817 Naval Air Squadron was a unit of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
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 the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
In 1941, the squadron operated
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 ...
aircraft in the Anti-Submarine Warfare role in Icelandic and Mediterranean waters. The Squadron was reformed in 1943, with
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 ...
aircraft and carried out operations in the Far East before disbanding at the end of the war.
The squadron was reformed as
817 Squadron RAN
817 Squadron was a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. It was originally formed as part of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm for service during World War II and took part in combat operations in Norway, North Africa, Sicily and off the ...
in 1950.
Aircraft
*
Fairey Albacore I March 1941–August 1943
*
Fairey Barracuda II December 1943–January 1945
*Barracuda II (ASH) April 1945–August 1945
{{Royal Naval Air Squadrons
Military units and formations established in 1941
800 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons