790 Naval Air Squadron (790 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.

History of 790 NAS

Air Target Towing Unit (1941) 

790 Naval Air Squadron formed on the 15 June 1941, as an Air Target Towing Unit, at RNAS Machrihanish (HMS Landrail), situated near to Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It was made up of parts of 768 NAS and 772 NAS, equipped with Fairey Swordfish and Blackburn Roc aircraft. Three months later the squadron disbanded into 772 NAS, on the 30 September.

Fighter Direction Training Unit (1942 - 1949) 

790 Naval Air Squadron reformed on the 27 July 1942, at RNAS Charlton Horethorne (HMS Heron II), situated in the hamlet of Sigwells in Somerset, England, attached to the Fighter Direction School. The squadron was equipped with Airspeed Oxford, a twin-engine trainer aircraft, and Fairey Fulmar, a carrier-borne reconnaissance / fighter aircraft. It used these to support the training of Fighter Direction Officers. The Oxford aircraft would act as the 'enemy bombers' and the Fulmar aircraft would be the 'fighter aircraft' that the trainees would direct to intercept.

In June 1944 the Fulmar aircraft were withdrawn and were replaced with Fairey Firefly, a carrier-borne fighter and anti-submarine aircraft. The squadron briefly operated from RAF Culmhead, situated at Churchstanton on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset, during August and September of that year, but moved to RNAS Zeals (HMS Hummingbird), sited to the north of the village of Zeals in Wiltshire, on the 1 April 1945.

On the 30 August 1945, the squadron relocated to RNAS Dale (HMS Goldcrest), located just outside the village of Dale, Pembrokeshire. The squadron continued to provide live interception flights but now for the new purpose built Air Direction School, which was located 1 mile South of RNAS Dale, at R.N. Aircraft Direction Centre. Kete. Here the squadron operated Twin-engined Avro Anson, the bi-plane de Havilland Dominie transport, Fairey Firefly I fighter and anti-submarine aircraft, de Havilland Mosquito FB.6 & B.25 and de Havilland Sea Mosquito TR.33 variants of the twin engine multi-role aircraft, the twin-engined Airspeed Oxford, various marks of Supermarine Seafire, naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire, and the Grumman Wildcat an American carrier-based fighter aircraft. 790 NAS moved to RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk), situated near Helston, on the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall, on the 13 December 1947, it operated out of here for the next couple of years before disbanding on the 15 November 1949.

Aircraft flown

The squadron has flown a number of different aircraft types, including:

Fairey Swordfish I (Jun 1941 - Sep 1941)
Blackburn Roc (Jun 1941 - Sep 1941)
Airspeed Oxford (Jul 1942 - Oct 1947)
Fairey Fulmar Mk.I (Jul 1942 - Jun 1944)
Fairey Fulmar Mk.II (Oct 1942 - Jun 1944)
 Fairey Firefly I (May 1944 - Apr 1947)
Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb (Feb 1945)
Supermarine Seafire Mk Ib (Mar 1945)
Supermarine Seafire F Mk IIc (Mar 1945)
Grumman Wildcat V (Sep 1945 - Feb 1946)
Avro Anson C.XII (Nov 1945)
de Havilland Dominie (Dec 1945 - Jul 1946)
Avro Anson Mk I (Jan 1946 - Sep 1947)
de Havilland Mosquito FB Mk. VI(Jul 1946 - Dec 1948)
de Havilland Mosquito  B Mk.25 (Oct 1946 - Feb 1948)
Supermarine Seafire F Mk III (Nov 1946 - Feb 1947)
de Havilland Sea Mosquito TR Mk.33 (Dec 1946 - Nov 1949)
Supermarine Seafire F Mk XV (May 1947 - Jan 1949)
Taylorcraft Auster I (Jun - Jul 1948)
Taylorcraft Auster V (Nov 1948)

Naval Air Stations  

790 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy, in Scotland, Wales and England:
Royal Naval Air Station MACHRIHANISH (15 June 1941 - 30 September 1941)
Royal Naval Air Station CHARLTON HORETHORNE (27 July 1942 - 10 August 1944)
RAF Culmhead (10 August 1944 - 26 September 1944)
Royal Naval Air Station CHARLTON HORETHORNE (26 September 1944 - 1 April 1945)
Royal Naval Air Station ZEALS (1 April 1945 - 30 August 1945)
Royal Naval Air Station DALE (30 August 1945 - 13 December 1947)
Royal Naval Air Station CULDROSE (13 December 1947 - 15 November 1949)

Commanding Officers 

List of commanding officers of 790 Naval Air Squadron with month and year of appointment and end:

1941
 - not identified

1942 - 1949
Lt-Cdr (A) C. R. Hodgson, RNVR (Jul 1942-Jun 1944)
Lt-Cdr (A) R. P. Demuth, RNVR (Jun 1944-Nov 1944)
Lt-Cdr (A) G. K. Pridham, RNVR (Nov 1944-Apr 1945)
Lt-Cdr (A) R. Williamson, RNVR (Apr 1945-Nov 1945)
Lt-Cdr M. J. A. O'Sullivan, RN (Nov 1945-Jun 1947)
Lt-Cdr (A) H. Muir-MacKenzie, RN (Jun 1947) (KiFA)
Lt-Cdr (A) D. W. H. Gardner, RN (Jun 1947-Oct 1947)
Lt P. S. Cole, DSC, RN (Oct 1947-Aug 1948)
Lt-Cdr B. Sinclair, MBE, RN (Aug 1948-May 1949)
Lt P. A. Jordan, RN (May 1949-Nov 1949)

References

Citations

Bibliography 

700 series Fleet Air Arm squadrons
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II