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1792 Naval Air Squadron

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1792 Naval Air Squadron
1792 NAS badge
Active15 May 1945 – 17 April 1946
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeTwo-seat fighter squadron
RoleNight fighter
SizeSquadron
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Home stationSee Naval air stations section for full list.
Motto(s)Nocte vincimus
(Latin for 'We conquer by night')[1]
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Lieutenant commander(A) S Dixon-Child, RNVR
Insignia
Squadron Badge DescriptionPer fess black and barry wavy of six white and block a dagger in pale white pommel and hilt gold winged white (1946)[1]
Identification Markingssingle letters
4A+ (HMS Ocean)[1]
Aircraft flown
FighterFairey Firefly NF.Mk I

1792 Naval Air Squadron (1792 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was formed in May 1945 at HMS Daedalus, RNAS Lee-on-Solent as a Night Fighter squadron. It was equipped with the Fairey Firefly NF.Mk I night fighter. The squadron joined HMS Ocean in December for service in the Mediterranean. On return to the UK the squadron was disbanded in April 1946.[2]

History

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Night Fighter Squadron (1945 - 1946)

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1792 Naval Air Squadron formed at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus), on 15 May 1945, as a night fighter squadron. It was equipped with Fairey Firefly NF.Mk I, a night fighter variant of the carrier-borne fighter, anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft,[3] which was fitted with radar in a centre-line container.[4] Around one month later the squadron moved north to Lancashire, relocating to RNAS Inskip (HMS Nightjar) on 15 June.[1]

During August it moved to RNAS Drem (HMS Nighthawk), East Lothian, Scotland, where the Naval Night Fighter School and Night Fighter Direction Centre were based. The squadron spent almost three months at RNAS Drem working up before moving to RNAS Machrihanish (HMS Landrail), Argyll and Bute, Scotland, on 27 November[5] and two weeks later embarked in the Colossus-class aircraft carrier HMS Ocean for the Mediterranean.[3]

Aboard the aircraft carrier it worked with 892 Naval Air Squadron, which operated Grumman Hellcat N.F. Mk II, the night fighter variant of the American carrier-based fighter aircraft, as a Night Fighter Air Group. Six weeks between 4 January and 8 February 1946 were spent at RNAS Hal Far (HMS Falcon), Malta, before returning to the UK in HMS Ocean, where the squadron disbanded on 17 April 1946.[1]

Aircraft flown

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1792 Naval Air Squadron flew only one aircraft type:[1]

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1792 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom, one overseas in Malta, and a Royal Navy aircraft carrier:[1]

Commanding officers

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List of commanding officers of 1792 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:[3]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 280.
  2. ^ Sturtivant, Ray (1994). The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Air-Britain. p. 341. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
  3. ^ a b c Wragg 2019, p. 190.
  4. ^ Thetford 1991, p. 173.
  5. ^ "Drem". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 6 May 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Ballance, Theo; Howard, Lee; Sturtivant, Ray (2016). The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm. Air Britain Historians Limited. ISBN 978-0-85130-489-2.
  • Thetford, Owen (1991). British Naval Aircraft since 1912. London, UK: Putnam Aeronautical Books, an imprint of Conway Maritime Press Ltd. ISBN 0-85177-849-6.
  • Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-9303-6.