813 Naval Air Squadron
| 813 Naval Air Squadron | |
|---|---|
Squadron badge | |
| Active | Royal Air Force 18 January 1937 - 24 May 1939 Royal Navy 24 May 1939 - 18 October 1943 1 November 1943 - 15 May 1945 1 September 1945 - 30 September 1946 1 May 1947 - 21 November 1955 26 November 1956 - 22 April 1958 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Allegiance | Northwest African Coastal Air Force |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Type | Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance squadron |
| Role |
|
| Part of | Fleet Air Arm |
| Home station | See Naval air stations section for full list. |
| Motto(s) | 'Full sail' |
| Aircraft | See Aircraft flown section for full list. |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Battle honours |
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| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge Descrition | White, over three wavy blue an eagle displayed reversed black (1938) |
| Identification Markings |
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| Fin Carrier/Shore Codes | |
813 Naval Air Squadron (813 NAS), was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN) during World War II and again post-war. It most recently operated the Westland Wyvern between November 1956 and April 1958.
It initially operated Swordfish Mk Is from the aircraft carrier Illustrious and took part in the successful raid on Taranto in November 1940. In July 1943, the squadron was a component of RAF Gibraltar but a detachment of its Swordfish (torpedo spotter reconnaissance) was based at Tafaraoui, Algeria and assigned to the Northwest African Coastal Air Force (NACAF) for Operation Husky.
From April 1944 the squadron, including a detachment of Wildcats and three Fulmar NF II night fighters, were deployed on the escort carrier HMS Campania operating in the Arctic Ocean on convoy duty. On 13 December 1944 two of 813's Swordfish were responsible for the sinking of German submarine U-365 by depth charges.
Postwar, the squadron was tasked as a torpedo fighter unit, initially equipped with Blackburn Firebrand aircraft. Between February 1953 and April 1958 the squadron was equipped with turboprop powered Westland Wyvern strike aircraft. 813 Squadron disbanded for the last time on 22 April 1958.