825 Naval Air Squadron
Encyclopedia
825 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy
Fleet Air Arm
carrier-based squadron formed on 8 October 1934 from the aircraft and personnel of 824 Naval Air Squadron
. It operated in most of the theatres of the Second World War
, carrying out a number of attacks on prominent German warships, including the battleship
in the Atlantic and the pocket battleships and and heavy cruiser
during their Channel Dash
. The squadron also saw action in later conflicts, including the Korean War
and the Falklands War
.
. This was short-lived, and by January 1935 both the squadron and the carrier were in the Mediterranean. The squadron was transferred to Hal Far, Malta in March, while Eagle returned to Britain for a refit. replaced Eagle, and the squadron alternated its time between the carrier and the aerodrome at Hal Far. They returned briefly to the UK in May 1937 to attend the Coronation Fleet Review, before retaking their station in the Mediterranean, and were transferred to Admiralty
control on 24 May 1939.
With the outbreak of the Second World War
in September 1939, 825 Squadron embarked on HMS Glorious at Dekheila, Egypt
and headed into the Indian Ocean
and the Red Sea
to search for enemy shipping. They carried out these duties throughout the rest of 1939, returning the Mediterranean in January 1940, where they again returned to Hal Far. The squadron re-embarked on Glorious in March and sailed to Britain to defend Norway after the German invasion
. On their arrival, they disembarked at RNAS Prestwick. With the sinking of HMS Glorious by the German
pocket battleship and on 8 June 1940, the squadron was transferred to operate from Worthy Down, Detling and Thorney Island
, covering allied forces in France and the Low Countries
as the German forces advanced. They were active in covering the Dunkirk evacuation, during which they lost eight of their 12 aircraft; five were lost in a single bombing raid on 29 May 1940, including its commander Jimmy Buckley
who was awarded the DSC
for his actions during this period.
and Tromsø
. After the British withdrawal, the squadron remained aboard Furious, and by February 1941 was off the Gold Coast
. They joined in May 1941, and took part in the Home Fleet's hunt for the battleship . After sighting Bismarck on 24 May, aircraft from the squadron carried out an attack on 25 May, scoring a single hit which slowed her. Another series of attacks by Fairey Swordfish
of 810
and 818 Naval Air Squadron
s flying from the following day succeeded in disabling Bismarcks steering gear. She was subsequently engaged by ships of the Home Fleet and sank on 27 May.
. Aircraft of 825 Squadron carried out raids on targets in Pantellaria, Sardinia
and Sicily
in September. A number of the squadron's aircraft were lost in the sinking of Ark Royal on 14 October. The remainder flew to Gibraltar
, where the squadron was disbanded. It was re-formed with Fairey Swordfish at RNAS Lee-on-Solent in January 1942, and tasked with a torpedo bomber reconnaissance duties. Six of the squadron's aircraft flew off from RAF Manston
to attack Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser
in the English Channel
, as they carried out Operation Cerberus
. The attacking aircraft failed to score any hits, and all six were lost. The Commanding Officer—Eugene Esmonde
—was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross
. Five of the aircrew survived, and were also decorated.
After regrouping at Lee-on-Solent in March 1942, the squadron sent three aircraft aboard where they covered the Arctic convoy
s to Russia
. They attacked six U-boat
s, and shared credit with the destroyer
for sinking . The squadron then operated under 16th Group RAF Coastal Command
, flying out of Thorney Island and Exeter.
