7th Carrier Air Group

7th Carrier Air Group
White Ensign
Active30 June 1945 to 23 March 1946
7 December 1950 - 1 June 1951[1]
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeCarrier Air Group
SizeOne Implacable-class aircraft carrier plus support ships
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Aircraft carrier
EngagementsWorld War II
HMS Indefatigable (R10), underway at sea

The 7th Carrier Air Group (7th CAG) was an aircraft carrier air group of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was formed in June 1945, at HMS Nabthorpe, a Royal Navy Mobile Operatioral Naval Air Base (MONAB) at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base RAAF Station Schofields at Schofields, New South Wales, in Australia. The group was initially embarked in HMS Indefatigable.[2]

See also: List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons

The 7th Carrier Air Group consisted of a number of squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm.[1]

Squadron From To Aircraft
820 Naval Air Squadron Jun 1945 Mar 1946 Grumman TBF Avenger
887 Naval Air Squadron Jun 1945 Mar 1946 Supermarine Seafire
894 Naval Air Squadron Jun 1945 Mar 1946 Supermarine Seafire
1700 Naval Air Squadron Jun 1945 Jul 1945 Fairey Firefly
1772 Naval Air Squadron Jul 1945 Mar 1946 Fairey Firefly
809 Naval Air Squadron Dec 1950 Jun 1951 de Havilland Sea Hornet
814 Naval Air Squadron Dec 1950 Jun 1951 Fairey Firefly

History

The squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm, embarked in the Royal Navy’s Fleet and Light Fleet aircraft carriers, were organized into Air Groups in alignment with United States Navy policy following the conclusion of World War II in Europe. This reorganisation aimed to facilitate operations in the Pacific Theater against Japanese forces in 1945.[1]

1945 - 1946

The 7th Carrier Air Group was formed on 30 June 1945, HMS Nabthorpe, located at Schofields, in Australia. The 7th CAG was assigned to the Implacable-class aircraft carrier, HMS Indefatigable for service in the British Pacific Fleet. It was made up of 820 Naval Air Squadron, which operated Grumman Avenger, an American torpedo bomber aircraft, 1770 Naval Air Squadron which flew Fairey Firefly, a carrier-borne fighter and anti-submarine aircraft and the squadrons from the 24th Naval Fighter Wing: 887 Naval Air Squadron and 894 Naval Air Squadron, both of which were equipped with Supermarine Seafire, a navalised version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft.[2] 1770 Naval Air Squadron left after one month in the July, and 1772 Naval Air Squadron took its place in the group.[1]

The air groups squadrons embarked on Indefatigable on the 7 July and the carrier sailed for Manus. The coast of Japan was reached on 20 July and the air group aircraft began attacking targets near Osaka and in the Inland Sea, four days later. Large external fuel tanks were now used by the CAG's Supermarine Seafire aircraft, therefore, were now no longer limited to combat air patrol due to restricted range.[3]

At the end of July, a combination of poor weather, refuelling, along with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, meant any air operations were paused until the 9 August. During the day, the Carrier Air Group's aircraft attacked targets in northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido, with the attacks repeated the following day.[4]

A large part of the British Pacific Fleet withdrew on the 12 August, however, Indefatigable and the group remained as part of an occupation force and the group and was involved in strikes around Tokyo just before VJ-Day. On the 15 August, the Carrier Air Group was targeting Kisarazu Air Field, but poor weather meant it had to instead attack a secondary target. The group was then attacked by a number of Mitsubishi A6M Zero aircraft, in the last British air combat of the war. The Japanese fighters shot down one Supermarine Seafire on their first pass and crippled a Grumman Avenger.[5]

Sub Lieutenant Fred Hockley was leading five Supermarine Seafire aircraft from 894 Naval Air Squadron which was tasked, along with three 887 Naval Air Squadron Supermarine Seafire aircraft, led by Sub Lieutenant Victor Lowden, with defending Fairey Firefly and Grumman Avenger fighter bomber aircraft within the CAG. The target changed to a chemical factory at Odaki Bay, south of Tokyo, and the formation was attacked from behind by a number of Mitsubishi Zero aircraft.

