721 Naval Air Squadron

721 Naval Air Squadron
Active	1 March 1945 - 31 December 1947
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron
Role	Fleet Requirements Unit
Size	Squadron
Part of	Fleet Air Arm
Insignia
Identification Markings	Individual Letters
Aircraft flown
Bomber	Vultee Vengeance
Fighter	Vought Corsair Supermarine Seafire
Patrol	Supermarine Walrus Supermarine Sea Otter
Trainer	de Havilland Tiger Moth

Vultee Vengeance of the type used by 721 NAS

721 Naval Air Squadron (721 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA). 721 Naval Air Squadron formed at HMS Gadwall, RNAS Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the beginning of March 1945, as a Fleet Requirements Unit for the British Pacific Fleet. Initially equipped with Vultee Vengeance target tugs, it arrived at HMS Nabaron, RNAS Ponam, Admiralty Islands in May 1945, and commenced operations towing targets. The squadron moved to HMS Nabsford, RNAMY Archerfield, Brisbane, Australia, during October and then relocated to Hong Kong at the beginning of 1946, moving to HMS Nabcatcher, RNAS Kai Tak, where it eventually disbanded at the end of 1947.

History of 721 NAS

Fleet Requirements Unit (1945 - 1947)

721 Naval Air Squadron formed up at RNAS Belfast (HMS Gadwall) on 1 March 1945 as a Fleet Requirements Unit for operations in the Pacific. The squadron personnel consisted commanding officer Lieutenant Commander(A) F.A. Simpson, RNVR, six pilots and six Telegraphist Air Gunners. It was initially equipped with twelve Vultee Vengeance TT.IV, an American dive bomber aircraft modified as a target tug, six which were sent on the Ruler-class escort carrier, HMS Begum and the other six were used for aircraft familiarisation while at RNAS Belfast.

721 Fleet Requirements Unit personnel and aircraft all embarked in HMS Begum on 17 April, and sailed from the Clyde, via Gibraltar, Suez Canal, Colombo and arrived at at Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands, the British Pacific Fleet's forward base. The squadron disembarked from HMS Begum on 28 May to RNAS Ponum (HMS Nabaron), Ponam Island, a former United States Navy airstrip transferred to the Royal Navy on loan, which was home to Mobile Naval Air Base No. IV (MONAB IV) and provided target towing duties.

On 9 October the squadron embarked in the aircraft repair ship and light aircraft carrier HMS Unicorn for passage to RNAMY Archerfield (HMS Nabsford), Archerfield airport, Brisbane. It arrived there on 15 October to re-equip and received twelve Vultee Vengeance target tug aircraft, six Boulton Paul Defiant, a fighter converted to target tugs variant, nine Vought Corsair, an American carrier-based fighter-bomber, two Grumman Avenger, an American torpedo bomber and a single North American Harvard, an American advanced trainer aircraft. At the end of 1945 it was decided that Hong Kong needed a resident Fleet Requirements Unit and the squadron embarked in the Ruler-class escort carrier HMS Speaker for passage to Hong Kong, on 28 December.

The squadron disembarked on 11 January 1946 to RNAS Kai Tak (HMS Nabcatcher), Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong. The airfield at Kai Tak was a joint Royal Navay / Royal Air Force station, the RN (West) side of the station housed Mobile Naval Air Base No. VIII (MONAB VIII). Here, part of 721 Naval Air Squadron began working with RN Mobile Malaria Hygiene Unit No. 1 to eradicate the mosquito infestation from the colony. Three Vultee Vengeance TT.IVs, supplied by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), were fitted for spraying the insecticide DDT. The Anti-Malarial Air Spraying Unit (AMASU), was an independent unit but relied upon the squadron for engineering and crew support.

Vought Corsair fighter-bomber aircraft arrived in June for Fleet Requirements Unit work, issued from the reserve stock at the airfield, these were followed by Supermarine Seafire, a navalised version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft in November. The following month the squadron's 'B' Flight embarked in the Colossus-class fleet carrier HMS Glory for a period of time and notably this was the last FAA unit to operate Vought Corsair. On 27 August the squadron took over six Supermarine Sea Otter, an amphibious air-sea rescue aircraft and another RAAF Tiger Moth, a biplane trainer aircraft, from the disbanding 1701 Naval Air Squadron and these form an air-sea rescue (ASR) flight. On the same day the airbase was reduced in status to RN Air Section Kai Tak. 721 Naval Air squadron disbanded at RN Air Section Kai Tak on 31 December 1947.

Aircraft flown

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

• Vultee Vengeance TT.IV (March 1945 - May 1947)
• Vultee Vengeance II (April 1946 - May 1947)
• de Havilland Tiger Moth (May - August 1946)
• Vought Corsair Mk IV (June 1946 - September 1947)
• Supermarine Sea Otter MK I (August 1946 - November 1947)
• Supermarine Sea Otter MK II (August 1946 - November 1947)
• Supermarine Seafire F Mk XV (November 1946 - November 1947)
• Supermarine Walrus (1946)

Naval Air Stations

721 Naval Air Squadron operated from a naval air stations of the Royal Navy, in the United Kingdom, a number of escort carriers and airbases overseas:

• Royal Naval Air Station BELFAST (HMS Gadwall) (1 March 1945 - 16 April 1945)
• HMS Begum (16 April 1945 - 30 May 1945)
• Royal Naval Air Station PONAM (HMS Nabaron) (30 May 1945 - 9 October 1945)
• HMS Unicorn (9 October 1945 - 15 October 1945)
• Royal Naval Aircraft Maintenance Yard ARCHERFIELD (HMS Nabsford) (15 October 1945 - 28 December 1945)
• HMS Speaker (28 December 1945 - 11 January 1946)
• Royal Naval Air Station KAI TAK (HMS Nabcatcher) (11 January 1946 - 31 December 1947)
  • HMS Glory (R62) ('B' Flight) (December 1946)
• disbanded - (31 December 1947)

Commanding Officers

List of commanding officers of 721 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:

• Lieutenant commander(A) F.A. Simpson, RNVR, from 1 March 1945
• Lieutenant J.L. Moore, RN, from 7 March 1946
• Lieutenant R.D. Head, DSC & Bar, RN, 19 November 1946
• disbanded - 31 December 1947

References

Bibliography

• Ballance, Theo; Howard, Lee; Sturtivant, Ray (2016). The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm. Air Britain Historians Limited. ISBN 978-0-85130-489-2.
• Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-223-8.
• Thetford, Owen (1991). British Naval Aircraft since 1912. London, UK: Putnam Aeronautical Books, an imprint of Conway Maritime Press Ltd. ISBN 0-85177-849-6.
• Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-9303-6.