800 Naval Air Squadron (800 NAS) also referred to as 800 Squadron, is an inactive Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). It most recently operated the Harrier II GR.7/7A/9/9A V/STOL strike aircraft, as part of Joint Force Harrier (JFH), at RAF Cottesmore from March 2006 until January 2011.
Formed on 3 April 1933 by amalgamating No's 402 and 404 (Fleet Fighter) Flights. Operating as a carrier-based fighter squadron, it served throughout the Second World War. During the Korean War, it flew Supermarine Seafire. These were followed with the Supermarine Attacker in the mid-1950s, then the Hawker Sea Hawk during the Suez Crises, and later the Supermarine Scimitar and Blackburn Buccaneer during the 1960s. The squadron flew the Sea Harrier throughout the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, notably during the Falklands War.
History
1930s
800 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm was established on 3 April 1933, at RAF Netheravon in Wiltshire, through the amalgamation of Nos. 402 and 404 (Fleet Fighter) Flights, FAA, within the Royal Air Force.
The squadron was first equipped with nine single-seat Hawker Nimrod fighter aircraft and three two-seat Hawker Ospreys to act as navigation leaders for the Nimrods. It served aboard HMS Courageous in the Home Fleet. In 1935–1936, the carrier and squadron operated in the Mediterranean. The squadron re-equipped with the Blackburn Skua in November 1938 and took these aboard the aircraft carrier . The Skua was a dive bomber with a secondary fighter role to allow the destruction or driving-off of enemy reconnaissance aircraft.Brown 1972, p.28.
In 1939, 800 Squadron predominantly operated Blackburn Skuas, along with a limited number of Blackburn Rocs. from HMS Ark Royal. The Squadron was transferred to Admiralty control on 24 May 1939.
Second World War
During the German invasion of Norway in 1940, whilst based at Royal Navy Air Station Hatston, Kirkwall, Orkney 800 and 803 Squadrons dive-bombed the German cruiser Königsberg at Bergen on 10 April 1940, 800 Squadron providing five Skuas to the force that sank the Königsberg.Brown 1972, pp. 29, 31. The squadron embarked on Ark Royal later that month, with the carrier providing air cover to the fleet and to Allied troops. 800 Squadron's Skua's claimed six Heinkel He 111 bombers shot down and a further as probably destroyed.Brown 1972, p. 31. On 13 June 1940, Ark Royal launched a dive bomber attack against the German Battleship Scharnhorst, under repair at Trondheim, with 800 Squadron losing four Skuas out of six, with the Squadron's Commanding Officer, Captain R.T. Partridge, RM was taken POW, while 803 Squadron lost four Skuas from nine.Brown 1972, p. 32. In July 1940, the squadron was involved in the attack on the French Fleet at Oran. Two SM.79 bombers were shot down off Sardinia.
The squadron was regrouped with Fairey Fulmars in Gibraltar during April 1941, proceeding with two flights to to search for the Bismarck, and to . On regrouping later that year, the squadron joined for an attack on Petsamo, and after the West Indies onboard was involved in the Madagascar operations.
The squadron received new equipment in the form of Hawker Sea Hurricanes, which were deployed to the Avenger-class escort carrier , originating from RNAS Hatston (HMS Sparrowhawk) on 9 October for Operation Torch, the landings in North Africa. Upon their return to the United Kingdom, the squadron offloaded their aircraft at RNAS Machrihanish (HMS Landrail) on 19 November.
The Grumman Hellcat fighter aircraft was introduced into service with the Fleet Air Arm on 1 July 1943, when 800 Naval Air Squadron transitioned from the Hawker Sea Hurricane. This aircraft served as the British counterpart to the US Navy's F6F-3 variant, featuring the Double Wasp R-200-10 engine and designated as Hellcat F. Mk. I within the Royal Navy. The squadron, operating from provided escort for Fairey Barracudas in the April 1944 attacks from against the Tirpitz in Alta Fjord, Norway.
1950s
During the Korean War, the Squadron and its Supermarine Seafire F Mk.47 fighter aircraft were embarked in the as part of the 13th Carrier Air Group (13 CAG) and their first operation was a strike by twelve Seafires, along with nine Fairey Fireflies of 827 Naval Air Squadron, also part of 13 CAG, on Haeju airfield on 3 July 1950. Because of their short range, the Seafires were frequently given the Combat Air Patrol task over the fleet. During Operation Chromite, the Inchon landings in September 1950, Seafires flew armed reconnaissance missions and spotted for the bombarding cruisers. But, by the end of the month, 800 Naval Air Squadron had only three serviceable aircraft and no replacements were available in the Far East. The inevitable crop of landing accidents, including one which claimed the life of 800 Naval Air Squadron CO on 29 August 1950 and the cumulative airframe stress damage meant the end of the Seafire's operational life. During the Korean War the squadron flew 245 offensive patrols and 115 ground attack sorties before HMS Triumph was replaced by sister ship with its carrier air group of 807, with Sea Furies and 810, with Fairey Fireflies, Naval Air Squadrons.
In August 1951 the Supermarine Attacker entered service with the squadron when it re-formed at HMS Peregrine the Royal Naval Air Station at Ford, West Sussex, later embarking in the Audacious-class aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. It was the first jet fighter to be standardised in the Fleet Air Arms first-line squadrons. On 4 March 1952, the squadron commenced carrier operations, embarking on HMS Eagle for a three-week training period, returning to RNAS Ford on later in the month. Operating within the 13th Carrier Air Group, it conducted multiple deployments in both Home Waters and the Mediterranean aboard HMS Eagle. On 3 December 1952 the Carrier Air Group was disbanded, although both squadrons continued to be assigned to the carrier. They established a routine of alternating one month at sea and one month on land until the spring of 1954. By 1953 the squadron had upgraded to the FB.2 version of the Attacker, but the following year the Attacker was withdrawn from frontline service and the aircraft passed to training and reserve units.
