771 Naval Air Squadron

The squadron carried out various exercises with ships and provided towed targets for naval air gunners, and was decommissioned on 22 March 2016.

The reshaped 771 NAS was based at RNAS Hatston flying a variety of fixed-wing aircraft, ranging from Supermarine Walruses to Hawker Hurricanes, from airfields across the UK and abroad.

The Commanding Officer of HMS Sparrowhawk, Captain Henry Lockhart St John Fancourt, RN, had been ordered to identify and sink the Bismarck at the earliest opportunity.

On 22 May 1941 RAF Coastal Command deemed the weather unsuitable for flight; however, Fancourt volunteered to put together a crew to fly 771's Martin Maryland twin-engined plane to carry out the sortie.

Acting on Rotherhams's radio message, the Home Fleet were set to sea and engage the Bismarck and her escorts intercepting her at the Battle of the Denmark Straits.

On 16 September 1941 The London Gazette reported the awarding of the following honours: Rotherham received the DSO,[1] Goddard the DSC,[2] and Armstrong the DSM.

During the Defence reductions following the Second World War it was decided that 771 would be disbanded in August 1955 (whilst operating the Avro Anson, de Havilland Sea Hornet, Gloster Meteor, de Havilland Sea Vampire and Fairey Firefly) when it combined with 703 Naval Air Squadron to form 700 Naval Air Squadron.

On 23 June 1967, the squadron reformed with the new primary task of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) Fleet Requirements Unit, in addition to the Portland SAR duty.

In January 1983 the Squadron once again operated mixed fleets of rotary and fixed wing aircraft as it absorbed the Station Flight, taking ownership of two Chipmunks and 2 Sea Devons.

The Wessex were replaced by Westland Sea King HAS.5s, converted to HAR.5s, in October 1987 as the Squadron assumed a long range, day/night and all weather SAR capability.

In its final years the Squadron operated the Sea King HAR.5 in the grey and red colours, with nine permanently stationed at RNAS Culdrose.

With the limitations in civilian flight rules for the Cornwall Air Ambulance pilots 771 was also often called upon to perform patient and hospital transfers throughout the West Country.

These were typically when the Air Ambulance was engaged in other duties, in poor weather, at night or where no suitable landing place was close by, allowing the Sea King to utilise its winch.

771 Squadron Westland Whirlwind HAS.7 SAR rescue helicopter at Portland in 1967.
Lysander
Martinet TT.1
Royal Navy Hurricane
Hellcat
Seafire F.15
Mosquito Mk.16
Sea Hornet FR.20
Sea Fury T.20
Sturgeon TT.2
Firefly T.1
Firefly AS.6
Dragonfly
Westland Wasp HAS.1
Whirlwind
Wessex HU.5 similar given to 847 NAS and 848 NAS for the Falklands Conflict