835 Naval Air Squadron
Fairey Swordfish; an example of the type used by 835 Squadron
Active	1942–1945
Disbanded	1 April 1945
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance squadron
Role	Carrier-based: anti-submarine warfare (ASW) anti-surface warfare (ASuW) Maritime patrol Combat air patrol (CAP)
Part of	Fleet Air Arm
Home station	SeeNaval air stations section for full list.
Mottos	Semper miseri sumus (Latin for 'We are always miserable')
Battle honours	Atlantic 1943–44 Arctic 1944–45[1]
Commanders
Notable commanders	Lieutenant Commander M. Johnstone,DSC,RN Lieutenant Commander(A)J.R. Godley,RNVR
Insignia
Squadron Badge Description	Wartime unofficial:the word JOE, to reflect the squadron's feeling that they were always given the dirty and unglamorous tasks
Identification Markings	single letters (Swordfish) 5A+ (Swordfish April 1943) YA+ (Swordfish onNairana early 1945) 7A+ (Sea Hurricane) YA+ (Wildcat onNairana)
Aircraft flown
Attack	Fairey Swordfish
Fighter	Hawker Sea Hurricane Grumman Wildcat

835 Naval Air Squadron (835 NAS), also referred to as 835 Squadron, was aFleet Air Arm (FAA)naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’sRoyal Navy (RN). It was originally formed in February 1942 as atorpedo bomber andreconnaissance unit flyingFairey Swordfish. In June 1943, sixSea Hurricanes were added to the squadron as a fighter flight. The composite unit exchanged the Hurricanes in September 1944 forGrumman Wildcats, serving on until 1 April 1945, when the squadron disbanded.

The first members of the squadron assembled at theRoyal Naval Air Station (RNAS)Eastleigh (also known as HMSRaven) in January 1942 nearSouthampton inHampshire.^[2] They left Eastleigh on 29 January to board the SSAndalucia Star at Glasgow. The ship sailed from Glasgow on 4 February and arrived inKingston, Jamaica on 17 February.^[3] 835 Naval Air Squadron officially formed that day atPalisadoes (HMS Buzzard),Jamaica as a torpedo-bomber and reconnaissance squadron ofFairey Swordfish. After patrolling the seas around Jamaica until 12 March 1942, the squadron moved toNorfolk, Virginia, where a refittedHMS Furious lay waiting to take them aboard. HMSFurious left Norfolk on 3 April 1942,^[4] and arrived atRNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMSDaedalus), Hampshire, on 15 April. The squadron moved toRNAS Hatston (HMSSparrowhawk),Mainland, Orkney, Scotland, in June 1942. During a period of frequent relocation the squadron moved toRNAS Stretton (HMSBlackcap),Cheshire, on 22 September 1942 and toRNAS Machrihanish (HMSLandrail),Argyll, on 29 October to spend November doing initial Deck Launch Training (DLT) on theescort carrierHMS Activity.^[5] December saw temporary return to RNAS Machrihanish before relocation toRAF Kirkistown,County Down,Northern Ireland.

Return to RNAS Machrihanish on 29 January 1943 caused the base to be nicknamed "Clapham Junction" by the squadron.^[5] Carrier embarkation was aboardHMS Battler on 8 April 1943 for convoy duties, but the squadron returned to RNAS Machrihanish forRP-3 Rocket Projectile training on 7 May. After a short return to HMSBattler, the squadron moved toRAF Ballykelly,County Londonderry, Northern Ireland on 15 May and toRNAS Eglinton (HMSGannet) on 22 May.^[6] In June 1943, 835 Squadron was reinforced with a flight of sixSea Hurricane Mk.IIcs from804 squadron. The Hurricanes spent part of September and October 1943 operating fromHMS Ravager, while some of the Swordfishes served aboardHMS Argus and the others remained atRAF Ayr,Ayrshire, Scotland. After a period ashore at RNAS Eglington, the squadron shortly embarked onHMS Chaser for three weeks before transfer toRNAS Abbotsinch (HMSSanderling) and thence to RNAS Eglington.

The squadron transferred to theescort carrierHMS Nairana on 31 December 1943, and returned ashore at RNAS Hatston and RNAS Machrihanish in January 1944. Most of 1944, however, was spent onboard HMSNairana, on Atlantic convoy duties and on the Gibraltar Run. The squadron also served in 1944 with a successful submarine Hunter-Killer Group in the North Atlantic under the overall command ofCaptain Frederick Walker. ThreeJu 290s were shot down in May and June.^[7] The squadron became involved in theMurmansk Convoys to and from RNAS Hatston in August. Squadron pilots faced the most dangerous flying conditions of the war to attack two U-boats and shoot down four enemy aircraft in the Arctic. The aging Sea Hurricanes were replaced byGrumman Wildcat Mk.VIs in September.

The squadron of 14 Swordfish and sixGrumman Wildcats was led by Lieutenant-Commander Val Jones, a Swordfish Observer. The Senior Pilot of the squadron was Lieutenant Allen Burgham,DSC,MiD, who flew Sea Hurricane Mk.IIcs and later Wildcat Mk.VIs, and was Flight Commander of the Fighter Component.Lt-CommanderJohn GodleyRNVR, who had previously been in command of 'P' Flight of836 Naval Air Squadron, became commander of the squadron on 9 January 1945.

Lieutenant-Commander Godley served as Squadron Commanding Officer for one Murmansk Convoy in February 1945. 835 Squadron saw further combat doing two coastal anti-shipping raids along the Norwegian coast offTrondheim, before being disbanded on 1 April 1945 at RNAS Hatston,^[8] with its fighter flight transferring to821 Naval Air Squadron. Lieutenant-Commander Godley was transferred to command714 Naval Air Squadron.

The squadron has operated a number of different aircraft types:

• 
  An example of a still flyingHawker Sea Hurricane of the type used by 835 Squadron

Thebattle honours awarded to 835 Naval Air Squadron are:

• Atlantic 1943-44^[10]
• Arctic 1944-45^[11]

835 Naval Air Squadron was active at various naval air stations of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force stations, both within the United Kingdom and internationally. Additionally, it operated from several Royal Navy escort carriers.

Air stations and aircraft carriers used by 835 Naval Air Squadron during World War two including dates:^[9]

List ofcommanding officers of 835 Naval Air Squadron:

Note: Abbreviation (A) signifies Air Branch of the RN or RNVR.^[14]

• List of Fleet Air Arm aircraft squadrons

• "835 Squadron".fleetairarmarchive.net. Fleet Air Arm Archive. 14 June 2005. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved1 April 2011.
• "HMS Nairana, Escort Carrier (Became Karel Doorman (1) 1946 (Netherlands))".fleetairarmarchive.net. Fleet Air Arm Archive. 2001. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved1 April 2011.
• Burgham, Ian."The Story of "Nicki" as seen by one of her pilots".navismagazine.com. Archived fromthe original on 2 February 2003. Retrieved1 April 2011.
• Whittick, David."835 Naval Air Squadron Old Comrades Reunion Web Site".homepage.ntlworld.com. Archived fromthe original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved1 April 2011.

• 800 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons
• Military units and formations established in 1942
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
• Air squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War II
• Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II

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