899 Disbanded

[Razor61]

Haven't seen it elsewhere, but 899NAS disbanded this morning at a small ceremony at Yeovilton.

Apparently an F/A2 blew a tyre upon landing after a little whizz around.

Farewell to 899 :( :sad: :{

[Widger]

So long to the Flying Fist. Looking forward to seeing the name again in the next decade.




899 Squadron History.....First formed on 15 December 1942 at RNAS Hatston in the Orkneys with Seafire aircraft, the Squadron first detached in HMS Indomitable in January 1943. After a short work up in the Clyde area it provided fighter cover for the Sicily landings in July 1943. The Squadron soon saw action again while providing close air support to the Allied landings at Salerno before disembarking to Ballyhalbert in Northern Ireland in October. In April 1944, whilst embarked in HMS Khedive, the Squadron flew 201 sorties in support of Allied landings in the South of France. The following few months were spent on recce and bombing missions against shipping and shore targets in the Aegean before again disembarking to Northern Ireland, this time to Long Kesh.

During the early stages of 1945 the Squadron deployed to Sydney, Australia where they were tasked to help establish and train the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm. 899 disbanded on the 27 September 1945 having flown over 500 operational sorties.

On 7 November 1955 the Squadron reformed flying Seahawks, and took part in the Operation Musketeer (part of the Suez Campaign) the following year, flying from HMS Eagle. 899 disbanded again on 5 Jan 57 having flown over 4000 hours and logging 2000 deck landings in under 14 months .
899 recommissioned on 1 Feb 61, equipped with the Sea Vixen Mk 1 fighter to become the Sea Vixen HQ Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton. Assuming front-line status again in July 1964, initially as the Intensive Flying Training Unit for the Sea Vixen Mk 2, 899 was held on standby during the Rhodesian (Zimbabwe) Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) crisis of November 1965, subsequently helping to enforce the Beira Blockade. In 1967, 899 were prominent in the British withdrawal from Aden. Indeed, a Sea Vixen was the last aircraft to leave ADEN and carried the Union Flag back to HMS Eagle. The Squadron disbanded again in 1972.



899 Squadron’s markings (and callsign) are derived from it’s flying gauntlet insignia

Recommissioned with the Sea Harrier FRS 1 on 31 March 1980 (from 700A Squadron), 899 NAS became the Royal Navy’s Sea Harrier training squadron. They embarked in HMS Hermes during Operation Corporate (the Falklands Campaign) in 1982 and, following the upgrade to the FA 2 in June 1993, detached to HMS Invincible in support of operations in the Adriatic and Bosnia-Herzegovina in October and November of the same year.



:{ :{ :{ :{ :{ :sad: :ugh: :ugh:

[pr00ne]

Widger,

What makes you think you'll ever see it again? NO plans for it to reappear on GR9 or F-35.

[Widger]

Proone,


Purely a vain hope!!!!!!!!!!!!:bored: :\ :\ :\

[Navaleye]

A very sad day. I see its disbanded a week early - another cost saving measure? :mad: :mad:

[Widger]

Navaleye,

Probably something to do with Easter Leave!

[pr00ne]

Widger,

Fair enough, maybe a vain hope but a noble thought. One could say the same for a large number of Light blue squadrons about to fold....................

An old outfit of mine went very recently, 54 Sqn. Probably never to reappear, why oh why is SH***Y 6 so protected?

[Archimedes]

Pr00ne,

Shiny Six is senior to 54, and there is the supposed 'never disbanded' tag attached to the unit (although if you look in a couple of sources, it seems they were in fact - but only for a few days...

At the risk of advanced anorakishness, 54 might well survive to become the last Typhoon squadron (if seven units are formed). 3, 6 and 11 are guaranteed as the first three Typhoon squadrons, leaving (including OCUs), 16, 25, 41, 43, 54, 56 and 111. Having used Jeff Jefford's book on RAF Squadrons for the dates, and then applying the rule that time spent as an OCU doesn't count towards seniority, it would appear that the order of these numberplates is something like:

25, 41, 111, 54, 16, 56, 43. The order of the last three might be a little out, but the point is that 54 might well reappear.

By the by, the oft-aired idea about redesignating what are now flights as squadrons so as to preserve historic numberplates (so each Typhoon Sqn would have 8 aircraft) is doing the rounds again. I have heard someone quite senior making favourable noises about this - all to do with protecting heritage, etc. Will be interesting to see if it materialises.

[Widger]

That would be a good excuse to get a few more WingCos

[Stan Bydike]

Or we could have a Sqn Ldr in charge of a Sqn answerable to a Wg Cdr in charge of a Wing.

No, it'll never catch on :}

[DuckDodgers]

Nice to see that my fellow crabs hijacked this thread to! Cannot believe it was a year ago we disbanded 800 i'll never forget both SHar and Gr7 hovering infront of the wardroom and bowing together!

[vector801]

Anybody any ideas what the new F-35 Sqn's will be??


