861 Naval Air Squadron
| 861 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 16 September 1946 – April 1947 |
| Country |  Netherlands |
| Branch | Netherlands Navy |
| Type | Naval Air Squadron |
| Role | Fighter pilot training |
| Part of | Netherlands Naval Aviation Service |
| Insignia | |
| Identification Markings | 6-5 to 6-12 (Firefly) |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | Fairey Firefly |
861 Naval Air Squadron (861 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Navy's Netherlands Naval Aviation Service, attached to the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm for a period of work-up.
Service history
[edit]861 Naval Air Squadron was established at RNAS Dale (HMS Goldcrest) in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on 16 September 1946, serving as a squadron of the Royal Netherlands Navy temporarily integrated with the Royal Navy for preparatory operations,[1] under the command of Luitenant G.H. Greve, RNIN.[2]
Initially equipped with four Fairey Firefly I fighter aircraft,[3] the squadron spent the next five months working up at RNAS Dale before embarking in the Royal Netherlands Navy’s first aircraft carrier, HNLMS Karel Doorman (QH1), on 22 February 1947.[1]
The squadron relocated to Valkenburg Naval Air Base, near Leiden, Netherlands, in early April 1947,[3] but was disbanded soon afterwards,[4] where it was rebranded as Opleiding Gevechts Vliegers (OGV) to facilitate the training of pilots and observers to meet operational standards.[3]
Aircraft flown
[edit]860 Naval Air Squadron flew only one aircraft type:[3]
- Fairey Firefly I fighter aircraft (September 1946 - April 1947)
Naval air stations
[edit]861 Naval Air Squadron operated from a couple of naval air stations of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom, one Royal Netherlands Navy airbase in the Netherlands, and a Royal Netherlands Navy aircraft carrier:[3]
- Royal Naval Air Station Dale (HMS Goldcrest) (16 September 1946 - 22 February 1947)
- HNLMS Karel Doorman (QH1) (22 February - March 1947)
- Royal Naval Air Station Fearn (HMS Owl) (March - April 1947)
- Valkenburg Naval Air Base (April 1947)
- disbanded - (April 1947)
Commanding officers
[edit]List of commanding officers of 861 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:[3]
- Leutnant zur See G.H. Greve, RNIN, from 16 September 1946
- Leutnant zur See G.J. Zegers de Beij, DSC, RNIN, from 12 December 1946
- disbanded - April 1947
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Dale". Royal Navy Research Archive Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ "Fleet Air Arm 861 Squadron". Squadron Database of the Fleet Air Arm Archive 1939-1945. 2005. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 245.
- ^ "Netherlands Naval Aviation Unit History: No.861 Squadron". Aeroflight. 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
Sources
[edit]- Ballance, Theo; Howard, Lee; Sturtivant, Ray (2016). The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm. Air Britain Historians Limited. ISBN 978-0-85130-489-2.