| 781 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
 781 NAS badge | |
| Active | 20 March 1940 - 31 July 1945 27 June 1946 - 31 March 1981[1] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Type | Fleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron |
| Role | Communications Squadron |
| Size | Squadron |
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
| Motto(s) | 'Reliability'[2] |
| Aircraft | See Aircraft operated section for full list. |
| Decorations | Boyd Trophy 1959 |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge | Barry wavy of eight white and blue, a wheel winged gold (1952)[2] |
| Identification Markings | L8A+, L9A+ and L0A+ (from 1942)[3] L1A+ (Beaufighter 1943) 101-167 (Seafire from 1946) 201-293 (various types from 1946) 301-306 (Sea Otter from 1946) 441-453 (Meteor / Sea Vampire from 1946) 601-608 (Oxford from 1946) 850-869 (transport types from 1946) 740-755 (all types from January 1956) 814-829 (all types from July 1965)[4] |
| Tail Codes | LP (Seafire, Sea Otter & transport types from June 1946) LP (all types from January 1956) LS (all types from July 1964)[4] |
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781 Naval Air Squadron (781 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm which disbanded at the end of March 1981. Planned as a Reserve Amphibious Bomber Reconnaissance squadron, it formed as a Communications Unit in March 1940 and operated a large variety of aircraft. It provided a Bristol Beaufighter conversion course which eventually became 798 Naval Air Squadron and also had a ‘B’ Flight at Heathrow and then Heston aerodromes before becoming 701 Naval Air Squadron. After the Allied invasion of Normandy the squadron flew to various Royal Navy units on the continent and established an ‘X’ Flight based in France and then Germany. In July 1945 the squadron disbanded into 782 Naval Air Squadron although the ‘X’ Flight was moved to 799 Naval Air Squadron.
It reformed out of ‘B’ Flight of 799 Naval Air Squadron in June 1946, as the Southern Communications Squadron and re-acquired the ‘X’ Flight. The squadron performed many roles and picked up refresher flying and by 1952 had a Communications section, a Training and Miscellaneous section, an Instrument Flying Examining section along with Search and Rescue, and later in the year a Junior Officers Air Course (JOAC) Flight was formed. During the mid-fifties it provided practice flying for Admiralty pilots and in the late-fifties the JOAC became 702 Naval Air Squadron.
The squadron picked up the Boyd Trophy for efficiency with the Communications role in 1959 and also that year saw the first helicopters, Westland Whirlwind, arrived on strength. Ten years later Westland Wessex replaced the Westland Whirlwind helicopters and the squadron provided surveillance and fisheries protection flights around the United Kingdom.
- ^ Sturtivant, Ballance 1994, p. 101.
- ^ a b Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 83.
- ^ Wragg 2019, p. 134.
- ^ a b Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 85.