849 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the

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 Wi ...

, the Air Arm of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 Fr ...

. It was formed during 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 ...

as a

carrier Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

based

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 ...

, unit, flying missions against Japanese targets in the Far East. Its service since the Second World War has been as an

airborne early warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

squadron, flying fixed winged Skyraiders and Gannets from the Royal Navy's fixed wing carriers from 1952 until 1978, and airborne early warning Sea King helicopters from 1982 to 2018.

Operational history

World War two

849 Naval Air Squadron was formed on 1 August 1943 at the

Naval Air Station Quonset Point A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

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 nav ...

Is. It returned to the UK and provided anti-surface vessel and anti-submarine patrols over the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

prior to and during the D-Day operations.Brown 1972, p.65. Avenger from HMS Victorious in flight c1944

In August 1944, it was sent to

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

to join the British

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air L ...

, embarking on (and becoming part 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 ...

in November 1944). It took part in Operation Lentil against oil installations at

Pangkalan Brandan Pangkalan Brandan (or Pangkalanbrandan) (''Pangkalanberandan'') is a port town in Langkat Regency, North Sumatra province, Indonesia, forty miles north west of Medan, close to the boundary with Aceh. The area's population is estimated at aroun ...

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

on 4 January 1945, and in the larger carrier strikes against the oil refineries at Palembang Sumatra (

Operation Meridian During World War II, Operation Meridian was part of a series of British air attacks directed at Japanese-held oil refineries on Sumatra. Meridian had two phases: ''Meridian One'' on 24 January 1945 and ''Meridian Two'' on 29 January. As a re ...

) on 24 and 29 January.Brown 1972, pp. 65-66. ''Victorious'', including 849 in its Carrier Air Group, took part in operations in support of the American invasion of Okinawa from March to May 1945, flying strikes against airfields used by Japanese ''

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending ...

'' aircraft on the

Sakishima Islands The (or 先島群島, ''Sakishima-guntō'') ( Okinawan: ''Sachishima'', Miyako: ''Saksїzїma'', Yaeyama: ''Sakїzїma'', Yonaguni: ''Satichima'') are an archipelago located at the southernmost end of the Japanese Archipelago. They are part ...

and on

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territori ...

. Still aboard ''Victorious'', No. 849 took place in raids against the Japanese Home islands in July and August, including the bombing raids on 24 July that resulted in severe damage to the Japanese

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 ...

''Kaiyo''. It disbanded on 31 October 1945.Brown 1972, p.66.

Airborne Early Warning (1953-78)

The squadron reformed at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose on 7 July 1953, being equipped with ex United States Navy Douglas Skyraider AD4W as an Airborne Early Warning unit, from 778 Naval Air Squadron.Brown 1972, p.69.''Flight'' 22 October 1954, p.605. These were operated by squadron detachments assigned to the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal, Bulwark, Albion, Centaur, Eagle, Hermes and Victorious. Following the retirement of the Skyraiders in December 1960, the unit flew the

Fairey Gannet AEW.3 The Fairey Gannet AEW.3 is a variant of the Fairey Gannet anti-submarine warfare aircraft intended to be used in the airborne early warning (AEW) role on aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. It was introduced to service in 1959 to replace the ...

in the same role, operating from HMS Eagle, Ark Royal, Centaur, Hermes and Victorious. Gannet AS.4, COD.4 and T.5s were also operated in supporting roles. The squadron detachments continued as 849B (Ark Royal) and 849HQ (RAF Lossiemouth), until the squadron disbanded again on 15 December 1978. In November 1970 Bristol Belle, one of the first hot air balloons to fly in UK, was piloted by Lt Terry Adams, accompanied by Lt Howard Draper both of 849 Squadron B Flight (Gannets). Thi
early morning launch
carried mail into Malta whilst the Ark Royal was steaming off the southern coast of that island. Fairey Gannet AEW

Helicopter AEW (1984 to 2018)

It reformed after the lessons of the 1982

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

campaign had been learned, on 8 November 1984 and the unit then operated the

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engi ...

Mk7 Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) helicopter. The squadron was stationed at

RNAS Culdrose Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (RNAS Culdrose, also known as HMS ''Seahawk''; ICAO: EGDR) is a Royal Navy airbase near Helston on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall UK, and is one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe. Its main role is serv ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, operating 9 aircraft. It was divided into three elements - two flights (A and B), or Aardvarks and Bees and the Operational Conversion Unit (OCU)(Previously known as HQ). Historically, a Flight was assigned to each of the two active

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s in the Royal Navy. The squadron suffered heavy losses during the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...

when two of its aircraft operating from HMS ''Ark Royal'' collided during low visibility conditions. Six squadron members and an American exchange officer were killed in the collision. On 13 December 2006, after a short ceremony at RNAS Culdrose, A Flight became 854 Squadron and B Flight became 857 Squadron, taking the former's Sea King ASaC.7 with them. In May 2014, the MOD announced that seven ASaC.7 helicopters, to be operated by 849 Naval Air Squadron, would remain in service with the RN through to the second half of 2018; the remainder of the Royal Navy's Sea Kings, of all types, were to be withdrawn by 2016. 854 and 857 Naval Air Squadrons were reabsorbed by 849 Naval Air Squadron in 2015, to form 'Normandy' and 'Palembang' flights respectively. The third flight in 849 NAS is 'Okinawa Flight'.

Decommissioning

849NAS briefly operated a single Augusta Westland Merlin HM Mk2 from February 2020 in anticipation of the Mk2 receiving the Crowsnest upgraded ASaC system. 849 NAS decommissioned on 21 April 2020.

Aircraft operated

The squadron operated a variety of different aircraft and versions: *

I & II * Douglas Skyraider AEW.1 *

Fairey Gannet The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne aircraft that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed for the Royal Navy, being the first fixed-wing aircraft to combine both the search an ...

AEW.3, AS.4, COD.4 & T.5 *

AEW.2/2A * Westland Sea King ASaC Mk7 * Augusta Westland Merlin HM Mk2

References

Citations

Bibliography

Naval Early Warners:No. 849 A Unique Fleet Air Arm Squadron
. ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 22 October 1954, pp. 604–605. *Brown, David. ''Carrier Air Groups: HMS Eagle: Volume 1''. Windsor, UK: Hylton Lacy, 1972. . *

External links

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017

849 __NOTOC__ Year 849 ( DCCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Battle of Ostia: A Saracen Arab fleet from Sardinia sets sail t ...

Air squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military of the United Kingdom in Cornwall