main training establishment and ad ...

as a result of a series of changes of identity and parent unit. From 1918 until 1939 the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

was responsible for naval aviation, including training and provision of aircrew to the Royal Navy. With the return of naval aviation to the Royal Navy on 24 May 1939, the Observer School was established as 750 Naval Air Squadron of the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

. During World War II the squadron moved to Trinidad to continue training aircrew. It was temporarily disbanded in October 1945. The squadron reformed in 1952 and is currently based at RNAS Culdrose, where it trains approximately 30 Royal Navy observers every year.

History

The Royal Navy established HM Naval Seaplane Training School on 30 July 1917 at

Lee-on-Solent Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the Borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a res ...

; the unit was responsible for the training of seaplane pilots and observers. When the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

and the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

merged on 1 April 1918 to form the

, the school was renamed No. 209 Training Depot. HMS Furious-18

Throughout the early 1920s pilots and observers of seaplanes were trained at Lee-on-Solent under a variety of names; from 1921 the base was renamed the RAF Seaplane Training School, and from 1923, the RAF School of Naval Co-operation. Although the school now concentrated on observer training, from 1925 all naval aircrew were provided by the RAF, and training of naval officers as observers ceased. During this period the primary training aircraft was the Fairey IIID. From 1932 Lee-on-Solent was provided with a full airfield and became the headquarters of the RAF's

Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

. Observer training continued apace and the airfield was home to a wide range of naval aircraft including

Fairey Seal The Fairey Seal was a British carrier-borne spotter-reconnaissance aircraft, operated in the 1930s. The Seal was derived – like the Gordon – from the IIIF. To enable the Fairey Seal to be launched by catapult from warships, it could be fitt ...

Hawker Osprey The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...

Blackburn Shark The Blackburn Shark was a carrier-borne torpedo bomber designed and built by the British aviation manufacturer Blackburn Aircraft. It was originally known as the Blackburn T.S.R., standing for ''torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance'', in reference to ...

Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus (originally designated the Supermarine Seagull V) was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and manufactured by Supermarine at Woolston, Southampton. The Walrus f ...

es, and

Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also used ...

es. Telegraphist air gunners were also trained at Lee-on-Solent in the years leading up to the Second World War. 750 Naval Air Squadron was formed at

RNAS Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

on 24 May 1939 from the Royal Navy Observer School, but after Ford was bombed early in the war, it moved to

RNAS Yeovilton Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, or RNAS Yeovilton, (HMS ''Heron'') is an airfield of the Royal Navy and British Army, sited a few miles north of Yeovil, Somerset. It is one of two active Fleet Air Arm bases (the other being RNAS Culdrose) ...

. Changing title from a school to a squadron did not change its basic purpose, which was the training of observers for the Fleet Air Arm. The squadron initially flew

s and

s, but in November 1940 it moved to Piarco Savannah (HMS ''Goshawk'') in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and at about the same time re-equipped with

Fairey Albacore The Fairey Albacore is a single-engine biplane torpedo bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation. It was primarily operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and was heavily used during the Second ...

s. On 15 January 1941, 21 officers and 121 ratings from 749, 750 and 752 squadrons sailed from Liverpool on bound for Trinidad. Two days later sank ''Almeda Star'' in heavy seas north of

Rockall Rockall () is an uninhabitable granite islet situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom claims that Rockall lies within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is part of its territory, but this claim is not recognised by Ireland. ...

. There were no survivors. The squadron operated in Trinidad for the duration of World War II and was disbanded on 10 October 1945. The squadron reformed on 17 April 1952 at RNAS St Merryn. At first it was equipped with twelve

Fairey Barracuda The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber designed by Fairey Aviation. It was the first aircraft of this type operated by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA) to be fabricated entirely from metal. The Barracuda ...

s and four

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

s, but in 1953 the Fairey Firefly T7 and Percival Sea Prince T1 aircraft were introduced, and in the same year the squadron moved to

RNAS Culdrose Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, and is one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe. Its main role is serv ...

. In 1955 the squadron changed its name to the Observer and Air Signal School. After discontinuing the training of air telegraphists, it changed again to the Observer School in May 1959. The squadron moved to Hal Far (HMS ''Falcon''),

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in October 1959, and in 1965 it was transferred again, this time to

RNAS Lossiemouth Lossiemouth ( gd, Inbhir Losaidh) is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over ...

. The last move came in 1972, back to RNAS Culdrose, still equipped with the Sea Prince T1. These were replaced by the Jetstream T2 in 1978 and in 1992 the squadron became the first naval air squadron to achieve 50 unbroken years in commission. (Note in 2017 now 75!).

Current role

Formerly flying the T2 & T3 versions of the BAe Jetstream, 750 NAS is tasked with providing Basic Flying Training for the Fleet Air Arm's observers. After undergoing initial training at

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

, trainee aircrew officers join for a seven-month period of training in all aspects of airborne navigation, airmanship and other tactical skills. This is conducted in classrooms as well as in the air and in a computer-controlled simulator. Upon completion of this course they will be ready for advanced flying training and will be streamed for their eventual specialisation. On completion of flying training observers serve in Wildcat HMA2 or

Merlin HM2 The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requirement ...

helicopters. These aircraft help extend the eyes and ears of the fleet at sea and are integral to the

ASuW Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's s ...

and ASW capabilities of the RN In 2011, the Jetstreams were replaced by Avenger T1 aircraft, modified Beechcraft King Air 350ERs,Royal Navy unveils its new King Air
/ref> as part of the

UK Military Flying Training System The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) takes UK armed forces aircrew from initial training through elementary, basic, and advanced flying training phases, preparing them for their arrival at their designated operational aircraft units. I ...

. The Squadron operates four commercially owned but military-registered aircraft, employing a mixture of military and civilian personnel to achieve the instructional task.Harding ''Air International'' March 2016, pp. 60–61. As well as training Fleet Air Arm observers, it also trains Royal Air Force Mission Aircrew Officers and Non-commissioned Mission Aircrew.

Aircraft flown

Since 1939 705 NAS has flown 13 types of aircraft:

* Blackburn Shark II * Fairey Albacore I * Fairey Barracuda II & TR3 *

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

* Avro Anson I * Percival Sea Prince T1 * Fairey Firefly T7 * Airspeed Oxford I * de Havilland Sea Vampire T22 * de Havilland Sea Venom FAW21 & FAW22 * de Havilland Sea Devon C20 * Handley Page (later BAe) Jetstream T2 & T3 * Beechcraft Avenger T1

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 700 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons Military units and formations established in 1939 Military of the United Kingdom in Cornwall Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II Naval aviation education