733 Naval Air Squadron (733 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 1944 and 1947 as a Fleet Requirement Unit, based mainly at RNAS Trincomalee (HMS Bambara), China Bay, Sri Lanka (Ceylon).
History of 733 NAS
Fleet Requirement Unit (1944 - 1947)
733 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Requirement Unit. It moved from
R.N. Air Section Minnerya, in lodger facilities at R.A.F. Station Minnerya, located in
Hingurakgoda,
Sri Lanka (Ceylon), on the 25 March 1944, to
RNAS Trincomalee (HMS Bambara), located in China Bay in eastern
Sri Lanka, bringing along a varied example of aircraft used by the Fleet Air Arm.
Initially using Walrus aircraft and later on Sea Otter aircraft, an Air Sea Rescue Flight was added around the beginning of 1946.
The squadron disbanded on 31 December 1947 at RNAS Trincomalee.
Aircraft flown
The squadron used a number of different aircraft types, including:
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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 ...
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Grumman Tarpon GR.I
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Grumman Avenger Mk.II
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Fairey Barracuda Mk II
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Bristol Beaufighter Mark IIF
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Bristol Beaufort Mk.I
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Vought Corsair Mk IV
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Bolton Paul Defiant TT Mk I
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Beech Expeditor C.II
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Fairey Fulmar Mk.II
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North American Harvard IIB
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...
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Miles Martinet TT.Mk I
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de Havilland Mosquito B Mk 25
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Stinson Reliant
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Supermarine Seafire III
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Supermarine Seafire F Mk XV
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Supermarine Sea Otter Mk I
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Supermarine Sea Otter Mk II
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Fairey Swordfish I
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Fairey Swordfish II
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de Havilland Tiger Moth
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Vultee Vengeance II
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Supermarine Walrus
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Grumman Wildcat Mk V
Fleet Air Arm Bases
733 NAS operated from two air bases:
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R. N. Air Section MINNERIYA (1 January 1944 - 25 March 1944)
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Royal Naval Air Station TRINCOMALEE (25 March 1944 - 31 December 1947)
References
Citations
Bibliography
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700 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons
Military units and formations established in 1944
Air squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War II
{{UK-navy-stub