Would have guessed that 800 Sqn would be a prime candidate. Would also be nice to 892 Sqn back in the action again, think they last flew F4-K Phantom FG.1's off the Ark.

[pr00ne]

vector801,

F-35 units are expected to be the 4 Squadrons who will transition/reform on the GR9; 800 and 801 and 3 and 4. 20(R) supposedly to stay as OCU.

Archimedes,

SHINY Six? That wasn't what I meant and I suspect you know so!
When they move to Coningsby will they leave their groundcrew behind at Coltishall............................................
:)


I'd love to see 54 reform to fly on with the Typhoon. Doubt if they will make it though as there appears very little hope of the Typhoon units going much beyond a total of 5 and the OCU/OEU.

[Archimedes]

SHINY Six? That wasn't what I meant and I suspect you know so!

Surely you didn't mean.....? :oh: ;)

[Navaleye]

I think 800 NAS is due to reform as early as next April on GR7/9s. Much scratching of arses by AWIs in the meantime. Sorry to post at 4am anyone got a cure for jetlag. Off licence shut.

[Barn Doors]

Hang on!

The RAF will allegedly continue to operate GR7/9 until 2018 or so. How then, can 1(F), IV(AC), 800 and 801 NAS all go to F-35 in 2013 or so under this plan??!

I imagine they'll take one RAF and one RN Sqn of each to convert to type, but you can bet that a a few non-Harrier Sqn numberplates will be changed over to F-35 too.

Great jet though..... a lot more use than Type-hoon as it's built for the next decade and onwards!!!!

BD

[Razor61]

Navy News:-
ONE of the most illustrious names in Naval aviation has bowed out – literally – with the decommissioning of the Sea Harrier trainers of 899 Naval Air Squadron.

Four Sea Harriers lined up in a hover in front of the 100 or so personnel in the squadron at RNAS Yeovilton for an emotional decommissioning ceremony.

The jets performed the Harrier’s trademark bow and a pirouette during fly past, which also saw previous aircraft flown by 899 – motto ‘strike and defend’ – roar past the squadron’s hangar, including a Sea Hawk and Sea Vixen.

More than 200 officers have graduated as Sea Harrier pilots since the squadron stood up for its most recent commission 25 years ago, including Falklands legend Nigel ‘Sharkey’ Ward, who attended the paying-off ceremony.

Hundreds more sailors have provided the vital back-up – engineers, air traffic controllers, flight deck crew – to ensure the Navy has gone into battle with a cutting-edge air interdiction team.

“ 899 NAS is a squadron anyone connected with the Sea Harrier always comes back to, so this is an emotional occasion,” said the squadron’s final CO Cdr John ‘Chips’ Lawler.

“ The pedigree of the Sea Harrier community is clear. All the people of 899 NAS are first-class. We have a great tradition and although 899 will disappear, we are a powerful icon.”

With the Sea Harrier itself being phased out next year, there is no need to train pilots in the art of flying and fighting of the interdictor.

Future RN Harrier pilots will be trained by the Joint Force Harrier at RAF Cottesmore and Wittering, where they will be trained to fight the Air Force’s GR7 and GR9 variants of the fabled jump jet.

See May’s Navy News for a full report of the ceremony and the last flight of the Gazelle reconnaissance helicopter.

[pr00ne]

Barn doors,

Simple,

Migration starts in 2013 and finishes in 2018, an OSD means you plan to support it until then, not a rigid date before which it cannot be retired.
The existing 4 Harrier units will probably not be the only ones to receive the F-35, it will probably replace the GR4s along with Tranche 3 Typhoons.

F-35 sure looks like it will be a decent jet, but it is no Typhoon and will compliment it and not be better, more stealthy but more single role orientated.

F-35 and Typhoon will be a superb combination for the RAF, last time we will have been this effective must have been 1969 when the Phantom, Buccaneer and Harrier all entered service, ahh………………………..

[Navaleye]

F-35 and Typhoon will be a superb combination for the RAF, last time we will have been this effective must have been 1969 when the Phantom, Buccaneer and Harrier all entered service, ahh………………………..

The RAF would have got the Buccaneer a lot sooner had it not turned its nose up at it in the early 60s only to get second hand ones from RN years later.

[beerdrinker]

prOOne,

Quote " F-35 units are expected to be the 4 Squadrons who will transition/reform on the GR9; 800 and 801 and 3 and 4. 20(R) supposedly to stay as OCU"

I think you'll find that the 4 squadrons slated to be GR7/9 are 800 & 801 and 1 & 4.

[herbie5000]

Proone
I think you may have been slightly misled! F-35 will be a thoroughbred multi role aircraft and will be leaps and bounds ahead in technology. Typhoon has good performance, however, performance isnt everything in the modern air battle.

[jindabyne]

herbie

you believe too many glossy brochures ----

[Archimedes]

I think you'll find that the 4 squadrons slated to be GR7/9 are 800 & 801 and 1 & 4.

Pr00ne, just to add to BD's posting - 3 Sqn will form as the first front-line Typhoon unit next year.