701 Naval Air Squadron
701 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron, formed on 24 May 1939, that saw service during the Second World War.
| 701 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1939–1958 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Role | Training and ancillary |
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
| Battle honours | Norway 1940[1] |
Formed on 15 July 1936 as No. 701 (Catapult) Flight FAA at RAF Kalafrana, Malta by re-designating No. 444 (Fleet Reconnaissance) Flight FAA; 701 Squadron saw action in the Norwegian campaign in mid-1941, and in May six Supermarine Walrus aircraft of the squadron were flown off HMS Glorious to support operations off Harstad.[2] In June 1940 the squadron briefly appeared on HMS Ark Royal,[3] and the squadron was at Reykjavík in October 1940, when they were taken on board HMS Argus.[4]
By July 1943, the squadron was attached to No. 201 Group RAF for the invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky).
Aircraft operated
The squadron operated a variety of different aircraft and versions:[5]
- Hawker Osprey
- Blackburn Shark
- Fairey Seal II
- Fairey Swordfish I/SP
- Supermarine Walrus
- Avro Anson C.X
- de Havilland Dominie I
- Beechcraft Expediter C.I & C.II
- North American Harvard III
- Airspeed Oxford
- Supermarine Seafire XV & XVII
- de Havilland Tiger Moth II
- Beechcraft Traveller I
- Westland Dragonfly HR.5
- Westland Whirlwind HAR.1, HAR.3 & HAS.7 & HAS.22
References
Citations
- Fleet Air Arm battle honours
- Naval-history.net, events in May 1940
- "The Fleet Air Arm aboard Ark Royal". Archived from the original on 30 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- Naval-history.net, events in October 1940
- Sturtivant & Ballance 1994, p. 20.
