765 Naval Air Squadron

765 Naval Air Squadron
765 NAS badge
Active	24 May 1939 - 25 October 1943 10 February 1944 - 23 April 1946 14 February 1955 - 25 March 1957[1]
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
Role	Basic Seaplane Training and Pool Squadron Travelling Recording Unit Transport Squadron Piston Engine Pilot Pool
Size	Squadron
Part of	Fleet Air Arm
Motto(s)	Praesidium navibus (Latin for 'A safeguard for ships')[2]
Aircraft	See Aircraft operated section for full list.
Insignia
Squadron Badge	Blue, a dragon statant gold armed and langued red holding in his dexter claw a stabbing spear point downward also gold (1945)[2]
Identification Markings	Y8A+ Swordfish & Seafox L3A+ & LB3A+ Walrus BL3A+ Kingfisher L8A+ Wellington[3] individual letters (1945-1946) 272-280 & 329-336 Firefly 623-624 Oxford 717-724 Firefly (from January 1956) 729-730 Oxford (from January 1956) 791-794 Sea Balliol[2]
Tail Codes	CU (1956 - 1957)

765 Naval Air Squadron (765 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It formed at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus), in May 1939, as a Seaplane School and Pool squadron. The squadron moved to RNAS Sandbanks, in August 1940, where it undertook the Seaplane Flying Training Course Part I. Lieutenant Commander J.B. Wilson was appointed as dual officer in charge of the air base, and Commanding officer of 765 NAS. By the middle of 1943, dedicated Seaplane Training schools ended and the squadron disbanded in the October. 765 NAS reformed at RNAS Charlton Horethorne (HMS Heron II), in early February 1944, as a Travelling Recording Unit. The squadron moved to RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus) in March, before moving to RNAS Worthy Down (HMS Kestrel) on one month later during April, then in May it moved to RNAS Stretton (HMS Blackcap), were it remained during June.

The squadron returned to RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus) at the start of August 1944, it was equipped with Vickers Wellington, a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber aircraft, which were fitted with radar and used to record the effectiveness of other radar units. It moved to RNAS Twatt (HMS Tern) in September, operating there until the November, when it flew to RAF Eastchurch and then onto RAF Hornchurch. The squadron provided naval co-operation in liaison with No. 567 Squadron, an anti-aircraft co-operation squadron of the Royal Air Force; after the end of World War II, the squadron moved to RAF Manston in June 1945. 765 NAS's next move was to Malta, in the October, based at RNAS Hal Far (HMS Falcon), it provided air transport for personnel, stationed within the Mediterranean Rim, to return home, via Malta. It disbanded at Hal Far in April 1946.

765 Naval Air Squadron reformed for the third time, in May 1955, at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) as a Piston Engine Pilot Pool and it also provided refresher flying for Fleet Air Arm pilots. For almost two years, it trained over two hundred pilots, on either Fairey Firefly, a carrier-borne fighter and anti-submarine aircraft, or Airspeed Oxford, a twin-engine monoplane trainer aircraft, with the squadron disbanding, at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk), in March 1957.