814 Naval Air Squadron
Encyclopedia
814 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Navy
Fleet Air Arm
. It was formed in December 1938 and has been disbanded and reformed several times. Its nickname is "the Flying Tigers", not to be confused with the American Volunteer squadron of WWII
.
aircraft. Originally embarked on HMS Ark Royal
, it transferred to HMS Hermes
at the outbreak of the Second World War. HMS Hermes helped search for the Graf Spee and taking part in the Battle of Dakar
, damaging the French battleship Richelieu on 8 July 1940. HMS Hermes travelled to the Indian Ocean
December 1940, providing support for the land forces in British Somaliland
and capturing 5 enemy merchant ships. In May 1941 the squadron provided support to the RAF in Iraq
and later providing convoy protection in the Indian ocean. In April 1942, while the squadron was ashore, HMS Hermes was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Ceylon and 814 subsequently disbanded at Katukurunda in December. The squadron was reformed in July 1944, equipped with Fairey Barracuda
s, to embark on HMS Venerable
and headed to the Far East for patrols, although seeing no action.
In post-war years, the squadron was equipped with the Fairey Firefly
, Grumman Avenger and Fairey Gannet
aircraft for anti-submarine warfare onboard HMS Vengeance
, receiving the Boyd Trophy
for its high standard of operational efficiency in 1951. In 1960 the Squadron was equipped with its first helicopter
, the Whirlwind, later replaced with the Wessex Mk.1
. The Wessex Mk. 3 was introduced in 1967, giving the squadron its first radar-equipped helicopter. During this time, the squadron was embarked on HMS Victorious
and HMS Hermes to patrol east of the Suez
. It was disbanded in July 1970.
814 Squadron was reformed in March 1973 with four Sea King Mk.1
helicopters at RNAS Prestwick (HMS Gannet) and embarked on tours of duty with HMS Bulwark
and HMS Hermes
, during which it assisted with the evacuation of Cyprus
. The Sea King Mk.2 was introduced in 1977, becoming the first Royal Navy Squadron to be fitted with passive sonar equipment. The squadron arrived at RNAS Culdrose
on 9 April 1976. In August 1982 the squadron embarked on HMS Illustrious
for South Atlantic patrols. It was upgraded to the Sea King Mk. 6 on October 1990, embarking onboard HMS Invincible
for the Gulf
, Bosnia
and Kosovo War
s. It was disbanded on December 2000.
, designed to be deployed aboard ships or operate from shore. It has seen operational service aboard HMS Illustrious
, Operation Telic
in Iraq
and in the Persian Gulf
area.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
. It was formed in December 1938 and has been disbanded and reformed several times. Its nickname is "the Flying Tigers", not to be confused with the American Volunteer squadron of WWII
Flying Tigers
The 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, famously nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army , Navy , and Marine Corps , recruited under presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The ground crew and headquarters...
.
History
The squadron was formed on December 1938 as a Torpedo plane Squadron equipped with six Fairey SwordfishFairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
aircraft. Originally embarked on HMS Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal (91)
HMS Ark Royal was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War.Designed in 1934 to fit the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, Ark Royal was built by Cammell Laird and Company, Ltd. at Birkenhead, England, and completed in November 1938. Her design...
, it transferred to HMS Hermes
HMS Hermes (95)
HMS Hermes was an aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy. The ship was begun during World War I and finished after the war ended. She was the world's first ship to be designed and built as an aircraft carrier, although the Imperial Japanese Navy's was the first to be commissioned...
at the outbreak of the Second World War. HMS Hermes helped search for the Graf Spee and taking part in the Battle of Dakar
Battle of Dakar
The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa , which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.-Background:At...
, damaging the French battleship Richelieu on 8 July 1940. HMS Hermes travelled to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
December 1940, providing support for the land forces in British Somaliland
British Somaliland
British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...
and capturing 5 enemy merchant ships. In May 1941 the squadron provided support to the RAF in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and later providing convoy protection in the Indian ocean. In April 1942, while the squadron was ashore, HMS Hermes was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Ceylon and 814 subsequently disbanded at Katukurunda in December. The squadron was reformed in July 1944, equipped with Fairey Barracuda
Fairey Barracuda
The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo- and dive bomber used during the Second World War, the first of its type used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to be fabricated entirely from metal. It was introduced as a replacement for the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore biplanes...
s, to embark on HMS Venerable
HMS Venerable (R63)
HMS Venerable was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. She served for only the last few months of World War II, and in 1948 she was sold to the Netherlands and renamed HNLMS Karel Doorman and taking part in the military clash in 1962 in Western New Guinea...
and headed to the Far East for patrols, although seeing no action.
