814 Squadron

In hoc signo vinces

(In this sign you will conquer)

Callsign : FLYING TIGERS

Nato Tiger Association status : full member

814 Naval Air Squadron began life in December 1938 operating six legendary Fairey Swordfish I torpedo bombers.

At the outbreak of war in 1939, 814 moved on to HMS Hermes (95), the world's first ship to be designed as an aircraft carrier.  Her limitations did not suit European seas, so she was mainly used for convoy protection in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean.

On 8 July 1940 Hermes‘ 814 NAS Swordfish attacked the Vichy French battleship 'Richelieu' at Dakar, in French West Africa (modern-day Senegal).  One of their torpedoes struck the ship aft on the starboard side and tore a 9,3m by 8,5m hole between the propeller shafts.  The resulting shock disabled many of the ship's systems.  Two of her fire control directors were knocked off their tracks, the starboard propeller shafts were bent, and the blast caused significant flooding.  Damage control teams pumped fuel out of the bunkers to counteract the loss of buoyancy aft and the ship was towed into port for repairs.  As a result the battleship was disabled for over a year.

In April 1942, while en route to the Indian Ocean from Trincomalee to the Maldives, the Hermes was attacked and sunk by Japanese aircraft.  Luckily, the Swordfish of 814 NAS had left her earlier that month.

The squadron was re-formed up with Faifrey Barracudas in 1944 to embark in HMS Venerable (R63) for the Far East.  Post-war 814 adapted to a succession of aircraft, both in type and version: Fairey Firefly FR.1/FR.4/Mk 5/AS.6, Grumman Avenger AS.4/AS.5 and Fairey Gannet AS.4/T.2, all in the in the Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role.

In 1960 814 NAS welcomed its first rotary wing – the Westland Whirlwind helicopter.  The Westland Wessex Mk.3 brought the squadron its first radar-equipped ASW helicopter in 1967 .

A brief lull saw the squadron out of commission between 1970 and 1973, before bursting back onto the scene in 1973 at HMS Gannet (previously also known as Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Prestwick) with the new Sea Kings ASW Mk1.

It was in April 1976 that the squadron settled in Cornwall’s RNAS Culdrose (also known as HMS Seahawk) – where it has remained to this day; although its aircraft have been through both reincarnations and total transformations.

The new Mk.2 ASW Sea King arrived in 1977 – after the squadron had played a role in the evacuation of Cyprus – and in addition 814 was the first Naval squadron fitted with passive sonar equipment.

814 operated the Mk.5 and Mk.6 incarnations through the last two decades of the 20th Century.  The Mk.6 flew from carrier HMS Invincible during the Gulf, Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts.

814 marked the birth of the new millennium by disbanding in December 2000.  But ten months later the Flying Tigers were back – the striped faces now borne (subtly) upon the Merlin HM1.

In 2014 the Merlin HM Mk1 was retired.  814 NAS gave the Merlin HM Mk.1 her operational debut and deployed to the Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean and the Gulf across 14 years of service.

(all aircraft are to scale, not all drawings show an aircraft in 814 markings)

Aircraft

Fairey Swordfish Mk I

Fairey Barracuda Mk II

Fairey Firefly FR.1

Fairey Firefly FR.4

Fairey Firefly Mk.5

Fairey Firefly AS.6

Grumman Avenger AS.4

Grumman Avenger AS.5

Fairey Gannet AS.4

Fairey Gannet T.2

Westland Whirlwind HAS.7

Westland Wessex HAS.1

Westland Wessex HAS.3

Westland Sea King HAS.1

Westland Sea King HAS.2

Westland Sea King HAS.2a

Westland Sea King HAS.5

Westland Sea King HAS.6

AgustaWestland Merlin HM1

AgustaWestland Merlin HM2

814 Squadron

Royal Naval Air Station Prestwick (HMS Gannet)

Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose (HMS Seahawk)

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text & picture sources : own collection & library + the world wide web / No copyright infringement intended : drawings, photos, etc. belong to the rightful owners.