806 Naval Air Squadron
| 806 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1940-1943 1945-1947 1948 1953-1955 1957-1960 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
| Anniversaries | none |
| Battle honours | Norway 1940 Dunkirk 1940 Mediterranean 1940-41 Libya 1940-41 Matapan 1941 Diego Suarez 1942 Malta Convoys 1942 |
806 Naval Air Squadron (806 NAS) was a fighter squadron in the Fleet Air Arm that existed from February 1940 to December 1960 and saw active service in the Norwegian campaign, the Dunkirk evacuation and the Malta Convoys.
According to one source, 806 Naval Air Squadron was formed at HMS Kestrel on 1 February 1940 with Lieutenant Commander Charles Evans as the Commanding Officer and Lieutenant Desmond Vincent-Jones as the Senior Observer and using eight Blackburn Skuas and four Blackburn Rocs. However, another source gives the date and location as being 15 February at Eastleigh, possibly referring to HMS Raven and states that the squadron did not have sufficient crews to operate its aircraft until the next group from the fighter training school had been trained.
806 NAS then saw its first action when it was moved in the beginning of May to HMS Sparrowhawk in order to finish working up and to then carry out bombing attacks on targets around Bergen in Norway. In these the squadron attacked oil facilities and ships, escorted by Coastal Command Bristol Blenheims from No. 254 Squadron RAF.
Their first such attack was carried out on 9 May upon a ship at Doksjeir jetty in Bergen Harbour that was reported potentially to be a cruiser at the time but later believed to have been a transport. Escorted by six Blenheims the eight Skuas armed each with an 500 lb semi-armour-piercing bomb attacked the harbour in conjunction with their escorts. Enemy action shot down a single Blenheim and also damaged one Blackburn Skua but its crew, Petty Officer Jopling and Naval Airman Jones, managed to bring the damaged plane back and were unharmed. A source states that Lieutenant Campbell-Horsfall was leading the raid and that it resulted in a single direct hit claimed upon a transport and another upon an oil tank within the port and that some escort vessels were strafed by the Skuas. According to Midshipman Hogg in quotes within the same source, reconnaissance photographs received on May 11 showed that the raid successfully sunk a training cruiser due to three direct hits, one forward, one amidships, one astern. Also Midshipman Hogg recalls that the Skua piloted by Sub Lieutenant Orr also returned with damage.
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