They then embarked aboard HMS Furious in March 1943, covering convoys sailing to Iceland
and making sweeps for enemy submarines off Norway. They transferred to with six Sea Hurricane IICs, and later another three Fulmar II
s to cover the Atlantic convoys. Aircraft from the squadron sank on 15 March 1944 and on 6 May 1944. 825 Squadron was re-equipped with 12 Swordfish IIIs in August and sailed with Vindex to cover the Arctic convoys. They sank on 22 August 1944, while the squadron's Sea Hurricanes damaged another and claimed another as a possible kill that same day. was sunk jointly with the Fleet on 24 August, and was sunk on 2 September. The squadron transferred to in March 1945, where the Sea Hurricanes were replaced by eight Wildcat VIs. They continued in the Arctic before returning to Britain. The Swordfish were then absorbed into 815 Naval Air Squadron
, followed by the Wildcats in May. 825 Squadron then ceased to exist. 825 Squadron was reformed in July 1945 at RNAS Rattray as a Canadian-manned force. It was intended that it would consist of 12 Barracuda IIs
, and form part of the 19th Carrier Air Group aboard a Colossus-class
aircraft carrier. This did not happen immediately, and the squadron remained a Royal Navy one.
in January 1946 led to the transferral of the squadron to the Royal Canadian Navy
. It served with them until being renumbered 880 Squadron (RCN) in May 1951. The 825 designation then returned to the Royal Navy, and the squadron reformed in June 1951 at RNAS Eglinton. The squadron was recommissioned several times over the next decade, operating as an anti-submarine
unit equipped with Fairey Gannet
s, and seeing service in the Korean War
. During this period, they spent time operating off . It then re-formed at RNAS Culdrose
on 16 August 1960, equipped with Whirlwind HAS.7s. The squadron was deployed in the Middle East
during crises between Iraq
and Kuwait
in 1961. It then transferred most of its aircraft to 824 Squadron, returning to the UK aboard . In late 1961 they took part in relief operations after Mombasa
was hit by flooding. They were again disbanded on 2 April 1962.
The outbreak of the Falklands War
in 1982 led to the re-forming of the squadron on 3 May 1982 equipped with Sea King HAS.2/2As
. The aircraft came from 706 Naval Air Squadron, or were taken from other units or storage. Eight Sea Kings sailed for the Falklands on 12 May, aboard the Atlantic Causeway
, with another two sailing the following day aboard . The squadron operated from British forward bases, and Port San Carlos
until their return to the UK in late July. They were disbanded at Culdrose on 17 September 1982.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
carrier-based squadron formed on 8 October 1934 from the aircraft and personnel of 824 Naval Air Squadron
824 Naval Air Squadron
824 Naval Air Squadron is a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron first formed on 3 April 1933, disbanding and reforming several times before assuming its current role at RNAS Culdrose as a training squadron....
. It operated in most of the theatres of the Second World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, carrying out a number of attacks on prominent German warships, including the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
in the Atlantic and the pocket battleships and and heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
during their Channel Dash
Operation Cerberus
The Channel Dash, , was a major naval engagement during World War II in which a German Kriegsmarine squadron consisting of both Scharnhorst class battleships, and heavy cruiser along with escorts, ran a British blockade and successfully sailed from Brest in Brittany to their home bases in Germany...
. The squadron also saw action in later conflicts, including the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
.
Pre-war history
825 Squadron's first assignment after commissioning was to board for service on the China StationChina Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
. This was short-lived, and by January 1935 both the squadron and the carrier were in the Mediterranean. The squadron was transferred to Hal Far, Malta in March, while Eagle returned to Britain for a refit. replaced Eagle, and the squadron alternated its time between the carrier and the aerodrome at Hal Far. They returned briefly to the UK in May 1937 to attend the Coronation Fleet Review, before retaking their station in the Mediterranean, and were transferred to Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
control on 24 May 1939.
Mediterranean and the North Sea
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in September 1939, 825 Squadron embarked on HMS Glorious at Dekheila, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and headed into the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
to search for enemy shipping. They carried out these duties throughout the rest of 1939, returning the Mediterranean in January 1940, where they again returned to Hal Far. The squadron re-embarked on Glorious in March and sailed to Britain to defend Norway after the German invasion
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
. On their arrival, they disembarked at RNAS Prestwick. With the sinking of HMS Glorious by the German
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
pocket battleship and on 8 June 1940, the squadron was transferred to operate from Worthy Down, Detling and Thorney Island
Thorney Island (West Sussex)
Thorney Island is an island that juts into Chichester Harbour in West Sussex. It is separated from the mainland by a narrow channel called the Great Deep. The village of West Thorney lies on the east coast of the island and has been incorporated into the military base...
