| 820 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Squadron badge | |
| Active | Royal Air Force 1933–1939 Royal Navy
|
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Type | Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance squadron |
| Role | Carrier-based:
|
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
| Home station | RNAS Culdrose |
| Mottos | Tutamen et ultor (Latin for 'Safeguard and avenger') |
| Aircraft | AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 |
| Website | Official website |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Commander Al ‘Conchita’ Woodward, RN |
820 Naval Air Squadron (820 NAS), also referred to as 820 Squadron, is a carrier-basedFleet Air Arm (FAA)naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’sRoyal Navy (RN). It currently operates theMerlin HM2 in two capacities, either foranti-submarine warfare or forairborne surveillance, and control, to protect the RN carrier strike group, with a shore base atRNAS Culdrose.
The Squadron was formed atRNAS Gosport on 3 April 1933 with the transferral of theFairey III aircraft from 450 Flight and half of 445 Flight of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy.
The squadron's first assignment on its formation was to carry out spotter-reconnaissance duties for theaircraft carrierHMS Courageous. They were later re-equipped withFairey Seals andBlackburn Sharks, eventually receivingFairey Swordfish in autumn 1937.[1] The squadron was reassigned in November the following year to the new aircraft carrierHMS Ark Royal. The squadron operated fromArk Royal for the next three years, initially on anti-submarine duties, but later as surface search and torpedo-attack aircraft. The squadron went withArk Royal to the Atlantic, and by April 1940 they were supportingAllied operations during theNorwegian campaign, where they bombedVaernes airfield. After thewithdrawal from Norway,Ark Royal and the squadron moved to the Mediterranean in June. Aircraft from 820 squadron were involved in attacking the French fleet atMers-el-Kébir, and later theBattle of Dakar, as well as attacks atCagliari. They were also active during theBattle of Cape Spartivento, as well as coveringconvoys to Malta.
820 Squadron's next major engagement was the hunt for the GermanbattleshipBismarck. Aircraft from the squadron were able to disableBismarck's steering gear with atorpedo hit, allowingBismarck to beengaged and sunk.[1] In June 1941 the squadron leftArk Royal, and in November that year returned toIceland aboardHMS Victorious. The Swordfish were then replaced withFairey Albacores. 820 Squadron then embarked aboardHMS Formidable in February 1942, and sailed withFormidable to serve in theIndian Ocean. The squadron was then active in theBattle of Madagascar, followed byOperation Torch, the Allied landings inNorth Africa. During these operations, aircraft from the squadron sankU-331, which had earlier sunk the battleshipHMS Barham.Formidable and the squadron remained in the Mediterranean to provide support for theAllied landings at Sicily andSalerno.[1]
The squadron then returned to the UK in November 1943 and disbanded atRNAS Donibristle. The squadron was quickly reformed however, and equipped with 12Fairey Barracudas was initially based atRNAS Lee-on-Solent as atorpedo bomber/reconnaissance squadron. They were assigned toHMS Indefatigable in June 1944 and saw action as part ofOperation Mascot on 17 July andOperations Goodwood in August, the attempts to sink theTirpitz in theKåjorden inAlta Municipality inNorway.[1] The operations failed to cause significant damage toTirpitz. The squadron was re-equipped with 21Grumman Avengers in September 1944 and sailed withIndefatigable to the Far East in November. They sailed toCeylon where 820 squadron joined No 2 Strike Wing, which also consisted of849 Squadron. The Wing attacked the oil refineries atPalembang,Sumatra in January 1945 as part ofOperation Meridian, following this up with later strikes on the Sakashima Gunto islands. As the war in the Pacific moved closer toJapan 820 Squadron was assigned to the7th Carrier Air Group, and carried out a number of raids onTokyo prior toVJ-Day. After the end of the war,Indefatigable remained in the Pacific for some time, finally returning to the UK in March 1946. 820 Squadron was then disbanded again.[1]
The squadron was re-formed five years later in July 1951, this time flying theFairey Firefly. The squadron was embarked alternately aboard the carriersHMS Indomitable andHMS Theseus during 1952 and 1953, spending most of its time on exercises in the Mediterranean.[1] The squadron operated the Grumman Avenger and then theFairey Gannet during 1954 and 1956, aboardHMS Centaur andHMS Bulwark, before the decision was made to convert 820 Squadron as ahelicopter squadron.[1] 820 disbanded on 2 December 1957 but were immediately re-formed the same day atHMS Vernon, equipped with theWestland Whirlwind HAS.7.[1] They were assigned toHMS Hermes in May 1958 as an anti-submarine and commando support force, remaining aboardHermes until October 1960, when the squadron was again disbanded.[1]
The squadron was re-formed in 1964, and equipped with theWestland Wessex HAS.1, with which they served as anti-submarine squadron aboardHMS Eagle.[1] They were upgraded to the Westland Wessex HAS.3 in May 1969, when they were transferred to theTiger-class helicopter cruiserHMS Blake. They remained aboardBlake until her disposal in 1979, the squadron was then assigned to HMSHermes for the first quarter of 1980. The squadrons aircraft had been upgraded with theWestland Sea King HAS.1 in December 1972, followed by the HAS.2 version and then the HS.Mk.5 in December 1980.[1] It was then assigned toHMS Invincible in early 1981; on 6 March 1981 the squadron suffered a tragedy when two of its aircraft had a mid-air collision, five of the eight crew members were killed.
