1790 Naval Air Squadron

1790 Naval Air Squadron (1790 NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It was formed on 1 January 1945 at RNAS Burscough as a night fighter squadron.^[3] It was initially equipped with the Fairey Firefly I, replaced in May 1945 by the Firefly INF, which was fitted with a US-derived ASV radar. The squadron joined HMS Vindex on 24 June, bound for Australia, with the ship arriving at HMS Nabthorpe (the Mobile Naval Air Base at RAAF Station Schofields) 2 days before the war in the Far East ended. The squadron was disbanded on 3 June 1946 at Devonport.^[3]

1790 Naval Air Squadron
Fairey Firefly; an example of the type used by 1790 NAS
Active	1 January 1945 – 3 June 1946
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Two-seat fighter squadron
Role	Night fighter
Size	Squadron
Part of	Fleet Air Arm
Home station	See Naval air stations section for full list.
Commanders
Notable commanders	Lieutenant Commander(A) J.H Kneale, RNVR
Insignia
Identification Markings	4A+[1] 282-298 (later on)[2]
Aircraft flown
Fighter	Fairey Firefly

History

Night Fighter Squadron (1945–1946)

1790 Naval Air Squadron formed at RNAS Burscough (HMS Ringtail), Lancashire, England, on 1 January 1945, as a night fighter squadron. It was initially equipped with Fairey Firefly I, a carrier-borne fighter, anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft. These were replaced with the NF.Mk I night fighter variant during May,^[1] which was fitted with radar in a centre-line container.^[4]

Around the end of May / beginning of June the squadron was embarked in the Ruler-class escort carrier HMS Puncher for deck landing practice^[2] and later it embarked in the Nairana-class escort carrier HMS Vindex for passage to Australia. It arrived in Australia two days before the end of the second world war, disembarking for RNAS Schofields (HMS Nabstock), New South Wales, on 13 August 1945, with V-J Day on 15 August.^[5]

In January 1790 Naval Air Squadron embarked on the name ship of her class HMS Implacable, replacing the Fairey Firefly equipped 1771 Naval Air Squadron within the 8th Carrier Air Group.^[2] It disembarked from the carrier on 28 March to RNAS Schofields remaining there for around one month, however, it was one of the last front-line units to depart the airbase along with 801 Naval Air Squadron when they both re-joined HMS Implacable for passage to the United Kingdom on 29 April.^[5]

Upon arrival at Devonport, 1790 Naval Air Squadron disbanded on 3 June 1936.^[2]

Aircraft flown

1790 Naval Air Squadron flew only one aircraft type, two variants:^[2]

• Fairey Firefly I fighter and anti-submarine aircraft (January - May 1945)
• Fairey Firefly NF.Mk I night fighter (May 1945 - April 1946)

Naval air stations

1790 Naval Air Squadron operated from a naval air stations of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom, one in Australia and a number of Royal Navy aircraft carriers:^[6]

• Royal Naval Air Station Burscough (HMS Ringtail), Lancashire, (1 January - 24 June 1945)
  • HMS Puncher (Deck Landing Practice (DLP) 25 May - 5 June 1945)
• HMS Vindex (24 June - 13 August 1945)
• Royal Naval Air Station Schofields (HMS Nabthorpe/HMS Nabstock), New South Wales, (13 August 1945 - 16 January 1946)
• HMS Implacable (16 January - 28 March 1946)
• Royal Naval Air Station Schofields (HMS Nabstock), New South Wales, (28 March - 29 April 1946)
• HMS Implacable (29 April - 3 June 1946)
• disbanded - United Kingdom (3 June 1946)

Commanding officers

List of commanding officers of 1790 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:^[1][2]

• Lieutenant Commander(A) J.H. Kneale, RNVR, from 1 January 1945
• Lieutenant Commander(A) B.C. Lyons, RNVR, from 9 November 1945
• disbanded - 3 June 1946

Note: Abbreviation (A) signifies Air Branch of the RN or RNVR.^[7]