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 ( Fleet Torpedo ) Flights Royal Air Force to the Fleet Air Arm . The squadron saw action during the Second World War , the Suez Crisis and the Korean War . History . Pre war . 810 Squadron was assigned to the aircraft carrier in May 1933 and formed part of the Home Fleet . In September that year the Darts were replaced by Blackburn Ripon s , and these were in turn replaced by Blackburn Baffin s in July 1934 , with the entire squadron operating Baffins by November that year . The Abyssinian crisis caused " Courageous " and the squadron to be transferred to the Mediterranean from August 1935 to February 1936 . The squadron was upgraded to use Blackburn Shark s in April 1937 , and then Fairey Swordfish in September 1938 . 810 Squadron was then transferred to the new aircraft carrier the following month , and had embarked by January . The squadron was amongst those transferred to Admiralty control on 24 May 1939 . Second World War . By the outbreak of war the squadron was aboard " Ark Royal " , flying 12 Swordfish on anti - submarine patrols . They carried out an unsuccessful attack on on 14 September 1939 , losing two of their aircraft to their own bombs . The squadron was involved in activities over Norway after the German invasion in April 1940 , and carried out bombing raids on Vaernes aerodrome . They sailed with " Ark Royal " to Gibraltar , and carried out attacks during the British Attack on Mers - el - Kébir in July . The squadron made an abortive attack on the , and later attacked the . The squadron was again in action in August and September , when they carried out bombing raids at Cagliari and Sardinia , and against the French fleet in the Battle of Dakar , when their aircraft made an unsuccessful attack on the . They then saw action in November at the Battle of Cape Spartivento , and the following year in February carried out bombing attacks on Tirso Dam , Sardinia and bombing attacks on Livorno and La Spezia in Italy . The squadron was reassigned in March 1941 to for operations in the Indian Ocean . They were then involved in the Battle of Madagascar in May , bombing shipping and land targets at Diego Suarez . After a stopover at Durban , the squadron returned to " Ark Royal " , which was ordered into the Atlantic in May 1941 to search for the , and was involved in the attack which crippled her , and led to her sinking . 810 Squadron then returned to the UK with " Ark Royal " , followed by a period in the Mediterranean to operate against enemy positions on Sardinia . They left " Ark Royal " in September , before her sinking in October , and saw service supporting convoy movements to Jamaica . They were re - equipped with Fairey Barracuda IIs in April 1943 , after which they returned to the Norwegian coast in July 1943 . They then re - embarked aboard HMS " Illustrious " and operated in support of the Salerno landings . 810 Squadron was then re - grouped as part of the 21st Naval Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Wing in October 1943 , and sailed in November to join the Eastern Fleet . They carried out attacks on docks and oil tanks at Sabang in Operation Cockpit in April 1944 , and followed this in June with raids on the Andaman Islands . " Illustrious " then put in for a refit at Cape Town . By February 1945 the squadron was back in the UK at RNAS Stretton , where they were re - equipped with the improved Barracuda IIIs . They moved to the airbase at Thorney Island in March , and then to the East Coast , where they trialled the new ASV Mk . XI radar with RAF Coastal Command . The squadron then disbanded in August 1945 . Post war . The squadron was re - formed twice previously at RNAS Lossimouth and went on to see action in the Suez Crisis and earlier during the Korean War flying Hawker Sea Furys . During Operation Musketeer , the squadron operated Hawker Sea Hawk s from . The squadron was then disbanded . The squadron was reformed under the command of Lieutenant - Commander A M Sinclair at RNAS Culdrose in May 1959 to embark in to replace the defective Whirlwind AS Helicopters of 824 Naval Air Squadron . It embarked from RAF North Front at Gibraltar only six weeks later after a record re - conversion to fixed wing flying for many of the pilots and observers . No Telegraphists Air were carried because of the short drafting notice . This also necessitated " Centaur " landing her 849 AEW Flight to provide room as a large Commonwealth exercise in waters off Ceylon was scheduled based around carrier based AS operations . The squadron remained with HMS " Centaur " throughout the remainder of that Commission , visiting the Persian Gulf - the first Aircraft Carrier to test conditions in the height of summer with cockpit and flight deck temperatures often approaching 160F , before sailing for the Far East including Japan and later Australia . The ship returned to Home Waters in April 1960 and the Squadron was disbanded on board in the North Sea three months later , returning its aircraft to RNAS Abbotsinch - from whence they had hastily been retrieved from the mud 15 months previously . It was the last fixed wing AS Squadron embarked in the Royal Navy , although several aircraft went on to serve with 831 Squadron embarked and ashore and with COD flights . XG 797 is preserved at the Imperial War Museum at RAF Duxford . It commissioned again on 3 March 1983 at RNAS Culdrose , flying ten Sea King HAS . 5 , with which they took on part of the role of 737 Naval Air Squadron . They had some responsibility for advanced flying training tasks , but some of these were transferred to 706 Naval Air Squadron in October 1985 . The squadron was deployed at times on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and . The squadron was re - equipped with the Sea King HAS . 6 in October 1989 , with the last HAS . 5s being retired in February 1990 . 810 absorbed E Flt of 826 Naval Air Squadron in July 1993 , when 826 Squadron was disbanded . 810 Squadron was decommissioned in July 2001 , with its main role passing to 814 Naval Air Squadron , and its Search and Rescue element passing to 771 Naval Air Squadron .