700 Naval Air Squadron (700 NAS) is a Maritime Unmanned Air System squadron in the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. Known as 700X Naval Air Squadron, where the 'X' is used to designate 'experimental', it is currently the Royal Navy's Remotely-piloted air systems (RPAS) or 'drone' expert unit.

History

Catapult flights (1940 - 1944)

700 Naval Air Squadron was originally formed on 21 January 1940 at RNAS Hatston (HMS Sparrowhawk) in Orkney in a plan to centralise the operations of the 700 series "Catapult" flights attached to catapult units and to act as a pool and Headquarters for all catapult aircraft embarked on Royal Navy battleships and cruisers. It was initially equipped with forty-two Supermarine Walrus flying boats, together with eleven Fairey Seafox and twelve Fairey Swordfish floatplanes. On 21 June 1940, a Walrus (P5666) of 700 Squadron on the cruiser HMS Manchester (C15) found the German battleship Scharnhorst but Manchester did not engage. From July, the squadron absorbed small number of Supermarine Walrus operated from RAF Sullom Voe, designated as the Shetland Flight, with aircraft and crews from RNAS Hatston and disembarked Flights from the Home Fleet. These carried out local anti-submarine patrols and shipping escort under the control of No. 18 Group RAF, within RAF Coastal Command. On 25 September 1940, Supermarine Walrus L2247, embarked on the cruiser HMAS Australia (D84), was shot down by Vichy French fighters during the Battle of Dakar and crashed into the sea killing all three crew. In November the squadron took over the 701 Naval Air Squadron aircraft which were operating from Stornoway harbour and this became known as 700 Stornoway Flight. In March 1941 this Flight moved to RAF Sullom Voe and joined the Shetland Flight, but this then disbanded in May when RAF aircraft became available. Trailing Kriegsmarine capital ships in the lead up to the Battle of the Denmark Strait, Supermarine Walrus L2184 of 700 Naval Air Squadron from HMS Norfolk (78) was damaged by shellfire from Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait on 23 May 1941 while still on its catapult. In June 1942, 700 Naval Air Squadron moved its HQ, known as ‘A’ Flight, the short distance across Orkney to RNAS Twatt (HMS Tern). By this time the squadron provided a ten-week training course for new catapult Flights. The final two weeks of the course were spent attached to ‘A’ Flight at for final training, before joining their allocated ship. The training was broken down into an initial three weeks of aerodrome flying, at RNAS Donibristle (HMS Merlin), in Fife, consisting circuits and landings, dive-bombing, photography and anti-submarine warfare. A second three-week block was spent at RNAS Dundee (HMS Condor II), a seaplane base / repair depot, in Dundee, where the focus was on water operations, which included night landings. Week seven was a catapult course aboard HMS Pegasus, a Royal Navy aircraft carrier/seaplane carrier, in the Irish Sea. Week eight was then a return to RNAS Donibristle (HMS Merlin). The final successful attack on an enemy submarine by a Walrus was on 11 July 1942, when Walrus W2709 of 700 (Levant) NAS sank the Italian submarine Ondina near Cypris in conjunction with the South African navy surface vessels HMSAS Protea and HMSAS Southern Maid, east of Cyprus. There were at least 5 confirmed enemy submarines sunk or damaged by Walruses during the Second World War, including the Vichy French submarine Poncelet which was bombed by Walrus L2268 of 700 NAS from HMS Devonshire (39) and attacked by HMS Milford (L51) on 7 November 1940 off the Cameroons. The submarine was damaged and forced to surrender, and later scuttled off the Gulf of Guinea. The crew of Petty Officer P H Parsons, Sub Lt A D Corkhill and N A Evans were all awarded gallantry medals. By the middle of 1943 the squadron strength was down to twenty aircraft as radar made catapult launched aircraft unnecessary. What was left of A' Flight became 'B' Flight of 771 Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Hatston and 700 Naval Air Squadron disbanded on 24 March 1944.

