731 Naval Air Squadron (731 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 Ai ...

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 was active between 1943 and 1945 and its sole role throughout its formation was a Deck Landing Control Officer training squadron. It was based out of RNAS East Haven (HMS Peewit) in Scotland, as part of the Deck Landing Training School based there.

History of 731 NAS

Deck Landing Control Officer training (1943 - 1945)

On 5 December 1943, 731 Naval Air Squadron was formed at RNAS East Haven (HMS Peewit), located approximately east of

Carnoustie Carnoustie (; sco, Carnoustie, gd, Càrn Ùstaidh) is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of 1 ...

and south west of Arbroath, in Angus, Scotland, for the training of Deck Landing Control Officers (DLCOs). The squadron joined with two other Naval Air Squadrons, 767 NAS, a DLT squadron and 769 NAS, a Torpedo, bomber and reconnaissance (TBR) DLT squadron. Together they formed the Deck Landing Training School at RNAS East Haven. Training 731 NAS pilots, who were already qualified for carrier deck landing, operated a number of various Fleet Air Arm aircraft. Initially operating with Hawker Sea Hurricane and

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 us ...

aircraft, they flew continuous circuits and approaches to land on whichever runway was in use. This enabled the prospective DLCOs to direct their approach and familiarise themselves with the differing landing characteristics across the aircraft types operated within the Fleet Air Arm. The runway in use was known as the 'Dummy Deck', the trainee DLCOs were known as 'Batsmen' and the repetitive work earned them the nickname ‘Clockwork Mice’. A Dummy Carrier Island was introduced, in an attempt to create authenticity, in the form of a converted 1930s Albion

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

and given the nickname ‘H.M.S. Spurious’. The Royal Navy during the Second World War A24702

Trainee DLCOs used high visibility paddles during the day and illuminated paddles at night. The paddles were similar to tennis rackets or 'bats', hence the DLCOs being referred to as 'bats'. The DLCO trainees had to learn the different signals used to communicate with the pilot during an intensive three week training course. Signals were given until the aircraft was committed to land, however, if the approach was deemed unsafe the trainee would 'wave him off', to go around for another approach. Training in aircraft carrier flight deck activities and incidents was provided through the Aircraft Handling and Fire Fighting schools, both located at East Haven. Curriculum included aircraft parking and taxi after landing, simulated ready for take off manuevering, the spreading and folding of wings and fire fighting. The training course ended with the trainees operating on an actual aircraft carriers. A number of

escort aircraft carriers 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 ...

were assigned as Deck Landing Training (DLT) Carriers. Carriers on DLT duty included: *the Attacker-class escort carrier, HMS Ravager (D70) (January 1944) *the Ruler-class escort carrier,

HMS Khedive (D62) USS ''Cordova'' (CVE-39) (originally AVG-39 then later ACV-39) was an escort carrier launched 27 December 1942 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding of Tacoma, Washington; sponsored by Mrs. A. E. Mitchell. Reclassified CVE-39 on 15 July 1943, ''Cordo ...

(June 1944) *the Ruler-class escort carrier, HMS Rajah (D10) (August 1944) *the Ruler-class escort carrier,

HMS Ranee (D03) USS ''Niantic'' (CVE-46) was a US escort carrier, that served in the Royal Navy as HMS ''Ranee'' (D03). ''Niantic'', originally given the designation AVG-46, was redesignated as ACV-46 on 20 August 1942. The ship's keel was laid down by the Sea ...

(November 1944) *the Ruler-class escort carrier, HMS Speaker (D90) (November 1944) *the Ruler-class escort carrier, HMS Smiter (D55) (January - May - April 1945) *the Attacker-class escort carrier,

HMS Battler (D18) HMS ''Battler'' (D18) was an American-built escort carrier that served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Converted from a merchantman under construction, she was acquired by the United States Navy on 31 October 1942, as a ; she ...

(July – September 1945).

Fairey Fulmar The Fairey Fulmar is a British carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft/fighter aircraft which was developed and manufactured by aircraft company Fairey Aviation. It was named after the northern fulmar, a seabird native to the British Isles. The F ...

aircraft arrived in early 1944, these being followed by Supermarine Seafire and Vought Corsair by mid year. Around December 1944

Fairey Firefly The Fairey Firefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was developed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Avia ...

were received, 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 ...

arriving around the middle of 1945. Disbandment 731 Naval Air Squadron was disbanded on the 1 November 1945, at RNAS East Haven.

Aircraft flown

The squadron has flown a number of different aircraft types, including: * Hawker Sea Hurricane Ib (Dec 1943 - Jun 1944) * Fairey Swordfish I (Dec 1943 - Nov 1945) * Fairey Swordfish II (Dec 1943 - Nov 1945) * Fairey Fulmar II (Mar 1944 - Jun 1944) * Supermarine Seafire Ib (May 1944 - Feb 1945) * Vought F4U Corsair II (Jun 1944 - Nov 1945) * Vought F4U Corsair III (Jun 1944 - Nov 1945) * Fairey Swordfish III (Nov 1944 - Nov 1945) *

Fairey Firefly I The Fairey Firefly was a British fighter of the 1920s from Fairey Aviation. It was a single-seat, single-engine biplane of mixed construction. Development The Firefly was a private-venture design, penned by Marcel Lobelle. It was first flow ...

(Dec 1944 - Nov 1945) * Supermarine Seafire IIc (Feb 1945 - Nov 1945) * Fairey Barracuda II (Jul 1945 - Nov 1945)

Fleet Air Arm Bases

731 NAS operated from a single air base: *Royal Naval Air Station EAST HAVEN (5 December 1943 - 1 November 1945)

Commanders

731 NAS had two commanding officers during its active period. * Lt-Cdr(A) K. Stillard,

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 ...

(Dec 1943 – Jan 1945) * Lt-Cdr R. Prideham-Wippell, RN (Jan 1945 – Nov 1945)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * 700 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons Military units and formations established in 1943 Air squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War II {{UK-navy-stub