762 Naval Air Squadron (762 NAS) was a

Naval Air Squadron A naval air squadron (NAS) is the title of naval aviation squadrons in some countries. Poland The Polish ''Morski Dywizjon Lotniczy'' #Naval Air Squadron# was formed in 1920 with two ''Escadrille''s# United Kingdom The squadrons of the Fleet Air ...

of the Royal Navy's

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 ...

. It formed at RNAS Yeovilton in March 1942 as an Advanced Flying Training School. Almost immediately the squadron relocated to RNAS St Merryn, but before the end of the year, it was back at Yeovilton. 762 NAS disbanded nine months later. The squadron reformed in 1944 at RNAS Lee-on-Solent, as a Twin Engine Conversion Unit, but immediately moved to RNAS Dale, where it operated a variety of multi engined aircraft. At the end of 1945 the squadron moved to RNAS Halesworth and RNAS Ford in quick succession. Now known as the Heavy Twin Conversion Unit it spent nearly two and a half years at Ford before relocating to RNAS Culdrose, where it eventually disbanded at the end of 1949.

History of 762 NAS

Advanced Flying Training School (1942 - 1943)

762 Naval Air Squadron formed, on the 23 March 1942, at

RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron) 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) ...

situated near

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, as an Advanced Flying Training School. It was initially equipped with

Fulmar The fulmars are tubenosed seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on ...

and

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

aircraft. Roughly three weeks later, on the 15 April 1942, the squadron relocated to

RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture) RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture) is a former Royal Naval Air Station of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The site is located northeast of Newquay, Cornwall and northwest of Bodmin, Cornwall, England. History RNAS St Merryn was constructed during W ...

, located northeast of

Newquay Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. It added

Martlet A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing. It is a compelling allegory for continuous effort, expre ...

aircraft to its inventory in June 1942. 762 NAS remained at St Merryn for the next seven months, however, on the 8 September 1942, the squadron moved back to RNAS Yeovilton. Here it added

Sea Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft, Hawker Aircraft Ltd. Some versions were built in Canada by the Canada Car and Foundry, Canada Car and Foundry Co Ltd British vari ...

aircraft to its inventory for training and conversion. The squadron disbanded at Yeovilton on the 9 June 1943.

Twin Engine Conversion Unit (1944 - 1949)

762 Naval Air Squadron reformed, on the 15 March 1944, at

RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus) 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 ...

, situated near

Lee-on-the-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 resi ...

, in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, approximately four miles west of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, as the Twin Engine Conversion Unit. Two weeks later, on the 15 March 1944, 762 NAS moved to

RNAS Dale (HMS Goldcrest) Royal Naval Air Station Dale or more simply as RNAS Dale is a former Fleet Air Arm base located west of Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales. History RAF Dale Construction of the airfield began between the villages of Dale and Marloes in 1 ...

, located west of

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and here the squadron operated a variety of aircraft, using Beaufort Mk.I & T Mk. II, Beaufighter Mark IIF, Blenheim Mk.IV and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and from August, Wellington GR Mark XI aircraft. 762 NAS remained at Dale for just short of two years, moving to RNAS Halesworth (HMS Sparrowhawk), located north east of the town of

Halesworth Halesworth is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in north-eastern Suffolk, England. The population stood at 4,726 in the 2011 Census. It lies south-west of Lowestoft, on a tributary of the River Blyth, upstream from Southwold. T ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, on the 3 December 1945. However, six weeks later, the squadron was on the move again, this time relocating to RNAS Ford (HMS Perigrine), located at

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 ...

, in

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. At this time the squadron was also operating

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

and Sea Mosquito aircraft and it became known as the Heavy Twin Conversion Unit. It remained in this role and at Ford for around the next two and a half years,before moving to

RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) 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 ser ...

, near

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map shee ...

on the

Lizard Peninsula The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerl ...

, on the 1 May 1948. 762 NAS disbanded, at Culdrose, on the 8 December 1949.

Aircraft flown

The squadron has flown a number of different aircraft types, including: * Fairey Fulmar Mk.I (Mar 1942 - Jun 1943) * Fairey Fulmar Mk.II (Mar 1942 - Jun 1943) * Miles M.9B Master I (Jun 1942 - Jun 1943) * Grumman Martlet Mk I (Jun 1942 - Jan 1943) * Sea Hurricane Mk IA (Sep 1942 - Jun 1943) * Sea Hurricane Mk IB (Sep 1942 - Jun 1943) * Supermarine Spitfire Mk I (Feb 1943 - Jun 1943) * Bristol Beaufighter Mark IIF (Mar 1944 - 1945) * Bristol Beaufort Mk.I (Mar 1944 - May 1944) * Bristol Beaufort T Mk. II (Mar 1944 - Aug 1946) *

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery roles throughout the Seco ...

(Mar 1944 - Dec 1949) * Vickers Wellington GR Mark XI (Aug 1944 - Apr 1945) * de Havilland Mosquito FB Mk. VI (Aug 1945 - Nov 1949) * de Havilland Mosquito T Mk III (Dec 1945 - Dec 1949) * de Havilland Mosquito B.35 (1946) * de Havilland Sea Mosquito TR Mk 33 (Nov 1947 - Nov 1949) * Avro Anson I (1948)

Naval Air Stations

762 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy, in Wales and England: *

Royal Naval Air Station 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) ...

(23 March 1942 - 15 April 1942) * Royal Naval Air Station ST MERRYN (15 April 1942 - 8 September 1942) *Royal Naval Air Station YEOVILTON (23 March 1942 - 15 April 1942) * Royal Naval Air Station LEE-ON-SOLENT (15 March 1944 - 31 March 1944) * Royal Naval Air Station DALE (31 March 1944 - 3 December 1945) * Royal Naval Air Station HALESWORTH (3 December 1945 - 15 January 1946) * Royal Naval Air Station FORD (15 January 1946 - 1 May 1948) *

Royal Naval Air Station CULDROSE Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy Military airbase, airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, a ...

(1 May 1948 - 8 December 1949)

Commanding Officers

List of

commanding officers The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitud ...

of 762 Naval Air Squadron with month and year of appointment and end: 1942 - 1943 *Lt ( A) R- McD Hall, RN (Mar 1942-Sep 1942) *Lt D. B. M Fiddes DSO, RN (Sep 1942-Mar 1943) * Lt-Cdr (A) M. J. S. Newman, RN (Mar 1943-Jun 1943) 1944 - 1949 *Lt-Cdr (A) S. J. Hawley,

RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

(Mar 1944-Mar 1945) *Lt-Cdr (A) T- R- Koeller, RNVR (Mar 1945-Jul 1945) *Lt-Cdr (A) J. Mills, RNVR (Jul 1945-Jun 1948) *Lt-Cdr M. Johnstone

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

, RN (Jun 1948-Feb 1949) *Lt A. L. Brown, RN (Feb 1949-Dec 1949)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * 700 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II 1942 establishments in the United Kingdom 1949 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations disestablished in 1949 {{UK-navy-stub