In post-war years, the squadron was equipped with the Fairey Firefly
Fairey Firefly
The Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
, Grumman Avenger and Fairey Gannet
Fairey Gannet
The Fairey Gannet was a British carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning aircraft of the post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm by the Fairey Aviation Company...
aircraft for anti-submarine warfare onboard HMS Vengeance
HMS Vengeance (R71)
HMS Vengeance was a Colossus class light aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The carrier served in three navies during her career: the Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy , and the Brazilian Navy .Constructed during World War II, Vengeance was...
, receiving the Boyd Trophy
Boyd Trophy
The Boyd Trophy is a silver model of a Fairey Swordfish, which was presented by the Fairey Aviation Company Limited in 1946, in commemoration of the work for Naval Aviation of Admiral Sir Dennis Boyd, KCB, CBE, DSC RN...
for its high standard of operational efficiency in 1951. In 1960 the Squadron was equipped with its first helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
, the Whirlwind, later replaced with the Wessex Mk.1
Westland Wessex
The Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58 "Choctaw", developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force...
. The Wessex Mk. 3 was introduced in 1967, giving the squadron its first radar-equipped helicopter. During this time, the squadron was embarked on HMS Victorious
HMS Victorious (R38)
HMS Victorious was the second Illustrious-class aircraft carrier ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme. She was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1937 and launched two years later in 1939...
and HMS Hermes to patrol east of the Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
. It was disbanded in July 1970.
814 Squadron was reformed in March 1973 with four Sea King Mk.1
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
helicopters at RNAS Prestwick (HMS Gannet) and embarked on tours of duty with HMS Bulwark
HMS Bulwark (R08)
The sixth HMS Bulwark of the Royal Navy was a 22,000 tonne Centaur-class light fleet aircraft carrier.-Construction:Bulwark was laid down by the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast on 10 May 1945...
and HMS Hermes
HMS Hermes (R12)
HMS Hermes was a Centaur-class British aircraft carrier, the last of the postwar conventional aircraft carriers commissioned into the Royal Navy.-Construction and modifications:...
, during which it assisted with the evacuation of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. The Sea King Mk.2 was introduced in 1977, becoming the first Royal Navy Squadron to be fitted with passive sonar equipment. The squadron arrived at RNAS Culdrose
RNAS Culdrose
Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose , based in Cornwall, near Helston, on the Lizard Peninsula, has three major roles: serving the Fleet Air Arm's front line Sea King and Merlin helicopter squadrons; providing search and rescue for the South West region; and training specialists for the Royal Navy...
on 9 April 1976. In August 1982 the squadron embarked on HMS Illustrious
HMS Illustrious (R06)
HMS Illustrious is the second of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and is affectionately known as "Lusty" to her crew...
for South Atlantic patrols. It was upgraded to the Sea King Mk. 6 on October 1990, embarking onboard HMS Invincible
HMS Invincible (R05)
HMS Invincible was a British light aircraft carrier, the lead ship of three in her class in the Royal Navy. She was launched on 3 May 1977 and is the seventh ship to carry the name. She saw action in the Falklands War when she was deployed with , she took over as flagship of the British fleet when...
for the Gulf
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, Bosnia
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
and Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
s. It was disbanded on December 2000.
Reformed
It was reformed again in October 2001 equipped with the Merlin Mk.1AgustaWestland EH101
The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter for military applications but also marketed for civil use. The helicopter was developed as a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the UK and Agusta in Italy...
, designed to be deployed aboard ships or operate from shore. It has seen operational service aboard HMS Illustrious
HMS Illustrious (R06)
HMS Illustrious is the second of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and is affectionately known as "Lusty" to her crew...
, Operation Telic
Operation Telic
Operation TELIC was the codename under which all British military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011...
in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
area.