Maintenance Test Pilot's School (1944 - 1949)

700 Naval Air Squadron reformed on 11 November 1944 as the Maintenance Test Pilot Training Squadron at RNAS Donibristle (HMS Merlin). It later moved to RNAS Worthy Down (HMS Kestrel), Hampshire, and became part of the School of Aircraft Maintenance, operating with the torpedo bomber aircraft Grumman Avenger and Fairey Barracuda, the Blackburn Firebrand strike-fighter, and the navalised fighter aircraft: Fairey Firefly, Grumman Hellcat, Supermarine Seafire, and Grumman Wildcat. It provided a training course which required each pilot to complete a minimum of five weeks test flying on FAA aircraft in active service and during the initial eleven months eighty-four test pilots were trained. Remaining in Hampshire, the squadron moved to RNAS Middle Wallop (HMS Flycatcher), on 23 November 1945. It moved again the following April when it 1946 the squadron relocated to RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron), Somerset and where in May 1948 it became part of the 50th Training Air Group. 700 Maintenance Test Pilots training Squadron disbanded in September 1949.

Trials and Requirements Unit (1955 - 1961)

700 Naval Air Squadron reformed as a Trials and Requirements Unit on 18 August 1955 at RNAS Ford (HMS Peregrine), Sussex. It was equipped with the multirole training aircraft Avro Anson, Fairey Firefly TT.4 target tug, de Havilland Sea Vampire F.20 fighter-bomber, Hawker Sea Hawk day fighter, Westland Wyvern strike aircraft and Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft. 703 STU and 771 FRU had disbanded at RNAS Ford the previous day and they were successfully combined to form 700 Trials and Requirements Unit. One month later, on 19 September the squadron moved to RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron). In January 1956, when 787 Naval Air Squadron disbanded, 700 NAS took over its duties, however, in February 1957 the Fleet Requirements work was given to Airwork Services Ltd at Hurn. The squadron moved to RNAS Yeovilton in September 1958 where it later disbanded in July 1961. The Squadron carried on trials of de Havilland Sea Vixens on HMS Victorious (R38) and HMS Centaur (R06) during 1958 and from October 1959 formed at Yeovilton with the Saunders Roe P.531 to investigate what would be needed to introduce a whole new form of helicopter operation to the Fleet – which led to the Westland Wasp. In October 1960 flight tests of landing and take-offs from HMS Vengeance (R71) with 27 launchings of the turboprop Fairey Gannet and 34 with the Hawker Sea Hawk.

Intensive Flying Trials Units (IFTU)

A number of Intensive Flying Trials Units were subsequently formed under the "700 NAS" title, to prepare for new aircraft types coming into service. These operated as independent units, each being identified by a suffix letter after the squadron number (e.g. "700B"). From 1957 the initial one was based out of RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus), Hampshire, to introduce the Westland Whirlwind HAS.7 anti-submarine and search and rescue helicopter. Several other of these IFTUs were formed for the introduction into the Fleet Air Arm of the anti-submarine warfare and utility helicopter, the Westland Wessex, the Blackburn Buccaneer attack aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, an interceptor and fighter-bomber, the Westland Sea King anti-submarine, medium-lift transport and utility helicopter, the Westland Lynx multi-purpose helicopter and British Aerospace Sea Harrier, amongst other aircraft.

700M Merlin HM1 IFTU/OEU (1998 - 2008)

More recently, the squadron was re-commissioned at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) in Cornwall during December 1998 as 700M Naval Air Squadron, with a primary role as an Intensive Flying Trials Unit (IFTU) of testing and evaluating the AgustaWestland Merlin HM.1 helicopter. In September 2001 the unit became the Operational Evaluation Unit (OEU) for the Fleet Air Arm's Merlin helicopter. In 2002 the OEU deployed to both the United States Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) and NATO's Fleet Operational Readiness Accuracy Check Site (FORACS) and the following year the aircrew only deployed on Operation Telic to enlarge 814 Naval Air Squadron. In 2007 the OEU deployed to the Caribbean aboard HMS Ocean to take part in Counter Narcotics operations with the US Coastguard and was involved with a seizure of nearly half a ton of cocaine worth around £29 million. 700M Naval Air Squadron disbanded on 31 March 2008, transferring its aircraft and personnel to 824 Naval Air Squadron and also forming a new flight, 824 OEU.

