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785 Naval Air Squadron
785 Naval Air Squadron
	785 NAS badge
Active	4 November 1940 - 1 March 1946
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
Role	Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Training Squadron
Size	Squadron
Part of	Fleet Air Arm
Home station	RNAS Crail (HMS Jackdaw)
Aircraft	See Aircraft operated section for full list.
Insignia
Squadron Badge	White, a jackdaw rising grasping in his claws a torpedo proper (warhead red) (1943)
Identification Markings	individual numbers (Swordfish/Albacore); A-Q & AA-EE (Swordfish later); R-Z & RE-ZZ (Albacore later); C1A+ to C5A+ (all types 1943 - 1946)

785 Naval Air Squadron (785 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) which disbanded in early 1946. 785 NAS formed as a Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Training Squadron, at HMS Jackdaw, RNAS Crail, in November 1940. Throughout its existence it operated a number of various types of torpedo bomber aircraft. The squadron became part of No. 1 Naval Operational Training Unit in late 1944.

History

Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Training Squadron (1940 - 1946)

785 Naval Air Squadron formed as a Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance training squadron at RNAS Crail (HMS Jackdaw), in Fife, Scotland, on 4 November 1940,^[3] out of the naval element of the Torpedo Training Unit RAF, from RAF Abbotsinch, in Renfrewshire.^[2] The squadron was initially equipped with Blackburn Shark, a carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber and Fairey Swordfish, a biplane torpedo bomber. August 1941 saw the withdrawal of the Blackburn Shark aircraft and these were replaced by Fairey Albacore, a biplane torpedo bomber. In December 1942 the squadron started to receive Fairey Barracuda, a carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber^[3] and by late 1943, it was providing an anti-submarine warfare course, alongside a Fairey Barracuda familiarisation course.^[2]

By the end of 1944, 785 NAS had become part of No.1 Naval Operational Training Unit and midway through the following year it started to introduce Grumman Avenger, an American torpedo bomber, on 31 July 1945 when 736 Naval Air Squadron was absorbed.^[3] Later, the squadron also absorbed 711 and 786 Naval Air Squadrons, during December.^[2] 785 Naval Air Squadron disbanded on 1 March 1946.^[3]

Aircraft operated

The squadron operated a number of different aircraft types, including:^[2]

Blackburn Shark II torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance aircraft (November 1940 - April 1941)
Fairey Swordfish I torpedo bomber (November 1940 - May 1944)
Fairey Albacore torpedo bomber (August 1941 - November 1943)
Fairey Swordfish II torpedo bomber (April 1942 - February 1944)
Fairey Barracuda Mk I torpedo and dive bomber (November 1942 - January 1944)
Fairey Barracuda Mk II torpedo and dive bomber (April 1943 - February 1946)
Miles Master I advanced trainer (May 1943 - January 1944)
Grumman Avenger I torpedo bomber (August 1945 - February 1946)
Avro Anson Mk I multirole aircraft (November 1945 - February 1946)
Fairey Barracuda TR III torpedo and dive bomber (January - February 1946)

Naval air stations

785 Naval Air Squadron operated from a single naval air station of the Royal Navy, in Scotland:^[4]^[2]

Royal Naval Air Station Crail (HMS Jackdaw) (satellite Royal Naval Air Station Dunino (HMS Jackdaw II)) (4 November 1940 - 1 March 1946)
disbanded - (1 March 1946)

Commanding officers

List of commanding officers of 785 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:^[3]^[2]^[4]

Lieutenant Commander P.G.O. Sydney-Turner, RN, from 4 November 1940
Captain O. Patch, , RM, from 22 August 1941
Lieutenant R.W. Thorne, RN, from 1 January 1942
Lieutenant A.H. Abrams, DSC, RN, from 7 September 1942
Lieutenant J.H. Stenning, RN, from 22 October 1942
Lieutenant Commander(A) K.G. Sharp, RN, from 2 December 1942
Lieutenant Commander(A) M. Thorpe, RN, from 1 July 1943
Lieutenant Commander(A) R.B. Lunberg, RN, from 31 January 1944
Lieutenant Commander(A) M.W. Rudorf, DSC, RN, from 5 December 1944
Lieutenant Commander L.C. Watson, DSC, RN, from 13 June 1945
Lieutenant Commander(A) N.G. Haigh, RNVR, from 31 July 1945
Lieutenant Commander J.F. Arnold, RN, from 15 December 1945
disbanded - 1 March 1946

References

Citations

^ Sturtivant, Ballance 1994, p. 107.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 88.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Wragg 2019, p. 135.
^ ^a ^b "785 Naval Air Squadron". www.wings-aviation.ch. Retrieved 6 February 2024.

Bibliography

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.
Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-9303-6.