1839 Naval Air Squadron


1839 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Air Arm naval air squadron of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. Established as a fighter squadron at HMS Gannet, RNAS Eglinton in Northern Ireland in November 1943, it formed part of the 5th Naval Fighter Wing. In February 1944, the squadron boarded HMS Begum and set sail for southern India, arriving in April. In June, it relocated to HMS Berhunda at RNAS Colombo Racecourse in Ceylon, and in July, it boarded HMS Indomitable, participating in attacks on Sumatra and conducting photographic reconnaissance.
The squadron resumed operations over Sumatra in December 1944 and January 1945, before the carrier became part of the British Pacific Fleet, where the squadron engaged in missions over Sakashima Gunto. In April 1945, it absorbed 1840 Naval Air Squadron, boosting its numbers. By June, the 5th NFW merged into the 11th Carrier Air Group. As the war concluded, the squadron was on the carrier ready for further missions, but the ship was redirected to Hong Kong. It was disbanded after the war in November 1945, upon returning to the UK.

History

Single-seat fighter squadron (1943-1945)

1839 Naval Air Squadron was established as a single-seat fighter unit on 15 November 1943, at HMS Gannet, the Royal Naval Air Station located in Eglinton, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The squadron was commanded by Lieutenant Commander D.M. Jeram, RN and was equipped with ten Grumman Hellcat fighter aircraft. These were the Royal Navy's equivalent of the United States Navy's F6F-3 variant, designated Hellcat F. Mk. I by the Fleet Air Arm.
In conjunction with 1844 Naval Air Squadron, they established the 5th Naval Fighter Wing to operate aboard the,. Following an initial familiarisation with the aircraft and associated equipment, the squadron commenced rigorous training to ready themselves for active deployment. This training encompassed a variety of activities, including navigation drills, low-altitude flying, formation manoeuvres, and air combat manoeuvring.
On 26 February, the commenced the embarkation of four squadrons for deployment to the Far East. The initial personnel and ten Grumman Hellcat fighter aircraft from 1839 Naval Air Squadron were the first to board. The vessel departed from the River Clyde on 3 March, participating in Convoy KMF.29A, which was en route to Alexandria, Egypt. After reaching Madras Harbour, India, on 11 April, unloading operations began on 14 March, with the squadron being transferred to the aircraft maintenance yard RNAS Tambaram ; 1839 Naval Air Squadron was ultimately assigned to RAF Ulunderpet.
On 23, the squadron set off for RNAS Colombo Racecourse (HMS Berhunda), Ceylon and a month later, on July 25th, the 5th Naval Fighter Wing embarked on HMS Indomitable to begin its operational duties. The wing utilised the Royal Navy Air Section at RAF China Bay, Ceylon and RNAS Nowra (HMS Nabbington), MONAB I, in New South Wales, Australia, as its shore bases.
In July, the squadron conducted offensive operations against Sumatra as a component of Operation Banquet, while also engaging in photographic reconnaissance activities during Operation Light. The squadron resumed its operations over Sumatra in December 1944 and January 1945 participating in Operations Millet, Robson, Lentil and Meridian. The aircraft carrier subsequently became part of the British Pacific Fleet, redirecting its focus towards objectives within the Sakishima Gunto archipelago located in the East China Seas, in alignment with Operation Iceberg.
On 27 April 1945, the squadron absorbed 1840 Naval Air Squadron, increasing its total number of aircraft to eighteen. Subsequently, in June 1945, the 5th Naval Fighter Wing was dissolved and incorporated into the 11th Carrier Air Group, which included 1844 Naval Air Squadron from the Wing, and along with 857 Naval Air Squadron. The Admiralty had decided to move to the American system of all ships squadrons under a single Carrier Air Group.
In early August, 1839 Naval Air Squadron re-embarked for additional operations. However, the occurrence of V-J Day altered these plans, leading the aircraft carrier to set course for Hong Kong instead. Upon its return to Australia in October, the aircraft were withdrawn and the ship subsequently departed for the United Kingdom, where the squadron was officially disbanded upon arrival on 30 November.

Aircraft flown

1839 Naval Air Squadron flew two variants of only one aircraft type:

Battle honours

The following Battle Honours have been awarded to 1839 Naval Air Squadron:

Assignments

1839 Naval Air Squadron was assigned as needed to form part of a number of larger units:

Naval air stations

1839 Naval Air Squadron operated mostly from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy overseas, a Royal Navy fleet carrier and a couple of escort carriers:

Commanding officers

List of commanding officers of 1839 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:
Note: Abbreviation signifies Air Branch of the RN or RNVR.