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834 Naval Air Squadron

Summary

834 Naval Air Squadron (834 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The squadron was formed in Jamaica in December 1941 as a torpedo bomber squadron equipped with Fairey Swordfish aircraft. The squadron was embarked on HMS Archer from March 1942 to February 1943 and involved in convoy escorted duties in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. 834 NAS then joined No. 19 Group RAF Coastal Command for duties in the English Channel. In June a flight of Supermarine Seafires was formed and the next month the squadron was embarked on HMS Hunter. The squadron took part in the Salerno landings in September, before being transferred to HMS Battler to provide convoy escort duties in the Indian Ocean. 834 NAS received a further flight of 6 Wildcat Vs in April 1944 and the Seafire flight was disbanded in July. The squadron returned to the UK in November 1944 and was disbanded in December.[3]

834 Naval Air Squadron
Pilots of 834 Squadron and a Supermarine Seafire on the flight deck of HMS Battler
Active1941-1944
Country United Kingdom
 New Zealand
Branch Royal Navy
RoleTorpedo bomber
Fighter
Part ofFleet Air Arm
Motto(s)Una feriendo delmus (Latin: By striking together we destroy)[1]
Battle honoursAtlantic 1941-43
Salerno 1943[2]

834 NAS contained a number of New Zealanders seconded from the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve who served as pilots and, at one point, the squadron commander.[4] In 1994 the designation of 834 Squadron was transferred from the Royal Navy to the Royal New Zealand Navy.[1]

The Fleet Air Arm Museum contains a surviving Fairey Swordfish (HS618) which was operated by 834 NAS from May 1943 until it was damaged in the hanger of HMS Hunter during bad weather. It is currently painted in the colours of 813 Naval Air Squadron.[5]

Aircraft operated by 834 Naval Air Squadron[3]
From To Aircraft Version
December 1941 April 1943 Fairey Swordfish MK.I
September 1942 November 1944 Fairey Swordfish Mk.II
June 1943 July 1944 Supermarine Seafire Mk.IIc
April 1944 November 1944 Grumman Wildcat Mk.V

References edit

  1. ^ a b Dennerly 1997, p. 60
  2. ^ Dennerly 1997, p. 66.
  3. ^ a b "834 Squadron". Fleet Air Arm Archive. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Waters, S. D. (1956). The Royal New Zealand Navy. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-1945. Wellington: Historical Publications Branch. p. 513.
  5. ^ "Fairey Swordfish II (HS618)". Fleet Air Arm Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  • Dennerly, P. Y. (1997). Ships Badges of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Auckland: Royal New Zealand Navy Museum. ISBN 0477017959.
  • Jinks, Peter C. (June 1974). "834 - banana boat squadron". Aeroplane Monthly. Vol. 2, no. 6. pp. 684–689.
  • Sturtivant, Ray; Ballance, Theo (1994). The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.