701 Naval Air Squadron
| 701 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1939–1958 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Role | Training and ancillary |
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
| Battle honours | Norway 1940[1] |
701 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron, formed on 24 May 1939, that saw service during the Second World War.
Formed on 15 July 1936 as No. 701 (Catapult) Flight FAA at RAF Kalafrana, Malta by re-designating No. 444 (Fleet Reconnaissance) Flight FAA; 701 Squadron saw action in the Norwegian campaign in mid-1940, and in May six Supermarine Walrus aircraft of the squadron were flown off HMS Glorious to support operations off Harstad.[2] In June 1940 the squadron briefly appeared on HMS Ark Royal,[3] and the squadron was at Reykjavík in October 1940, when they were taken on board HMS Argus.[4]
By July 1943, the squadron was attached to No. 201 Group RAF for the invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky).
Aircraft operated
The squadron operated a variety of different aircraft and versions:[5]
- Hawker Osprey
- Blackburn Shark
- Fairey Seal II
- Fairey Swordfish I/SP
- Supermarine Walrus
- Avro Anson C.X
- de Havilland Dominie I
- Beechcraft Expediter C.I & C.II
- North American Harvard III
- Airspeed Oxford
- Supermarine Seafire XV & XVII
- de Havilland Tiger Moth II
- Beechcraft Traveller I
- Westland Dragonfly HR.5
- Westland Whirlwind HAR.1, HAR.3 & HAS.7 & HAS.22
References
Citations
- ^ Fleet Air Arm battle honours
- ^ Naval-history.net, events in May 1940
- ^ "The Fleet Air Arm aboard Ark Royal". Archived from the original on 30 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Naval-history.net, events in October 1940
- ^ Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 20.
Bibliography
- Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.