Hockley's radio had failed, therefore, did not hear any warning call and as lead aircraft, was unable to see his formation break. His aircraft was hit and he bailed out of his Supermarine Seafire. Fred Hockley surrendered, however, he was executed by Japanese forces after capture.[6]

An 887 Naval Air Squadron Supermarine Seafire aircraft, serial number NN212, Fleet Air Arm coded "112/S" and flown by Sub Lieutenant G.J. Murphy, RN, shot down two Japanese Mitsubishi Zeros.[7] By the end of the engagement, the Supermarine Seafire aircraft pilots had claimed four Mitsubishi Zeros shot down, four others probably shot down, and another four damaged. A Grumman Avenger crew also claimed one Mitsubishi Zero as damaged.[5]

The 7th Carrier Air Group lost one Supermarine Seafire aircraft and one Grumman Avenger aircraft. The damaged Grumman Avenger deliberately ditched next to a destroyer on the return journey. Victor Lowden was the last to land his Supermarine Seafire on the return to Indefatigable. He was credited with two Mitsubishi Zero aircraft destroyed, one shared and two damaged.[6] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions over Tokyo Bay.[8]

Indefatigable's air group continued to fly Combat Air Patrols (CAP) and also flew reconnaissance missions looking for Allied prisoners of war, dropping supplies to them as they were located.[9] The flying operations continued until the group entered Sagami Bay on 5 September. They departed three days later for Australia, where the aircraft carrier had a refit, before returning to the United Kingdom, via New Zealand, Australia again and also South Africa. The aircraft carrier and its air group arrived at Portsmouth Dockyard on the 16 March 1946. The 7th Carrier Air Group disbanded on 23 March 1946.[1]

1950 - 1951

On the 7 December 1950, the group reformed, but was known as the 7th Night Air Group. It was assigned to the Colossus-class light aircraft carrier, HMS Vengeance and was made up of 809 Naval Air Squadron, which operated de Havilland Hornet, a twin-engine fighter aircraft, and 814 Naval Air Squadron, which was equipped with Fairey Firefly, a carrier-borne fighter and anti-submarine aircraft.

814 Naval Air Squadron was awarded the Boyd Trophy for its high standard of operational efficiency, night flying with the Fairey Firefly aircraft whilst deployed onboard Vengeance, in 1951.[10]

The night air group approach was deemed unsuccessful, only lasting for six months. The group disbanded on the 1 June 1951.[1]

Aircraft used

Aircraft used by the naval air squadrons that formed the 7th Carrier Air Group between 1945-46 and between 1950 and 51:

Air Group Commanders

List of commanding officers of the 7th Carrier Air Group, with date of appointment:

1945 - 1946[2]

1950 - 1951[11]

  • Lieutenant Commander J.O. Armour, RN, from 7 December 1950
  • none, from 17 April 1951
  • disbanded , 1 June 1951

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f Ballance 2016, p. 305.
  2. ^ a b c Wragg 2019, p. 203.
  3. ^ Hobbs 2011, p. 212–13, 253.
  4. ^ Hobbs 2011, p. 273–81, 286–87.
  5. ^ a b Hobbs 2011, p. 288–92.
  6. ^ a b Mark Barber (31 December 2014). "The Last Dogfight". Gaijin Entertainment. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  7. ^ "887 Squadron". Fleet Air Arm Archive. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  8. ^ "No. 37260". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 September 1945. p. 4526.
  9. ^ Hobbs 2013, p. 113.
  10. ^ "814 : History". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  11. ^ Ballance 2016, p. 306.

Bibliography

  • Ballance, Theo (2016). The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm. Air-Britain. ISBN 978-0-85130-489-2.
  • Hobbs, David (2011). The British Pacific Fleet: The Royal Navy's Most Powerful Strike Force. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-044-3.
  • Hobbs, David (2013). British Aircraft Carriers: Design, Development and Service Histories. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-138-0.
  • 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.