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741 Naval Air Squadron
741 Naval Air Squadron
	A Fairey Swordfish, and example of the type used by 741 NAS
Active	1 March 1943 - 19 March 1945; 12 August 1946 – 25 November 1947
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
Role	Observer Training Squadron; Operational Flying Training Squadron;
Size	Squadron
Part of	Fleet Air Arm
Home station	RNAS Arbroath; RNAS St Merryn
Insignia
Identification Markings	A3A+ (Swordfish); S2A+, S3A+ & S5A+ (Firefly & Seafire); 100-111 (Seafire); 204-253 (Firefly); 151-153 (Harvard);
Fin Shore Codes	JB (Seafire, Firefly & Harvard)
Aircraft flown
Attack	Fairey Swordfish
Fighter	Fairey Firefly; Supermarine Seafire
Trainer	North American Harvard

741 Naval Air Squadron (741 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) which last disbanded during November 1947. It was initially active, between March 1943 and March 1945 as an Observer Training Squadron at HMS Condor, RNAS Arbroath, Scotland, as part of the No. 2 Observer Training School.^[3] It reformed at HMS Vulture, RNAS St. Merryn, England, as an Operational Flying Training Unit in August 1946.^[4]

History

Observer Training School (1943–1945)

741 Naval Air Squadron formed at RNAS Arbroath (HMS Condor) as an Observer Training Squadron, as part of No. 2 Observer Training School, on 1 March 1943.^[3] It was equipped with Fairey Swordfish, a British biplane torpedo bomber aircraft. The squadron was tasked with training the students up to 'Wings' standard. Upon completion they were then passed them to 753 Naval Air Squadron to complete their training.^[2] 741 Naval Air Squadron disbanded at RNAS Arbroath (HMS Condor), on 19 March 1945.^[3]

Operational Flying Training Unit (1946–1947)

741 Naval Air Squadron reformed on 12 August 1946, at RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture), Cornwall, England, as an Operational Flying Training unit.^[4] It was equipped with Fairey Firefly FR.I, a carrier-borne fighter and anti-submarine aircraft, and a few Supermarine Seafire L Mk III, a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. From January 1947 it took over the task of Operational Flying School Part II and by autumn 1947 the squadron’s role was Part II (Strike) Operational Flying Course.^[2] 741 Naval Air Squadron disbanded at RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture) on 25 November 1947.^[4]

Aircraft flown

The squadron has flown a number of different aircraft types, including:^[3]^[4]^[2]

Fairey Swordfish^[5] I torpedo bomber (March 1943 - March 1945)
Fairey Swordfish II torpedo bomber (March 1943 - March 1945)
Fairey Firefly FR.I fighter/reconnaissance aircraft (August 1946 - November 1947)
Supermarine Seafire L Mk.III fighter aircraft (February - November 1947)
North American Harvard III advanced trainer aircraft (September - November 1947)

Naval air stations

741 Naval Air Squadron operated from a couple of naval air station of the Royal Navy, in the United Kingdom:^[3]^[4]

1943 - 1945

Royal Naval Air Squadron Arbroath (HMS Condor) (1 March 1943 - 19 March 1945)
disbanded - (19 March 1945)

1946 - 1947

Royal Naval Air Station St Merryn (HMS Vulture) (12 August 1946 - 25 November 1947)
disbanded - (25 November 1947)

Commanding officers

List of commanding officers of 741 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment: ^[6]^[2]

1943 - 1944

Lieutenant Commander(A) O.H. Cantrill, RNVR, from 1 March 1943
Lieutenant Commander(A) R. McA. Stratton, RNVR, from 17 March 1944
disbanded - 19 March 1945

1946 - 1947

Lieutenant Commander S.G. Cooper, RN, from 12 August 1946
Lieutenant Commander T.W. Harrington, , RN, from 25 August 1947
disbanded - 25 November 1947

References

Citations

^ Sturtivant, Ballance 1994, p. 64.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 47.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Arbroath". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "St Merryn". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
^ Thetford 1991, p. 139.
^ "741 NAS Fleet Air Arm". www.wings-aviation.ch. Retrieved 27 March 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.
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.