HMS ''Nabbington'', was a

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 ...

, Mobile Naval Operating Air Base (MONAB), that was established at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base RAAF Nowra at

Nowra Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in t ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, in Australia during the final stages of 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 opposi ...

. HMS ''Nabbington'' was also known as MONAB I and

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) Nowra.

History

After being assembled at

(RNAS) Ludham on 4 September 1944, the base was commissioned as an independent command bearing the ship's name HMS ''Nabbington'' on 28 October 1944. Established to support the aircraft carriers of the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships o ...

, the base's stores, equipment and vehicles sailed from Victoria Dock,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, aboard the S.S. ''Suffolk'', and personnel sailed from Gladstone Dock,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

upon S.S. ''Empress of Scotland'' on 20 November 1944 bound for Sydney, Australia. After arriving in Sydney on 20 December 1944, the personnel set up at

Warwick Farm racecourse Warwick Farm Racecourse is a racecourse at Warwick Farm, a south-west suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used as a racecourse for Thoroughbred horse racing. The racecourse is owned and operated by the Australian Turf Club. ...

, which had been converted into Camp Warwick, a part of HMS ''Golden Hind'', the Royal Navy barracks in Sydney. Upon ''Suffolk''s arrival at Sydney on 24 December 1944,

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

personnel from No. 1 Transportation & Movements began unloading the stores and equipment for transport to RAAF Nowra, which was officially transferred to the Royal Navy on a loan basis and commissioned as HMS ''Nabbington'', Royal Naval Air Station Nowra, on 2 January 1945. Some improvements and expansion were required in order to make the base operational, and these were undertaken during January 1945. After these improvements were completed, the base provided shore based facilities for the British Pacific Fleet's Carrier Air Groups when the carriers were in Sydney for repairs and resupply. In early March 1945 operational flying was transferred to Nowra's satellite airfield at Jervis Bay Airfield in order to permit emergency repairs to be carried out on the runways and taxiways at Nowra which were deteriorating due to wet weather and heavy use. Flying operations returned to Nowra on 28 April 1945. On 18 May 1945, the 3rd Carrier Air Group was formed as a reserve Air Group. When the Japanese surrendered on 15 August 1945,

Victory over Japan 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 ...

(VJ Day) or Victory in the Pacific (VP Day), was celebrated at Nowra and the men and women of HMS ''Nabbington'' marched through the streets. ''Nabbington'', MONAB I, was paid off on 15 November 1945 and RNAS Nowra was subsequently re-commissioned as HMS ''Nabwick'' (MONAB V) on 15 November 1945.

Commanding officers

* Commander. G. A. Nunneley – 28 October 1944 * Captain H. G. Dickinson – 9 March 1945 * Captain J. D Harvey – 1 May 1945

Units based at HMS ''Nabbington''

* 723 Fleet Requirements Unit (27 February – 7 March 1945) & (4 June – 15 November 1945) * 706 Pool & Refresher Flying Training Squadron (24 October 1945) * Mobile Maintenance 1 * Maintenance Servicing 1& 2 * Mobile Repair 1 * Maintenance, Storage & Resave 1 & 2 * Mobile Air Torpedo Maintenance Units 3. 6 & 7

Squadrons based at HMS ''Nabbington''

The Royal Navy during the Second World War A29724

* 820 Squadron (10 – 27 February 1945) & (18 September 1945) (Avenger IIs) * 828 Squadron (24 August 1945) (Avengers) * 837 Squadron (29 October 1945) (exchanged Barracudas for 12 Firefly FR.Is) * 848 Squadron (24 August – 25 October 1945) (Avengers) * 849 Squadron (10 – 27 February 1945) & (6 – 24 June 1945) (Avengers) * 854 Squadron (11 February – 6 March 1945) & (18 May – 24 October 1945) (Avengers) * 857 Squadron (11 – 28 February 1945), (5 June – 2 August 1945) & (11 – 22 October 1945) (Avengers) * 1771 Squadron (13 September – 16 October 1945) (Firefly Is) * 1830 Squadron (9 February – 7 March 1945) (Corsairs) * 1833 Squadron (9 February – 7 March 1945) (6 Corsairs) * 1834 Squadron (10 – 27 February 1945) (Corsairs) * 1836 Squadron (10 – 27 February 1945) (Corsairs) * 1839 Squadron (11 – 27 February 1945), (1 June – 3 August 1945) & (10 – 22 October 1945) (Hellcats) * 1841 Squadron (23 August – 25 October 1945) (Corsairs) * 1842 Squadron (23 August – 25 October 1945) (Corsairs) * 1843 Squadron (15 July 1945 – 24 October 1945) (Corsair IVs) * 1844 Squadron (11 – 27 February 1945), (5 June – 3 August 1945), (11 – 16 August 1945) & (10 – 22 October 1945) (Hellcats) * 1845 Squadron (14 July – 24 October 1945) (Corsair IVs) * 1846 Squadron (14 July – 13 August 1945) (Corsair IVs)

Aircraft carriers squadrons disembarked from/embarked to

British aircraft carriers at anchor c1945

* HMS ''Colossus'' * HMS ''Formidable'' * HMS ''Illustrious'' * HMS ''Indefatigable'' * HMS ''Indomitable'' * HMS ''Implacable'' * HMS ''Victorious''

Satellite airfields

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, said to possess the whitest sand in the world. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia ...

Vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nabbington Military history of Sydney during World War II Royal Naval Air Stations