814 Naval Air Squadron
| 814 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Country | UK |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Type | Ship based squadron |
| Role | Anti-Submarine Warfare |
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
| Garrison/HQ | RNAS Culdrose |
| Motto(s) | “in hoc signo vinces” – “in this sign you will conquer” |
| Equipment | Merlin Mk.1 |
814 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. It was formed in December 1938 and has been disbanded and reformed several times before becoming its present state.
History
The squadron was formed on December 1938 as a Torpedo Squadron equipped with 6 Swordfish aircraft. It embarked on HMS Hermesand helped search for the Graf Spee. In April 1942 HMS Hermes was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Ceylon and the squadron disbanded. The squadron was reformed in July 1944, equipped with Barracudas, to embark on HMS Venerable and headed to the Far East for patrols.
The squadron was equipped with the Firefly aircraft for anit-submarine warfare onboard HMS Vengeance. In 1960 the Squadron was equipped with its first helicopter, the Whirlwind, (later replaced with the Wessex Mk.1) and embarked on HMS Victorious to patrol east of the Suez. It was disbanded in July 1970.
It was reformed on March 1973 with four Sea King Mk.1 helicopters and was embarked on HMS Bulwark, before arriving at RNAS Culdrose on 9 April 1976. In August 1982 the squadron embarked on HMS Illustrious for South Atlantic patrols. It was was upgraded to the Sea King Mk.6 in October 1990 and onboard HMS Invincible during for the Gulf and Kosovo wars. It was disbanded on December 2000.
It was reformed again in October 20001, equipped with the Merlin Mk.1 and has seen action aboard HMS Illustrious and in Iraq. The squadron is designed to be aboard ships or operate from shore.