1847 Naval Air Squadron

Inactive flying squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm May 2017 May 2017 1847 Naval Air Squadron 300px Grumman Hellcat; an example of the type used by 1847 NAS 1944 20 May 1944Sturtivant Ballance 1994 358 United Kingdom Single-seat fighter squadron Fighter squadron Ten aircraft Fleet Air Arm RNAS Eglinton Home station Single letters Identification Markings Grumman Hellcat 1847 Naval Air Squadron (1847 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It formed, at the start of February 1944, at (HMS Gannet), RNAS Eglinton, Derry, Northern Ireland, as a fighter squadron with eight of its twelve pilots from the Royal Netherlands Navy, and was equipped with Grumman Hellcat fighter aircraft. After three months existence the squadron was absorbed into 1840 Naval Air Squadron, at HMS Gannet, during May 1944. History Single-seat fighter squadron (1944) 1847 Naval Air Squadron formed on 1 February 1944 in Northern Ireland at Royal Naval Air Station Eglinton (HMS Gannet), which was located next to the city of Derry, as a Single Seat Fighter Squadron, under the command of Lieutenant Commander(A) H. Colville-Stewart, RNVR.Wragg 2019 198 It consisted twelve pilots in total, four from Britain and augmented with eight pilots from the Royal Netherlands Navy. The squadron was intended for service in an escort carrier and was issued with ten Grumman Hellcat, an American carrier-based fighter aircraft.Ballance Howard Sturtivant 2016 297 These were the F6F-3 variant, designated Hellcat F. Mk. I by the Fleet Air Arm.Thetford 1991 224-226 While training and working up the squadron suffered a series of fatal accidents. On 27 March two Dutch pilots were killed in a mid-air collision. Another Dutch pilot died the following day and then on 22 April a British pilot died when he crashed into a hill top.A history of 1847 Naval Air Squadron https://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/SQUADRONS/1847_Squadron.htm Royal Navy Research Archive - Royal Naval Air Squadrons 1938 - present day 19 September 2024 With the loss of one quarter of the aircrew and forty percent of its aircraft, a decision was made to disband the squadron and it was absorbed by 1840 Naval Air Squadron, at RNAS Eglinton (HMS Gannet), on 20 May.Ballance Howard Sturtivant 2016 297 Aircraft flown 1847 Naval Air Squadron flew only one aircraft type:Ballance Howard Sturtivant 2016 297 Grumman Hellcat F. Mk. I fighter aircraft (February - May 1944) Naval air stations 1847 Naval Air Squadron operated from a single naval air station of the Royal Navy in Northern Ireland:Ballance Howard Sturtivant 2016 297 Royal Naval Air Station Eglinton (HMS Gannet), County Londonderry, (1 February - 20 May 1944) disbanded - (20 May 1944) Commanding officers List of commanding officers of 1847 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:Wragg 2019 198 Lieutenant Commander(A) H. Colville-Stewart, RNVR, from 1 February 1944 disbanded - 20 May 1944 Note: Abbreviation (A) signifies Air Branch of the RN or RNVR.Wragg 2019 257 References Citations Bibliography Ballance Theo Howard Lee Sturtivant Ray The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm 2016 Air Britain Historians Limited 978-0-85130-489-2 en Sturtivant R Ballance T The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm 1994 Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd Tonbridge, Kent, UK 0-85130-223-8 Thetford Owen British Naval Aircraft since 1912 1991 Putnam Aeronautical Books, an imprint of Conway Maritime Press Ltd London, UK 0-85177-849-6 Wragg David The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945 2019 The History Press Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK 978-0-7509-9303-6 en External links http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/SQUADRONS/1847_Squadron.htm A History of 1847 Naval Air Squadron 26 September 2021 The Royal Navy Research Archive Category:1800 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons Category:Military units and formations established in 1944 Category:Air squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War II Category:Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1944