THE RETURN OF 809 SQUADRON ‘THE IMMORTALS’

THE RETURN OF 809 SQUADRON ‘THE IMMORTALS’

Captain James Blackmore is currently involved in rebuilding the Royal Navy’s carrier strike focus as he serves as commander air group (CAG) for the UK Carrier Strike Group. Jim Winchester speaks with him about the squadron destined to be the second front-line F-35B Lightning unit.

Although not due to be operational for a few more years, the first Fleet Air Arm (FAA) Lightning squadron will be 809 Naval Air Squadron (NAS), known as ‘The Immortals’ from the motto on their squadron badge. The squadron has had a fascinating and varied history, albeit a very sporadic one, having been disbanded and reformed many times since the early days of World War II.

Appropriately, the squadron’s phoenix emblem symbolises the rebirth of the fixed-wing Fleet Air Arm after years of dormancy. The ‘new’ 809 NAS will stand up in 2023, by which time the UK should have around 35 F-35Bs in service, and both carriers at full operational capability. It will take its place alongside 617 Sqn, the RAF’s operational Lightning unit, and 207 Sqn, the OCU (Operational Conversion Unit), which also has anaval heritage, being originally formed as 7 Sqn RNAS in 1916.

Tracing its origins to its formation at St. Merryn, Cornwall in January 1941, 809 NAS initially flew Fairey Fulmar fighters. With these it took part in strikes on Norway and escorted Arctic convoys, attacked the Tirpitz, was part of Operation Pedestal bringing supplies to Malta in August 1942, and from Spring 1943 flew Supermarine Seafires in the Mediterranean and Far East. Post-war, 809 operated de Havilland Sea Hornets, and in the 1956 Suez Crisis, the squadron’s de Havilland Sea Venoms struck Egyptian targets from HMS Albion.

A Fairey Fulmar of 809 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) leaves the flight deck of HMS Victorious in 1941. Top: Officers and ratings of 809 NAS on formation with one of the squadron’s Fairey Fulmars at RNAS Lee on Solent in January 1941.

Photo Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy

Reformed as the operational flying training squadron for the Blackburn Buccaneer S.1 in 1963, 809 was disbanded in 1965, only to reform in 1966 on the Buccaneer S.2. This era would be the longest for the squadron, lasting until 1978, when they disbanded as the last RN ‘Bucc’ unit. Flying from HMS Ark Royal, 809 made a notable show-of-force mission in 1972 when two aircraft flew over British Honduras (now Belize) as part of a successful effort to dissuade Guatemalan forces from invading.

The phoenix rose again in April 1982, when a ‘scratch’ squadron of Sea Harriers was formed at the height of the Falklands conflict. Eight aircraft were brought together from storage, training and trials duties, and pilots were called back from exchange programmes or found in the RAF Harrier force, while ratings came from training unit 899 Sqn. The squadron flew to Ascension Island, and from that mid-Atlantic island they embarked the container ship Atlantic Conveyer for the journey south. Flying off to the aircraft carriers HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes, the eight Sea Harriers and their pilots were split between 800 and 801 Squadrons, but 809 continued its existence at Yeovilton, working up to full operational status. In early August the squadron sailed on the newly commissioned HMS Illustrious for the South Atlantic.

An 809 Squadron Supermarine Seafire landing on HMS Stalker in 1944.

Photo Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy

The Sea Harriers rotated ashore from ‘Lusty’ to provide air defence for Port Stanley while the airport was upgraded to accept RAF Phantoms. The squadron sailed on HMS Illustrious for the United Kingdom in late October and after spending some time in the Caribbean and US East Coast, 809 was disbanded on Dec. 17, 1982.

At the time, a few lines were penned by an anonymous 809 member, who foresaw the squadron would one day return: Alas too soon the day draws nigh When the Phoenix squadron must cease to fly, Though fire and flames are forced to dwindle, The immortal spark awaits rekindle. The snuffing out could hardly be faster, But watch the BIRD at the next disaster!

A de Havilland Sea Venom of 809 NAS, painted in Operation Musketeer ‘invasion stripes’ taxies to the catapult aboard HMS Albion during the Suez Crisis in 1956.

Photo Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy

The phoenix indeed remained dormant until it was announced in September 2013 that 809 would become the UK’s third F-35 Lightning squadron.

Commander Air Group

As a lieutenant commander, James Blackmore flew the last Harrier GR.9 off HMS Ark Royal on Nov. 24, 2010. Today, Capt Blackmore is aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth as the Commander Air Group (CAG) as the carrier sails on WESTLANT 19 for further F-35B sea trials.

Why was 809 Sqn chosen? ‘Its heritage as a long-serving naval air squadron having flown numerous naval aircraft in the maritime strike role’, is the main reason, says Blackmore, but there are other historical parallels, including its use of aircraft also flown by the RAF. ‘Jointery goes back as far as the Seafire, which was a maritime version of the Spitfire’, he points out.

Preparations for the Immortals to return are underway. ‘We are already training the pilots and maintainers who will stand up at RAF Marham in 2023. In January/February 2020 we will start carrier qualifications for the first ab initio pilots on 207 Sqn’. Some of these aviators will go on to form the core of the reborn 809 NAS.

When Blackmore flew that last GR.9 off HMS Ark Royal in 2010, it was as part of the Joint Force Harrier, consisting of one FAA and two RAF Harrier squadrons, but things have changed a great deal since then. ‘We don’t call it a joint force because that’s so much a given these days’, says Blackmore. ‘The balance of personnel agreed some time ago is 42 percent RN and 58 percent RAF, although the proportion waxes and wanes’. The first CO of 809 will be a Royal Navy pilot, although who it will be won’t be announced for a year or two. Next year, 617 will have an RN CO (when Cdr Mark Sparrow takes over in the first quarter of 2020). Trials unit 17 Sqn has had an RN CO, and 207 will have one in the future. ‘That’s just how joint it is’, reveals Blackmore.

A Buccaneer S.2 of 809 NAS prepares to launch from HMS Ark Royal during the aircraft carrier’s final commission in 1977-78. 809 was the last Royal Navy squadron to operate the Buccaneer.

Photo Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy

By 2023, the UK will be able to deploy one carrier at sea with at least 24 aircraft in two squadrons. As Blackmore explains, ‘2023 is that landmark when we gain our capability as a carrier strike force, with 809 and 617 Sqns, augmented with a third squadron if needed, which could be from the United States Marine Corps, and 809 is at the centre of that capability. It’s fantastic that a squadron with such a history will be flying alongside 617 Sqn with its own huge heritage’.