851 Naval Air Squadron was a

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 ...

squadron 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 ...

, first formed in October 1943 at

Squantum Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Squantum was an active naval aviation facility during 1917 and from 1923 until 1953. The original civilian airfield that preceded it, the Harvard Aviation Field, dates back to 1910. The base was sited on Squantum Point in t ...

in Massachusetts, United States as a MAC-ship escort squadron. It was later disbanded around December 1945. It was reformed in 1954 as an

Australian squadron The Australian Squadron was the name given to the British naval force assigned to the Australia Station from 1859 to 1911.Dennis et al. 2008, p. 67. The Squadron was initially a small force of Royal Navy warships based in Sydney, and although inten ...

on 3 August 1954.

History

After pilot training the squadron was formed in October 1943, equipped with

Grumman Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...

IIs to operate as a torpedo bomber reconnaissance and escort squadron. As a squadron they flew their 12 Avengers to the west coast of the United States and embarked on at

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

in January 1944, where a

Grumman Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atla ...

fighter flight was added. They sailed to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

via Williamstown docks,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, where the carrier's deck cargo of aircraft was unloaded, thus enabling 851 Squadron's naval flying operations for the first time. Tasked with anti-submarine patrols in the Indian Ocean and

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

, 851 Squadron's Avengers and Wildcat flights briefly operated from a shore base at

Colombo Racecourse Colombo Racecourse ( si, කොළඹ තුරඟ තරඟ පිටිය) is a historical harness racing course in the Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo. During the Second World War, it was used as a temporary airfield. In 2012, it was redeveloped ...

, then at

Katukurunda Katukurunda Airport ( si, කටුකුරුන්ද ගුවන්තොටුපළ ''Katukurunda Guwanthotupala'', ) is a domestic airport located near the town of Kalutara in Sri Lanka. It is also a military airbase known as Sri Lanka A ...

, as well as forming the ''Shah''s full complement.

Sinking of ''U-198''

The two carriers HMS ''Shah'' and (carrying 832 Squadron) formed the hunter-killer group Force 66 in July 1944, searching for the . On 10 and 12 August 1944 the

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

was located near the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

and attacked by 851's Avengers, although damage could not be clearly ascertained. The aircraft directed the RN

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

and the Indian sloop to the submarine and they were able to sink ''U-198'' with the loss of all hands.

Sinking of ''Haguro''

In February 1945 ''Shah'' sailed to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

for a refit, and the Wildcats were withdrawn. Sailing to Burma in May 1945, ''Shah'' with 851 Squadron's Avengers supported

Operation Dracula Operation Dracula was a World War II-airborne and amphibious attack on Rangoon by British and Anglo-Indian forces during the Burma Campaign. The plan was first proposed in mid-1944 when the Allied South East Asia Command was preparing to reoccupy ...

, the invasion of Rangoon. 851 Squadron dive-bombed the Japanese

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...

, suffering losses in the attacks for little return. This was the longest range Fleet Air Arm round-trip carrier borne attack of the Second World War. However, they did direct ships of the 26th Destroyer Flotilla which sank ''Haguro'' in a night torpedo action known as

Operation Dukedom Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

Decommissioning

The squadron subsequently returned to Katukurunda, Colombo Racecourse and

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

. After

VJ-Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

the squadron left their aircraft and sailed on HMS ''Shah'' to the UK where the squadron was disbanded and the carrier returned to the United States. 851 Squadron was subsequently reactivated as a squadron of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

References

External links

Fleet Air Arm Archive 851 Naval Air Squadron
{{Royal Naval Air Squadrons

851 __NOTOC__ Year 851 ( DCCCLI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Asia * Bagrat II Bagratuni, Armenian prince and leader of a rebellion against the Abbasi ...

Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations in Massachusetts