700W Wildcat HMA2 Trials Unit (2009 - 2014)

The squadron reformed again as 700W Naval Air Squadron in May 2009 at RNAS Yeovilton as the Lynx Wildcat Fielding Squadron. From January 2013, 700W received five AgustaWestland Wildcat helicopters for operational evaluation and conversion training. The squadron was disbanded in July 2014 when it was merged with 702 Naval Air Squadron to form 825 Naval Air Squadron, the first operational FAA AgustaWestland Wildcat unit.

Maritime Unmanned Air System (2014 - present)

In October 2014 the squadron reformed as 700X Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk), Cornwall. It was initially tasked with Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) for the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle an unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle. The squadron has been setup to undertake Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS) trials, and it previously acted as a parent unit for the various ship-based flights operating the ScanEagle. However, the Royal Navy ceased operating the ScanEagle by November 2017. In November 2019, 700X NAS tested two new Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), namely, the AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma, a small, battery powered, hand-launched intelligence and surveillance UAV, and the AeroVironment Wasp III miniature UAV. By 2020 the squadron had three flights, operating with the AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma system, for deployment. These were designated Phantom Flights A, B and C, with each flight made up of a commander, an air engineering technician and a naval airman. The initial operational test was during the name ship of her class HMS Albion (L14)'s Mediterranean deployment. To operate the Puma system, the three personnel who made up the flight were the Flight Commander who integrated the Puma with the ship, the mission operator who flew the Puma and the vehicle operator who controlled the camera. As of 2021, twelve Puma systems were deployed with the squadron permitting individual teams to be embarked on Royal Navy vessels as might be required. In 2024, the Navy reported that there were a total of nine qualified Puma teams, six of which were dedicated to supporting the Royal Marines in 40 and 45 Commando. By the end of 2022 a team from 700X Naval Air Squadron had constructed their own remotely-piloted air system (RPAS). The octo-quadcopter weighed 20 kg and was named Walrus after the amphibious maritime patrol aircraft used by the squadron during the Second World War. The quadcopter was planned to be used by the Royal Navy as an independent test and evaluation platform. Initial ground tests and assessments of it took place inside the controlled environment of a hangar, and when completed Walrus was passed operational and ready to be used for different sensor and payload tests. In 2023 a new flight was formed by 700X Naval Air Squadron to learn how to maintain and safely operate the QinetiQ Banshee Jet 80+. The Banshee Jet 80+ drones can achieve above 400 mph and are of capable more than 60 mile range. The 3m x 2.5m drone is launched from a pneumatic platform. It can be operated from the ground where onboard cameras and sensors are examined. The Royal Navy took delivery of the Banshee 80+ with the intention of using it to test all different types of sensors and the test flights were scheduled to take place during the summer at Predannack Airfield, Mullion, which the squadron uses as a centre of expertise for flights and training. In August 2024, the squadron began trials on HMS Lancaster with the Peregrine rotary-wing UAV. The rotary-wing UAV was designed to operate alongside its regular helicopter detachment and provide enhanced surveillance capabilities to the frigate.

Aircraft operated

Battle honours

The battle honours awarded to 700 Naval Air Squadron are:

Naval air stations and other airbases

700 Naval Air Squadron operated from a number of naval air stations of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force stations and other airbases in the United Kingdom and overseas: 1940 - 1944 1944 - 1949 1955 - 1961

700 Squadron Shetland Flight

700 Squadron Stornoway Flight

700 (Mediterranean) Squadron

became: 700 (Levant) Squadron

700 (Gibraltar) Squadron

700 (Algiers) Squadron

700W Flight

Citations