835 Naval Air Squadron was a former

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

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 ...

originally formed in February 1942 as a

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

and

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

unit flying

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 ...

. In June 1943, six Sea Hurricanes were added to the squadron as a fighter flight. The composite unit exchanged the Hurricanes in September 1944 for Grumman Wildcats, serving on until 1 April 1945, when the squadron disbanded.

History

1942

The first members of the squadron assembled at the

Royal Naval Air Station 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 Wi ...

(RNAS)

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

(also known as

HMS Raven Fourteen ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name ''Raven'', after birds of the genus ''Corvus'', particularly the common raven: Ships * was a 36-gun ship captured in 1652, and captured by the Dutch in 1654. * was a ...

) in January 1942 near

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

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 ...

. They left Eastleigh on 29 January to board the SS ''Andalucia Star'' at Glasgow. ''Andalucia Star'' sailed from Glasgow on 4 February and arrived in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

on 17 February. 835 Naval Air Squadron officially formed that day at

Palisadoes Palisadoes (word apparently of Portuguese origin) is the thin tombolo of sand that serves as a natural protection for Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. Norman Manley International Airport and the historic town of Port Royal are both on Palisadoes. T ...

(

HMS Buzzard Four ships and two shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Buzzard'' after the bird, the buzzard: Ships * HMS ''Buzzard'' was a 16-gun brig-sloop, originally the French ship ''Lutine''. She was captured in the Leeward Island ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

as a torpedo-bomber and reconnaissance squadron of

. After patrolling the seas around Jamaica until 12 March 1942, the squadron moved to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, where a refitted lay waiting to take them aboard. ''Furious'' left Norfolk on 3 April 1942, and arrived 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 ...

, Hampshire, on 15 April. The squadron moved to RNAS Hatston (HMS Sparrowhawk),

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, in June 1942. During a period of frequent relocation the squadron moved to

RNAS Stretton (HMS Blackcap) Royal Naval Air Station Stretton (HMS ''Blackcap''), was an airfield in the village of Appleton Thorn, though named for the neighbouring village of Stretton, south of Warrington, in Cheshire, England. Although the main runway remains, the nort ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, on 22 September 1942 and to

RNAS Machrihanish (HMS Landrail) Royal Naval Air Station Machrihanish (HMS Landrail), is a former Royal Navy air station, close to Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Location Located 3 miles (5 km) west of Campbeltown on the western side of the Kintyre Peninsula, Machrih ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, on 29 October to spend November doing initial Deck Launch Training (DLT) on .Barringer 1995, p. 44. December saw temporary return to RNAS Machrihanish before relocation to

RAF Kirkistown Royal Air Force Kirkistown or more simply RAF Kirkistown is a former Royal Air Force satellite airfield located of Ballyhalbert, County Down, Northern Ireland. It was a satellite to the RAF Fighter Command airfield at Ballyhalbert on the Ards ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

1943

Return to RNAS Machrihanish on 29 January 1943 caused the base to be nicknamed "Clapham Junction" by the squadron. Carrier embarkation was aboard on 8 April 1943 for convoy duties, but the squadron returned to RNAS Machrihanish for RP-3 Rocket Projectile training on 7 May. After a short return to ''Battler'', the squadron moved to

RAF Ballykelly Royal Air Force Ballykelly or more simply RAF Ballykelly is a former Royal Air Force station which opened in 1941 in Ballykelly, County Londonderry. It closed in 1971 when the site was handed over to the British Army as Shackleton Barracks. A s ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

, Northern Ireland on 15 May and to RNAS Eglington (HMS Gannet) on 22 May. In June 1943, 835 Squadron was reinforced with a flight of six Sea Hurricane Mk.IIcs from 804 squadron. The Hurricanes spent part of September and October 1943 operating from , while some of the Swordfishes served aboard and the others remained at

RAF Ayr RAF Heathfield, sometimes known as RAF Ayr/Heathfield due to its proximity to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which was also used by military flights, is a former Royal Air Force station. Like many other wartime airfields, its runways were of the t ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, Scotland. After a period ashore at RNAS Eglington, the squadron shortly embarked on for three weeks before transfer to RNAS Abbotsinch (HMS Sanderling) and thence to RNAS Eglington.

1944

The squadron transferred to the

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

on 31 December 1943, and returned ashore at RNAS Hatston and

in January 1944. Most of 1944, however, was spent onboard ''Nairana'', on Atlantic convoy duties and on the Gibraltar Run. The squadron also served in 1944 with a successful submarine Hunter-Killer Group in the North Atlantic under the overall command of Captain Frederick Walker. Three Ju 290s were shot down in May and June. The squadron became involved in the Murmansk Convoys to and from RNAS Hatston in August. Squadron pilots faced the most dangerous flying conditions of the war to attack two U-Boats and shoot down four enemy aircraft in the Arctic. The aging Sea Hurricanes were replaced by Grumman Wildcat Mk.VIs in September.

1945

The squadron of 14 Swordfish and six Grumman Wildcats was led by Lieutenant-Commander Val Jones, a Swordfish Observer. The Senior Pilot of the squadron was Lieutenant Allen Burgham,

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 ...

, MiD, who flew Sea Hurricane Mk.IIcs and later Wildcat Mk.VIs, and was Flight Commander of the Fighter Component. Lt-Commander John Godley

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 ...

, who had previously been in command of 'P' Flight of

836 Naval Air Squadron 836 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. History 836 Naval Air Squadron officially formed for the first time at Palisadoes, Jamaica, in March 1942 as a torpedo bomber reconnaissance squadron flying the Fairey Swordfish. It ...

, became commander of the squadron on 9 January 1945. Lieutenant-Commander Godley served as Squadron Commanding Officer for one Murmansk Convoy in February 1945. 835 Squadron saw further combat doing two coastal anti-shipping raids along the Norwegian coast off

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, before being disbanded on 1 April 1945 at RNAS Hatston,Barringer 1995, p. 177. with its fighter flight transferring to

821 Naval Air Squadron 821 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed on 3 April 1933 with the transferral and amalgamation of the Fairey III aircraft from 446 and half of 455 Flight (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flights Royal Ai ...

. Lieutenant-Commander Godley was transferred to command

714 Naval Air Squadron 714 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was first formed as 714 (Catapult) Flight on 15 July 1936, by renumbering 406 (Catapult) Flight, and operated Fairey IIIF floatplanes from cruisers in the East I ...

Aircraft operated

Squadron bases

Commanding officers

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Barringer, E.E. ''"Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea"'' London: Leo Cooper, 1995. . * Kilbracken, John. ''Bring Back My Stringbag: Swordfish Pilot at War, 1940–1945''. London: Pen & Sword, 1996. . * Sadler, George E. ''Swordfish Patrol''. Wrexham, UK: Bridge Books, 1996. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:835 Naval Air Squadron FAA 835 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II