825 Naval Air Squadron 825 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier - based squadron formed on 8 October 1934 from the aircraft and personnel of 824 Naval Air Squadron . It operated in most of the theatres of the Second World War , carrying out a number of attacks on prominent German warships , including the battleship in the Atlantic and the pocket battleships and and heavy cruiser during their Channel Dash . The squadron also saw action in later conflicts , including the Korean War and the Falklands War . Pre - war history . 825 Squadron ' s first assignment after commissioning was to board for service on the China Station . This was short - lived , and by January 1935 both the squadron and the carrier were in the Mediterranean . The squadron was transferred to Hal Far , Malta in March , while " Eagle " returned to Britain for a refit . replaced " Eagle " , and the squadron alternated its time between the carrier and the aerodrome at Hal Far . They returned briefly to the UK in May 1937 to attend the Coronation Fleet Review , before retaking their station in the Mediterranean , and were transferred to Admiralty control on 24 May 1939 . Wartime service . Mediterranean and the North Sea . With the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 , 825 Squadron embarked on HMS " Glorious " at Dekheila , Egypt and headed into the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea to search for enemy shipping . They carried out these duties throughout the rest of 1939 , returning the Mediterranean in January 1940 , where they again returned to Hal Far . The squadron re - embarked on " Glorious " in March and sailed to Britain to defend Norway after the German invasion . On their arrival , they disembarked at RNAS Prestwick . With the sinking of HMS " Glorious " by the German pocket battleship and on 8 June 1940 , the squadron was transferred to operate from Worthy Down , Detling and Thorney Island , covering allied forces in France and the Low Countries as the German forces advanced . They were active in covering the Dunkirk evacuation , during which they lost eight of their 12 aircraft ; five were lost in a single bombing raid on 29 May 1940 , including its commander Jimmy Buckley who was awarded the DSC for his actions during this period . Atlantic and the " Bismarck " . The depleted squadron was brought up to nine aircraft in July 1940 and embarked aboard . They then operated off the Norwegian coast in September , carrying out night attacks on Trondheim and Tromsø . After the British withdrawal , the squadron remained aboard " Furious " , and by February 1941 was off the Gold Coast . They joined in May 1941 , and took part in the Home Fleet ' s hunt for the battleship . After sighting " Bismarck " on 24 May , aircraft from the squadron carried out an attack on 25 May , scoring a single hit which slowed her . Another series of attacks by Fairey Swordfish of 810 and 818 Naval Air Squadron s flying from the following day succeeded in disabling " Bismarck " s steering gear . She was subsequently engaged by ships of the Home Fleet and sank on 27 May . The Channel Dash . The squadron embarked on HMS " Ark Royal " in June 1941 to provide cover for the Malta Convoys . Aircraft of 825 Squadron carried out raids on targets in Pantellaria , Sardinia and Sicily in September . A number of the squadron ' s aircraft were lost in the sinking of " Ark Royal " on 14 October . The remainder flew to Gibraltar , where the squadron was disbanded . It was re - formed with Fairey Swordfish at RNAS Lee - on - Solent in January 1942 , and tasked with a torpedo bomber reconnaissance duties . Six of the squadron ' s aircraft flew off from RAF Manston to attack " Scharnhorst " and " Gneisenau " and the heavy cruiser in the English Channel , as they carried out Operation Cerberus . The attacking aircraft failed to score any hits , and all six were lost . The Commanding Officer — Eugene Esmonde — was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross . Five of the aircrew survived , and were also decorated . Arctic and Atlantic convoys . After regrouping at Lee - on - Solent in March 1942 , the squadron sent three aircraft aboard where they covered the Arctic convoy s to Russia . They attacked six U - boat s , and shared credit with the destroyer for sinking . The squadron then operated under 16th Group RAF Coastal Command , flying out of Thorney Island and Exeter . They then embarked aboard HMS " Furious " in March 1943 , covering convoys sailing to Iceland and making sweeps for enemy submarines off Norway . They transferred to with six Sea Hurricane IIC s , and later another three Fulmar II s to cover the Atlantic convoys . Aircraft from the squadron sank on 15 March 1944 and on 6 May 1944 . 825 Squadron was re - equipped with 12 Swordfish IIIs in August and sailed with " Vindex " to cover the Arctic convoys . They sank on 22 August 1944 , while the squadron ' s Sea Hurricanes damaged another and claimed another as a possible kill that same day . was sunk jointly with the Fleet on 24 August , and was sunk on 2 September . The squadron transferred to in March 1945 , where the Sea Hurricanes were replaced by eight Wildcat VI s . They continued in the Arctic before returning to Britain . The Swordfish were then absorbed into 815 Naval Air Squadron , followed by the Wildcats in May . 825 Squadron then ceased to exist . 825 Squadron was reformed in July 1945 at RNAS Rattray as a Canadian - manned force . It was intended that it would consist of 12 Barracuda IIs , and form part of the 19th Carrier Air Group aboard a " Colossus " - class aircraft carrier . This did not happen immediately , and the squadron remained a Royal Navy one . Post - war service . The commissioning of HMCS " Warrior " in January 1946 led to the transferral of the squadron to the Royal Canadian Navy . It served with them until being renumbered 880 Squadron ( RCN ) in May 1951 . The 825 designation then returned to the Royal Navy , and the squadron reformed in June 1951 at RNAS Eglinton . The squadron was recommissioned several times over the next decade , operating as an anti - submarine unit equipped with Fairey Gannet s , and seeing service in the Korean War . During this period , they spent time operating off . It then re - formed at RNAS Culdrose on 16 August 1960 , equipped with Whirlwind HAS . 7s . The squadron was deployed in the Middle East during crises between Iraq and Kuwait in 1961 . It then transferred most of its aircraft to 824 Squadron , returning to the UK aboard . In late 1961 they took part in relief operations after Mombasa was hit by flooding . They were again disbanded on 2 April 1962 . The outbreak of the Falklands War in 1982 led to the re - forming of the squadron on 3 May 1982 equipped with Sea King HAS . 2 / 2As . The aircraft came from 706 Naval Air Squadron , or were taken from other units or storage . Eight Sea Kings sailed for the Falklands on 12 May , aboard the " Atlantic Causeway " , with another two sailing the following day aboard . The squadron operated from British forward bases , and Port San Carlos until their return to the UK in late July . They were disbanded at Culdrose on 17 September 1982 .