H.M.S. Nabberley, was a Royal Navy

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...

, Mobile Naval Operating Air Base

Mobile Naval Air Bases

Mobile Operational Naval Air Bases were a series of mobile units first formed in 1944 to provide logistical support to the Fleet Air Arm aircraft of the Royal Navy's British Pacific Fleet towards the end of World War II....

 (MONAB), at the Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 (RAAF) base RAAF Bankstown

Bankstown Airport

Bankstown Airport is a general aviation airport and business park located in the City of Bankstown, from the central business district of Sydney, Australia...

 at Bansktown

Bankstown, New South Wales

Bankstown is a suburb of south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bankstown is located 20 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Bankstown.-History:Prior to European...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. H.M.S. Nabberley was also known as MONAB II and Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Bankstown.

History

Assembled at RNAS Ludham and Royal Navy Air Establishment Risley, Warrington

Warrington

Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...

, in October 1944. The duties of HMS Nabberley were changed from that of a MONAB to that of a Receipt and Dispatch Unit shortly after formation causing some administration problems. Due to accommodation issues 600 ratings were based at HMS Gosling, in Warrington

Warrington

Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. HMS Nabberley commissioned as an independent command on 18 November 1944.

The stores, equipment and vehicles sailed from Gladstone Dock, Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 on the 20 November upon SS Perthshire (LS 1974) and personnel of MONAB II, in company with elements from HMS Nabthorpe

HMS Nabthorpe

HMS Nabthorpe was a Royal Navy Mobile Naval Operating Air Base at the Royal Australian Air Force base RAAF Station Schofields at Schofields, New South Wales...

 and other units sailed from Liverpool upon RMS Athlone Castle on 22 December 1944 for passage to Australia.

HMS Unicorn

HMS Unicorn (I72)

HMS Unicorn was a aircraft repair ship and light aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. She was completed during World War II and provided air cover over the amphibious landing at Salerno, Italy in September 1943. The ship was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian...

 carrying an advance party of MONAB II arrived in Sydney on 1 December 1944. The advance party arrived at RAAF Bankstown in Sydney, together with 16 crated aircraft (8 Corsair IIs & 8 Martinet TT.Is) requestioned from the Royal Navy Aircraft Depot at Cochin, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The aircraft were assembled with RAAF assistance and the first aircraft assembled (Corsair II JT537) was test flown on 18 January 1945.

After the main party arrived in Sydney on 25 January 1945, some proceeded directly to Bankstown, however most were temporarily accommodated Warwick Farm Racecourse

Warwick Farm Racecourse

Warwick Farm Racecourse is a racecourse at Warwick Farm a south-west suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used as a racecourse for Thoroughbred horse racing.- Races :...

 (Camp Warwick), a part of HMS Golden Hind, the Royal Navy barracks in Sydney, until accommodation was sorted out.

RAAF Bankstown was officially transferred on a loan basis to Royal Navy on 27 January 1945 and stores & equipment began to arrive at the station. The base was commissioned as HMS Nabberley, RNAS Bankstown on 29 January 1945.

The personnel began assembling crated aircraft and carrying out pre-issue test flights as a Receipt and Dispatch Unit. A total of 2,500 test flights were undertaken during the operation of HMS Nabberley.

Prince Henry

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester

The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was a soldier and member of the British Royal Family, the third son of George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Mary....

, Duke of Gloucester

Duke of Gloucester

Duke of Gloucester is a British royal title , often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England, the next in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; this current creation carries with it the...

, the Governor-General of Australia

Governor-General of Australia

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...

, toured the facility on 1 June 1945.

On 23 August 1945 the aircraft from disbanded squadrons 1834 NAS and 1836 NAS were delivered from HMS Victorious

HMS Victorious (R38)

HMS Victorious was the second Illustrious-class aircraft carrier ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme. She was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1937 and launched two years later in 1939...

 for disposal.

HMS Nabberley, MONAB II, was paid off on 31 March 1946. The airfield returned to RAAF control.

Units based at HMS Nabberley

• 723 Fleet Requirements Unit (28 February - 1 May 1945)
• 724 Naval Air Communications Squadron
• Aircraft Erection Unit
• Aircraft Equipping & Modification Unit
• Aircraft Storage Unit
• Maintenance, Storage & Repair 3, 4, 7 & 8

Squadrons based at HMS Nabberley

• 723 squadron (28 February - 1 May 1945) (Martinet TT.I and Corsair II) Redesignated as 723 Fleet Requirements Unit
• 724 squadron (10 April 1945) (Expediter Is & Anson Is)
• 1830 squadron (4 - 24 May 1945) (Corsair IIs)
• 1833 squadron (4 May 1945 only) (Corsair IIs)
• 'A' Flt 1701 A.S.R. squadron's (24 July - 7 August 1945) & (15 - 21 October 1945) (Sea Otters)

Aircraft carriers squadrons disembarked from/embarked to

• HMS Illustrious