In April 1982 the squadron remained embarked for theFalklands War. During the conflict the squadron flew over 4700 hours, withInvincible spending 166 days continuously at sea, setting aworld record for continuous carrier operations.[1] The squadron transferred toHMS Ark Royal in late 1985. They were re-equipped in February 1990 with the Sea King MK6 and on boardArk Royal were dispatched to the Eastern Mediterranean on 10 January 1991, with the intention of transiting the Suez Canal, so they would be in the Red Sea for Operation Granby – UK name for Desert Storm. However, the war started before they could transit the Suez Canal, and instead, Ark Royal, remained in the Eastern Mediterranean for the duration of the War. In January 1993, 820 were dispatched aboardRFA Olwen andRFAFort Grange to support the British forces inBosnia as part ofOperation Grapple. There the squadron was used to ferry men and supplies. 820 Squadron returned to Bosnia in 1994, this time aboard HMSArk Royal. With the later decommissioning ofArk Royal, the squadron joinedHMS Illustrious and by 1996 was in the eastern Atlantic, followed by a round the world deployment in 1997.[1]
WithIllustrious in refit from 1998, 820 Squadron operated out ofRNAS Culdrose on anti-submarine training exercises, followed with periods embarked on ships of theRoyal Fleet Auxiliary. They rejoinedIllustrious in 1999 and participated in relief operations inMozambique, aboardRFA Fort George, and forOperation Palliser inSierra Leone.[1] Further training periods followed, as well as a Search and Rescue effort in October 2004 to aid the stricken Canadian submarineHMCS Chicoutimi, which had been disabled after suffering a fire and flooding off the west coast ofIreland.[1]
The squadron continues to carry out exercises aboard Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, as well as participating in military operations. It is based at RNAS Culdrose and operates theAgustaWestland Merlin HM.2.[3] Training is performed by824 NAS and front line duties are shared with814 NAS. During 2014, 820 NAS was temporarily assigned to theCommando Helicopter Force until the two main troop carrying squadrons fully convert to the Merlin HC.4.820 NAS is also known as the "Queen's squadron" and will be the main squadron to operate on theQueen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier.[4] Three Merlins from 820 NAS were deployed offRFA Argus as the UK's response towards the 2014 Ebola virus.[5] 820 NAS will be permanently attached to HMSQueen Elizabeth's air group.[6] On 3 July 2017, a Merlin Mk.2 helicopter of 820 NAS became the first aircraft to land on HMSQueen Elizabeth, piloted by 26-year-old Lieutenant Luke Wraith from Yorkshire.[6]
In 2020, 820 NAS assumed responsibility for all Merlin HM.2 operations from the Royal Navy's carriers, when it took over the Airborne Surveillance role from849 NAS. This will see a number of its aircraft installed with the Crowsnest system, consisting of a new version of theSearchwater radar combined with Cerberus mission system in a kit installation. This is to allow the system to be installed in any Merlin airframe.[7][8] The system achieved initial operating capability in July 2023. In September, five Merlins from 820 Squadron, two in the AEW configuration, embarked on HMSQueen Elizabeth for her "Operation FIREDRAKE" deployment in northern European waters.[9]
In 2025, the squadron embarked with the Royal Navy'scarrier strike group on Operation Highmast deploying to the Indo-Pacific region. Nine of the Merlin HM2s from the squadron were specifically assigned toPrince of Wales, six in the ASW role and three in the AEW role with the Crowsnest system having reached full operating capability.[10]
| From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 1933 | 1933 | Fairey III | F |
| 1933 | May 1935 | Fairey Seal | |
| May 1935 | September 1937 | Blackburn Shark | |
| September 1937 | June 1941 | Fairey Swordfish | Mk.I |
| April 1939 | April 1939 | Fairey Battle | Mk.I |
| July 1941 | November 1943 | Fairey Albacore | Mk.I |
| January 1944 | October 1944 | Fairey Barracuda | Mk.II |
| October 1944 | March 1946 | Grumman Avenger | Mks.II & III |
| July 1951 | 1954 | Fairey Firefly | Mk.V |
| 1954 | 1956 | Grumman Avenger | AS.4 |
| 1956 | December 1957 | Fairey Gannet | AS.1 |
| January 1958 | May 1959 | Westland Whirlwind | HAS.7 |
| November 1959 | October 1960 | Westland Whirlwind | HAS.7 |
| September 1964 | May 1969 | Westland Wessex | HAS.1 |
| May 1969 | December 1972 | Westland Wessex | HAS.3 |
| December 1972 | January 1977 | Westland Sea King | HAS.1 |
| January 1977 | March 1980 | Westland Sea King | HAS.2 & HAS.2A |
| March 1980 | 1990 | Westland Sea King | HAS.5 |
| 1989 | March 2003 | Westland Sea King | HAS.6 |
| September 2001 | September 2013 | AgustaWestland Merlin | HM.1 |
| September 2013 | Present | AgustaWestland Merlin | HM.2 |
820 Naval Air Squadron has received the followingbattle honours.[13]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)