The history of 852 squadron has now been added to our RN Air Squadrons web site/

http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/SQUADRONS/852_Squadron.htm

Also added list of aircrew and known maintenance personnel. There may be some more images to add, and a small gallery.

Thank you so much for the reply, yes sorry I do mean badge! Shame they were not together long enough to have one.
The links are brilliant thank you I have also sent off for his service records so hopefully that will give me more too!

852 was only in existence for a short time, less than a year (Nov 43 to Oct 44) which is why there is little info.

See:  https://flowersfamily.yolasite.com/852-squadron-history.php

which has a round up of the squadron

Patch?  Not sure what you mean by that -  I think you probably mean what the Royal Navy calls the Badge - as the squadron was only short lived, no badge was ever approved.

For the history of Nabob   - the escort carriers 852 served with, see elsewhere on this site:

http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/ESCORT/NABOB.htm#.X-IKMTRxfIU

 

Hi
I have recently discovered a range of documents relating to my late grandads service in WW2 and found that he served in 852 Squadron on board the HMS Nabob and subsequently transferred into 848 Squadron and HMS Formidable. I have located the patch for 848 Squadron which seems to have quite a bit of information online about them but 852 Squadron is a bit of a mystery and I cannot find much out there on them, just wondered if anyone can help? And possible have information on their patch? My grandfather never discussed his service and now I know the ships he was on I am keen to find out more about what he was prt of.
Thank you for your time

Seeking help on my research on an MLC my father & others refloated to succesfully escape from Ayia Galini, Crete to Mersa Matruh in June 1941. A fellow platoon member indicated it was numbered "SD13".

Another barge escaper, Harry Richards, is recorded as using barge "96 SD 16" to succesfully escape from Sfakia, Crete to Egypt at around the same time. I'm presuming the "96" likely refers to the MLC construction number, as "British Vessels Lost at Sea 1939-45" records 95, 96, 97 as "lost in Middle East. Date reported, August 1941".

Major Garrett of the Royal Marines also used an MLC to succesfully escape from Sfakia, although I don't have details of that barge number.

There were three MLC's left at Ayia Galini by HMS Glengyle on 19/5/41 and another three MLC's left at Sfakia by HMS Glengyle on 29/5/41.
My Questions
Where would Glengyle have obtained this number of MLC's? From another Glen ship? Or from HMS Stag, the Combined Training Centre (CTC) Middle East at Kabret, Egypt?

Can anyone identify what the "SD" refers to? I believe from 1942, when the nomenclature for MLC's changed to LCM's, the pennant numbers for LCM's were "DD". (attached are two AWM photos, "British landing barge (D lighter) being used by German Afrika Korps soldiers as a bath house" fairly clearly showing an MLC as "SD 25").

Was "SD" the prior pennant number for MLC's? Or did it refer to the "mother ship"? Eg Glengyle/Glenearn/Glenroy or Stag?

If barge "96 SD 16" referred to MLC build no 96, would it be reasonable to assume "SD 13" referred to MLC build no 93? Any data on who built this range? (I have details of MLC79-MLC86 being built by Cammell Laird, and LCM111-114 being built by Scotts, but no detail in between).

Any input appreciated.
Frank
South Melbourne, Australia (ex RAN)

Hi. Your father would have know my grandfather temporary Lieutenant Horsman. I think he commanded HMS Bandit from 1942 until he was discharged, I have a letter from an admiral somewhere discharging him, before and after the wear he was a tug boat captain on the Tees and passed away i think just before he retired in 1966, i never met him. 

Hi everyone

I'm a new member of this forum and this is my first post.

My father served on HMS Bandit from 4 Sep 1939 to 20 Dec 1946. He was the ERA and from 1945 was Engineer Officer-in-Charge. During his life he made limited mention of his war service, and I am currently attempting to research the Bandit and its role during WW2, primarily using on-line sources. Bandit was a 3000ihp Brigand class tug and was fitted for fire fighting, salvage, rescue and target towing.

I've had a degree of success in identifying Bandit's role in a number of rescue attempts and target towing in the 1939 to 1942 period. 1943 is pretty much a blank slate and I'm having difficulty in establishing any details of her role in Operation Neptune and the towing of Mulberry harbour units in 1944.

Bandit was allocated to SNO Selsey for towing Phoenix and Whale units. Her commander at the time, Temporary Lieutenant Emlyn Samuel Phillips, R.N.R was mentioned in despatches in 1945 "for outstanding service .....in towing Mulberry harbour sections to France and in rescue work during the invasion". So there is strong evidence that Bandit was involved but beyond these two facts I've been unable to establish any detail.

Can anyone help me fill in any gaps?

I've also been trying to contact Ian Dear, the author of a recent and very readable book titled "The Tattie Lads" which tells the story of the Rescue Tug Service in the 1917-1945 period, and also several people previously associated with now disbanded Deep Sea Rescue Tugs Association who apparently had an archive of very relevant material.

So far without success - so if anybody can help me make contact with any of these people it would also be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

To whom it may concern:

I was wondering if your institute could help me to identify the aforementioned ship(s).

My father was a German JU 88 bomber crew member. His base was Catania, Sicily. His plane was supposed to attack the port of Algiers in the night of January 29-30 1943. His plain shot by British fighters that night between Sicily and Algiers. He could exit the plane by parachute and spent the night in the Mediterranean Sea. He was rescrued by a British destroyer and brought to Algiers afterwards.

This weekend we found some letters of him mentioning his rescrue by a British destroyer. However, the letter did not mention the name of the destroyer.

I tried to find some information on the internet and found your website.

Hence, I would be very thankful  if you could help me.

I don't suppose by any chance anyone has a copy of HMS Zephyr's log do they?

Thank you.
Stephen.

Many thanks for the reply , and for helping me to understand the document .

Moggy 123

Thank you very much for your help.
Best regards.
Stephen.