715 Naval Air Squadron
A Supermarine Walrus similar to ones used by the 715 NAS after being re-equipped in 1936.
Active15 July 1936 - 21 January 1940
17 August 1944 - 31 March 1946
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeFleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
RoleMaritime Attack (1936-1940)
Training (1944-1946)
SizeSquadron
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Garrison/HQKai Tak Airport (1936-1940)
RNAS St Merryn (1944-1946)
Insignia
Identification Markings43-45 (Walrus)
WM-WW (Walrus 1936)
43-45 (Walrus 1937)
K9A+ (Walrus from May 1939)
S4A+ (all types 1944)
S3+ (Harvard)[1][2]
Aircraft flown
BomberHawker Osprey
FighterVought Corsair
Supermarine Seafire
Supermarine Spitfire
PatrolSupermarine Walrus
TrainerNorth American Harvard
Miles Master

715 Naval Air Squadron (715 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm created on 15 July 1936 to serve as a catapult flight of the Fleet Air Arm of the RAF. It was elevated to squadron status at the end of 1937, before being disbanded on 21 January 1940. It was re-formed on 17 August 1944 to operate as the Fighter Wing of the School of Air Combat, before being disbanded for good on 31 March 1946, and absorbed into 736 Naval Air Squadron.[3]

History

Initial formation

A Hawker Osprey III similar to ones used by the 715 NAS in 1936.

The flight originally came into being following a renumbering of the No. 403 (Catapult) Flight and operated in the 5th Cruiser Squadron in the China Station under the command of Lieutenant Commander E.O.F. Price, RN. Its shore-based headquarters was at Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, but it also had a satellite at Wei-Hai-Wei, China. The flight was initially equipped with Hawker Osprey III seaplanes, the navalised carrier-borne version of the Hawker Hart, and was stationed aboard the County-class cruisers: HMS Berwick, HMS Dorsetshire, and HMS Kent. It was re-equipped with Supermarine Walrus amphibious biplane in September 1936, and the last Hawker Osprey III left the flight in July 1937.

In 1937, HMS Berwick and HMS Kent left the 5th Cruiser Squadron for major refits, and the flight was rebased onto HMS Birmingham, HMS Cornwall, HMS Cumberland, and HMS Suffolk. At the end of this year, it was elevated from flight to squadron status.

On 24 May 1939 the squadron was transferred to Admiralty control, and operated from shore bases at Kai Tak and Seletar with seven Supermarine Walrus aircraft, on five RN cruisers. The squadron was disbanded at RAF Kai Tak on 21 January 1940 when all catapult squadrons were merged into 700 Naval Air Squadron.[3]

Re-formation

A Supermarine Seafire similat to ones used by 715 NAS in 1944.

On 17 August 1944 the squadron was re-formed at RNAS St. Merryn (HMS Vulture) to operate Fighter Air Combat Instructor and Fighter Leaders Courses, under the command of Lieutenant Commander (A) R.E. Gardner DSC, RNVR.

They used a collection of planes including the Supermarine Spitfire, a British single-seat fighter aircraft, Supermarine Seafire, a navalised version of the Supermarine Spitfire, and Vought F4U Corsair, an American carrier-based fighter-bomber, but also had access to a few Miles Master, a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer, and North American Harvard IIB, an American single-engine advanced trainer aircraft.

On 12 December 1944 the command was passed on to Lieutenant Commander D.G. Carlisle DSC, SANF(V), and then to Lieutenant Commander F.R.A. Turnbull DSC & Bar, RN on 28 June 1945. Following the end of the Second World War, training continued for several months, but on 31 March 1946 the squadron was disbanded for the final time and reabsorbed into 736 Naval Air Squadron.[3]

Aircraft operated

The squadron operated a variety of different aircraft and versions:[3][2]

715 Naval Air Squadron operated from a single naval air station of the Royal Navy, a number of Royal Navy capital ships and Royal Air Force stations overseas:[2]

Ships' Flights

The unit operated a variety of different Royal Navy ships’ flights, between 1936 and 1940:[2]

Commanding Officers

List of commanding officers of 715 Naval Air Squadron with month and year of appointment:[1][2]

  • Lieutenant Commander E.O.F. Price, RN, (Flight Lieutenant RAF) from 15 July 1936
  • Lieutenant Commander H.H. Caddy, RN, (Flight Lieutenant RAF) from 7 September 1937
  • Lieutenant I.R. Sarel, RN, (Squadron Leader RAF) from 11 October 1938
  • Lieutenant P.J. Milner-Barry, RN, from 24 May 1939 (Lieutenant Commander 16 August 1939)
  • disbanded - 21 January 1940
  • Lieutenant Commander (A) R.E. Gardner, DSC, RNVR from 17 August 1944
  • Lieutenant Commander D.G. Carlisle, DSC, SANF(V) from 12 December 1944
  • Lieutenant Commander F.R.A. Turnbull, DSC & Bar, RN from 28 June 1945
  • disbanded - 31 March 1946

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Wragg 2019, p. 114.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 21.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "715 Naval Air Squadron". www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2021.

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.


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