, covering allied forces in France and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
as the German forces advanced. They were active in covering the Dunkirk evacuation, during which they lost eight of their 12 aircraft; five were lost in a single bombing raid on 29 May 1940, including its commander Jimmy Buckley
Jimmy Buckley
Lieutenant Commander James 'Jimmy' Brian Buckley DSC was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot who became a notable prisoner of war during the Second World War, and died during an escape attempt on 21 May 1943.-Fleet Air Arm:...
who was awarded the DSC
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
for his actions during this period.
Atlantic and the Bismarck
The depleted squadron was brought up to nine aircraft in July 1940 and embarked aboard . They then operated off the Norwegian coast in September, carrying out night attacks on TrondheimTrondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
and Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
. After the British withdrawal, the squadron remained aboard Furious, and by February 1941 was off the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
. They joined in May 1941, and took part in the Home Fleet's hunt for the battleship . After sighting Bismarck on 24 May, aircraft from the squadron carried out an attack on 25 May, scoring a single hit which slowed her. Another series of attacks by Fairey Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
of 810
810 Naval Air Squadron
810 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed on 3 April 1933 with the amalgamation of the 12 Blackburn Dart aircraft from 463 and 44 Flight Flights Royal Air Force to the Fleet Air Arm...
and 818 Naval Air Squadron
818 Naval Air Squadron
818 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in August 1939. It served on a number of the Navy's aircraft carriers during the Second World War, serving in most of the theatres of the war, before decommissioning at the end of the war.-Norway and the...
s flying from the following day succeeded in disabling Bismarcks steering gear. She was subsequently engaged by ships of the Home Fleet and sank on 27 May.
The Channel Dash
The squadron embarked on HMS Ark Royal in June 1941 to provide cover for the Malta ConvoysMalta Convoys
The Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys that sustained the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War...
. Aircraft of 825 Squadron carried out raids on targets in Pantellaria, Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
in September. A number of the squadron's aircraft were lost in the sinking of Ark Royal on 14 October. The remainder flew to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, where the squadron was disbanded. It was re-formed with Fairey Swordfish at RNAS Lee-on-Solent in January 1942, and tasked with a torpedo bomber reconnaissance duties. Six of the squadron's aircraft flew off from RAF Manston
RAF Manston
RAF Manston was an RAF station in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site is now split between a commercial airport Kent International Airport and a continuing military use by the Defence Fire Training and Development Centre , following on from a long...
to attack Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, as they carried out Operation Cerberus
Operation Cerberus
The Channel Dash, , was a major naval engagement during World War II in which a German Kriegsmarine squadron consisting of both Scharnhorst class battleships, and heavy cruiser along with escorts, ran a British blockade and successfully sailed from Brest in Brittany to their home bases in Germany...
. The attacking aircraft failed to score any hits, and all six were lost. The Commanding Officer—Eugene Esmonde
Eugene Esmonde
Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde VC DSO, F/Lt, RAF, Lt-Cdr RN was a distinguished pilot who was a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to members of Commonwealth forces...
—was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. Five of the aircrew survived, and were also decorated.
Arctic and Atlantic convoys
Arctic convoys of World War II
The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...
s to Russia
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. They attacked six U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s, and shared credit with the destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
for sinking . The squadron then operated under 16th Group RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
, flying out of Thorney Island and Exeter.
