| 776 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Squadron badge | |
| Active | 1941–1945 |
| Disbanded | 30 October 1945[1] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Type | Fleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron |
| Role | Fleet Requirements Unit |
| Size | Squadron |
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
| Home station | SeeNaval air stations section for full list. |
| Aircraft | SeeAircraft operated section for full list. |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge Description | Per fess wavy gold and black, a cormorant statant wings addorsed proper collared to a line reflexed over the back red and attached to a drogue also red (1944)[2] |
| Identification Markings | single letters initially V9A+ (Woodvale detachment) R7A+ &R8A+ (1942)[3][2] |
776 Naval Air Squadron (776 NAS) was aFleet Air Arm (FAA)naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’sRoyal Navy (RN) which last disbanded at the end of October 1945. 776 Naval Air Squadron formed as aFleet Requirements Unit at HMSDaedalus, RNAS Lee-on-Solent, at the start of 1941. It operated a detachment at RN Air Section Speke in 1941 and one at RAF Woodvale in 1942, with the squadron wholly moving to Speke in the October. 1943 saw further detachments and these were deployed at RAF Llanbedr, RAF Millom, RAF Usworth and RAF Waltham. In April 1945, the Woodvale detachment was reabsorbed into the squadron when it relocated there, the airbase now operated by the Admiralty and known as HMSRingtail II. It moved to HMSRingtail, RNAS, Burscough, at the start of October 1945.
776 Naval Air Squadron formed atRNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMSDaedalus),Hampshire, England, on 1 January 1941, as a Fleet Requirements Unit.[3] It initially operated with threeBristol Blenheim, a twin-enginelight bomber, and severalBlackburn Roc, a naval turretfighter aircraft, some of which of the latter were detached toR.N. Air Section Speke,Liverpool, England, on 22 March 1941, while a second detachment went toRAF Woodvale,Merseyside, England, on 16 May 1942.[2] During 1942 the squadron receivedBlackburn Skua, acarrier-baseddive bomber and fighter aircraft that was converted fortarget towing, andVought Chesapeake an American carrier-based dive bomber, and on 18 October the squadron relocated to R. N. Air Section Speke.[3]
The following year, detachments were deployed atRAF Llanbedr,Gwynedd, Wales,RAF Millom,Cumbria, England,RAF Usworth,Tyne and Wear, England, andRAF Waltham,Lincolnshire, England. The personalde Havilland Dominie, a short-haulbiplaneairliner, of theCommander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, was also on strength at Speke.[2] In early 1944, 776 NAS received a number of new aircraft had a strength of fourteenHawker Hurricane fighter aircraft, twelveBoulton Paul Defiant target tug, eight Bristol Blenheim light bomber and aFairey Swordfishtorpedo bomber.[3]
By March 1945 the squadron provided target towing for the Night Fighter Operational School atRNAS Inskip (HMSNightjar) and the Naval Gunnery Training School atAinsdale and the Boulton Paul Defiant target tug aircraft were replaced byMiles Martinet target tugs.[2] On 7 April 1945 the squadron moved to RNAS Woodvale (HMSRingtail II), what was previously RAF Woodvale, and reabsorbed the detachment there. The following month tenSupermarine Seafire arrived, anavalised version of theSupermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft.[3] The squadron moved toRNAS Burscough (HMSRingtail),Lancashire, on 6 October and disbanded on 30th.[2]
The squadron operated a number of different aircraft types, including:[2]
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776 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number ofnaval air stations of the Royal Navy, in theUnited Kingdom:[1]
List ofcommanding officers of 776 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:[3][2]
Note: Abbreviation (A) signifies Air Branch of the RN or RNVR.[4]