800 Naval Air Squadron then recommissioned with Armstrong Whitworth Sea Hawk FB.3s in November 1954, at RNAS Brawdy (HMS Goldcrest), Pembrokeshire and joined the newly commissioned Audacious-class aircraft carrier the following year. As with other FAA Sea Hawk units at the time, the sqn operated later marks of Sea Hawk as they became available culminating in the FGA. 4 and FGA.6 by the time it embarked on the carrier. The squadron was disbanded in April 1956, only to be reconstituted the subsequent month with Hawker Sea Hawk. In November, it was deployed aboard the Centaur-class light fleet carrier HMS Albion, engaging in assaults on airfields and various targets as part of Operation Musketeer during the Suez Crisis. In 1958, the squadron had another period of service on HMS Ark Royal before returning to RNAS Brawdy, where it ultimately disbanded in March 1959.
Also in 1958, the squadron formed a seven-aircraft Hawker Sea Hawk display formation for the Farnborough Airshow. The aircraft were equipped with smoke systems and the formation was disbanded after the display season. No sufficiently reliable evidence has been established for a separate enduring name for the formation. During the 1950s, 800's aircraft usually had the tails painted red, and this evolved into a forward pointing red arrowhead design with crossed swords over a trident in yellow in the centre.
1960s
The Supermarine Scimitar represented the inaugural implementation of a swept-wing, single-seat fighter by the FAA, marking a significant advancement as the first aircraft in the FAA to achieve supersonic speeds. Additionally, it was the first aircraft operated by the FAA to be equipped with the capability to carry an atomic bomb. 800 Naval Air Squadron next reformed in July 1959 as a Supermarine Scimitar F.1 unit with six aircraft, under the command of Lieutenant Commander D.P. Norman, AFC, RN, at RNAS Lossiemouth (HMS Fulmar), Moray, later re-joining 's air group in March 1960.
Throughout the summer of 1961, Scimitar aerobatic displays over RNAS Lossiemouth were a common sight, as 800 Naval Air Squadron was designated as the Royal Naval Aerobatic Team for that year, performing at the '24th Salon de L'Aeronautique' (Paris Air Show), four RNAS Air Days, one Navy Day, and culminating in the SBAC Farnborough Air Show. After operating worldwide from the Ark, 800 returned to 'Lossie' in December 1963 and disbanded in February 1964, its aircraft being passed to 803 Naval Air Squadron to bring that unit up to sixteen aircraft.
A month later 800 Naval Air Squadron recommissioned at RNAS Lossiemouth as a Blackburn Buccaneer squadron equipped with eight Buccaneer S.1 for service on the newly refitted . 800B Flight, which is related yet distinct, assembled with four Scimitar F.1 aircraft at RNAS Lossiemouth in September, to explore the operational methodologies of air-to-air refuelling. The latter aircraft were for the next two years operated by 800B Flight, their aircraft adorned with a 'foaming tankard' badge on their tails as they were to be used as in-flight refuelling tankers as the underpowered Buccaneer S.1 could not be launched from a carrier with a full weapons load and full fuel tanks. The Buccaneers were launched fully armed but with a light fuel load, and would then 'top up' from waiting Scimitars which had been launched previously. The squadron was the only FAA squadron organised this way, and it was an interim measure pending the arrival of the Buccaneer S.2. In June 1966 the S.2s began to replace the S.1s and the Scimitars, completing the process by November of that year.
In March 1967 the oil tanker ran aground on Seven Stones Reef near Land's End and started to leak thousands of tons of crude oil into the sea, putting nearby beaches at risk of pollution. In an attempt to minimise the damage to the environment, the Buccaneers of 800 Naval Air Squadron along with those of the training squadron 736 Naval Air Squadron were ordered to destroy the tanker and its cargo. Flying from RNAS Brawdy in Wales on 28 March 1967, eight Buccaneers dropped 42000 lbs of high explosive bombs and achieved a 75% success rate. The aim was to rip open the hull of the tanker to release its cargo then set fire to it on the open sea, destroying the oil before it reached the beaches. After this the squadron rejoined Eagle for the remainder of her career.
During this period the squadron operated 14 Buccaneer S.2s, and as with its sister squadron 809 Naval Air Squadron aboard Ark Royal in the 1970s, the squadron normally kept ten strike aircraft ready, two more fitted with a specially designed reconnaissance pallet in the rotating bomb bay, and the final two aircraft were fitted with buddy refuelling pods as tanker aircraft. After covering the British withdrawal from 'East of Suez' Eagle returned home to pay off in January 1972, her squadrons flown back to their shore bases to disband. 800 Squadron returned to Lossiemouth and disbanded on 23 February 1972, and its aircraft were passed to the RAF.
Sea Harrier (1980–2004)
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier was a variant of a family of subsonic aircraft capable of vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL), designed for various roles including strike missions, reconnaissance, and air combat. It was introduced into service with the Royal Navy in June 1979 under the designation Sea Harrier FRS.1, and it was colloquially referred to as the 'Shar'. On 31 March 1980, 800 Naval Air Squadron was recommissioned as the inaugural front-line squadron for the Sea Harrier, equipped with four Sea Harrier FRS.1 aircraft at RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron) in Somerset.