They then embarked aboard HMS Furious in March 1943, covering convoys sailing to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and making sweeps for enemy submarines off Norway. They transferred to with six Sea Hurricane IICs, and later another three Fulmar II
Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier-borne fighter aircraft that served with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation at its Stockport factory between January 1940 and December 1942...
s to cover the Atlantic convoys. Aircraft from the squadron sank on 15 March 1944 and on 6 May 1944. 825 Squadron was re-equipped with 12 Swordfish IIIs in August and sailed with Vindex to cover the Arctic convoys. They sank on 22 August 1944, while the squadron's Sea Hurricanes damaged another and claimed another as a possible kill that same day. was sunk jointly with the Fleet on 24 August, and was sunk on 2 September. The squadron transferred to in March 1945, where the Sea Hurricanes were replaced by eight Wildcat VIs. They continued in the Arctic before returning to Britain. The Swordfish were then absorbed into 815 Naval Air Squadron
815 Naval Air Squadron
815 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Fleet Air Arm, part of the Royal Navy. The squadron is currently based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, United Kingdom and it is the Navy's front line Lynx Naval Air Squadron. It currently comprises more than 30 Lynx helicopters of various types...
, followed by the Wildcats in May. 825 Squadron then ceased to exist. 825 Squadron was reformed in July 1945 at RNAS Rattray as a Canadian-manned force. It was intended that it would consist of 12 Barracuda IIs
Fairey Barracuda
The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo- and dive bomber used during the Second World War, the first of its type used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to be fabricated entirely from metal. It was introduced as a replacement for the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore biplanes...
, and form part of the 19th Carrier Air Group aboard a Colossus-class
Colossus class aircraft carrier
The 1942 Design Light Fleet Carrier, commonly referred to as the British Light Fleet Carrier, was a light aircraft carrier design created by the Royal Navy during World War II, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001...
aircraft carrier. This did not happen immediately, and the squadron remained a Royal Navy one.
Post-war service
The commissioning of HMCS WarriorHMS Warrior (R31)
HMS Warrior was a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier which served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1946 to 1948 , the Royal Navy from 1948 to 1958, and the Argentine Navy from 1959 to 1969 .- History :Built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, she was originally to be called HMS Brave; the Royal...
in January 1946 led to the transferral of the squadron to the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
. It served with them until being renumbered 880 Squadron (RCN) in May 1951. The 825 designation then returned to the Royal Navy, and the squadron reformed in June 1951 at RNAS Eglinton. The squadron was recommissioned several times over the next decade, operating as an anti-submarine
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
unit equipped with Fairey Gannet
Fairey Gannet
The Fairey Gannet was a British carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning aircraft of the post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm by the Fairey Aviation Company...
s, and seeing service in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. During this period, they spent time operating off . It then re-formed at RNAS Culdrose
RNAS Culdrose
Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose , based in Cornwall, near Helston, on the Lizard Peninsula, has three major roles: serving the Fleet Air Arm's front line Sea King and Merlin helicopter squadrons; providing search and rescue for the South West region; and training specialists for the Royal Navy...
on 16 August 1960, equipped with Whirlwind HAS.7s. The squadron was deployed in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
during crises between Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
in 1961. It then transferred most of its aircraft to 824 Squadron, returning to the UK aboard . In late 1961 they took part in relief operations after Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
was hit by flooding. They were again disbanded on 2 April 1962.
The outbreak of the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
in 1982 led to the re-forming of the squadron on 3 May 1982 equipped with Sea King HAS.2/2As
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
. The aircraft came from 706 Naval Air Squadron, or were taken from other units or storage. Eight Sea Kings sailed for the Falklands on 12 May, aboard the Atlantic Causeway
Atlantic Causeway
The Atlantic Causeway was a container ship, operated by Cunard, and one of the merchant vessels requisitioned by the British government to support British forces in the Falklands War in 1982.-Pre-war:...
, with another two sailing the following day aboard . The squadron operated from British forward bases, and Port San Carlos
Port San Carlos
Port San Carlos is located on the northern bank of the inlet known as Port San Carlos, off San Carlos Water on the Western coast of East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands...
until their return to the UK in late July. They were disbanded at Culdrose on 17 September 1982.