October 1942 - January 1946

Formation and work up

No.879 Squadron formed at RNAS St. Merryn on October 1st 1942 out of 'B' Flight of No.809 Squadron as a Fleet Fighter Squadron. Equipped with six Fulmar IIs, the new squadron moved to RAF Charlton Horethorne on the 10th to work-up before a further move to RAF Old Sarum on November 18th for four months of Army Support training. Transferring to RNAS Stretton on March 22nd 1943 the squadron re-equipped with Seafires; some hooked Spitfire Vb aircraft were issued initially for the conversion flying before ten Seafire lBs were received. On April 23rd they moved to RAF Dundonald, for a short combined operations course, returning to Stretton on May 1st. New aircraft were again received at the start of June, this time 10 Seafire L.IIc/LR.IIc which they took to No.36 (AC) Wing at RAF Andover for army co-operation training on June 17th. Form Andover the squadron moved to RNAS Machrihanish on July 8th in preparation for joining a carrier.
 

Assigned to HMS ATTACKER and operations in the Mediterranean

The squadron was allocated to join the escort aircraft carrier (CVE) HMS ATTACKER and they flew out to the ship on July 29th 1943, when she was operating in the Clyde area at the end of a five week post modification work up and flying training program. Also assigned to the ship were 886 squadron which operated 9 Seafire L.IIc & 6 Swordfish.

The ship had been allocated to participate in upcoming allied invasion of Italy and she sailed from the Clyde at 14:00 hours on August 2nd in company with her sister CVEs BATTLER, HUNTER, and STALKER bound for Gibraltar. The four carriers and their escorts ran into a terrible storm in the Bay of Biscay which lasted thought the 3rd and into the 4th; the seas were so rough the ships had to heave to ride it out. All four carriers suffered storm damage and many aircraft were badly damaged, HUNTER suffered the worst of the damage and was forced leave the convoy to return to the UK. The remaining three carriers arrived at Gibraltar, at 18:00 hours on the 9th.

Another unidentified Seafire precariously perched on the starboard bow Orliken mount - this is possibly NM94I of 879 Squadron which was pushed off the flight deck by NM965 which crashed into the deck park September 9th 1943. NM94I is reported as being lost overboard.

ATTACKER left Gibraltar at 1800 on the 31st August and proceeded to Eers-el-Kebir, arriving at 0900 on the 1st September She left there to rendezvous with SCYLLA and forces in company at 0800 on the 5th September. This Force arrived at Malta at 0700 on September 7th.

On September 1st 1943 the four carriers became a part of Task Force 88, a part of Force 'V', the covering force for the allied invasion of Salerno Italy in operation AVALANCHE planned for operations between September 9 - 12th. Task Force 88 comprised HM Escort Aircraft Carriers ATTACKER, BATTLER, HUNTER, STALKER and the maintenance carrier UNICORN (making a rare operational contribution), Cruisers EURYALUS [flagship], SCYLLA and CHARYBDIS, Destroyers CLEVELAND, HOLCOMBE, ATHERSTONE, LIDDESDALE, FARNDALE, CALPE, and Polish destroyers ORP SLAZAK and ORP KRAKOWIAK.

A second force, Force ‘H’ comprised the Battleships NELSON, RODNEY, WARSPITE and VALIANT, Fleet Carriers ILLUSTRIOUS and FORMIDABLE and a screen of 21 destroyers including French, Polish and Greek warships was a covering force for the landings, intended to prevent any interference by Italian surface warships. On the eve of operation AVALANCHE Italy surrendered so the threat had passed, however there was a strong German force in the area.

Force 'V' left Malta on the 8th September and proceeded via the Straits of Messina arriving on station 45 miles south-west of the beachhead early in the morning of the 9th September. Each CVE in Task Force 88 carried 2 Seafire squadrons, UNICORN 3, making a total of 109 aircraft in 11 squadrons. The five carriers were to provide fighter cover for the landings. It was intended that a constant presence of naval air cover would be maintained over the landing sites, up to 20 aircraft aloft at a time. The first flights were launched at dawn on the 9th. At this time none of the four CVEs were equipped as fighter or assault carriers so fighter direction was provided by the Fighter Direction Ship HMS ULSTER QUEEN.

Flying operations began at 06:15 and continued throughout the day, with ATTACKER’s last range landing on at 19:15. During the last serial of the day, Sub-Lt G Calder RNVR(879) in Seafire NM965, landing on under somewhat poor light conditions, floated at speed over the arrester gear and crashed through the barriers into aircraft parked forward, NM965 was write off, NM941 was pushed it overboard by the impact and rendering another unserviceable for 18 hours. By the end of the first day’s flying program all 52 planned sorties had been completed; 12 aircraft were serviceable, or made serviceable for the following day.

During the night of the 9th/10th September the Force preceded clear of the operational area, returning on the morning of the 10th, when flying resumed at 06:15. The day began with a tragedy when Ord. Seaman Edwin Kershaw, of the Aircraft Handling Party, ran into a propeller and was instantaneously killed. He was buried at sea at 11:00 on the same day. Later that second day one of BATTLER's aircraft landed on as her deck was foul but approached at an excessive speed, crashed through the barriers into aircraft parked forward, the pilot writing off his own aircraft and severely damaging two others. At the end of the second day's operations 8 aircraft were available or made available for the following day.

At 06:15 on the 11th, flying resumed again, and operations continued throughout the day to the last range at 18:31. Lieut. Morrison (879) landed at the emergency field ashore with hook trouble. His hook was repaired by the R.A.F. and he returned to the ship at 1805. Sub-Lt Sturges (879) in NM944 was unable to lower his undercarriage on returning to land on, and was told to return to shore for an emergency landing Salerno beach; the aircraft was abandoned, he later rejoined the ship at Bizerta. At the end of the third day's operations 5 aircraft were serviceable or made serviceable for the following day. The attrition rate was very high, all the CVEs required additional aircraft to be transferred from the Fleet Carriers of Force H in order to continue operations at this intensity (Force H withdrew to Malta on the 11th, being nearly out of aircraft itself by this time).

At 06:15 on the 12th, the first aircraft were flown off. 10 sorties were flown. It had been envisaged that one or more enemy airfields would be in allied hands by the end of the first day and so shore based air cover would take over, this was not the case; it was not until the third day that the airfield at Paestum was under Allied control that this became possible. At 1345 on the 12th as many serviceable fighters as could be mustered were put ashore to operate at Paestum; ATTACKER managed 4, BATTLER 5, HUNTER 5, and STALKER only 2, UNICORN supplied 10. At approximately 1830 the Force left the operational area and proceeded to Palermo, arriving at 2000. At 0600 on the following morning the Force sailed for Bizerta, arriving there at 1900. ATTACKER’s detached aircraft re-joined the ship on the 17th.

During the four days on station the carriers, launched a combined total of 713 sorties, aircraft from ATTACKER flew 132 sorties; 879 squadron carried out 75 patrol sorties, 886 flew 57. No aircraft were lost to enemy action. Force 'V' was to disband on September 20th and ATTACKER, HUNTER and STALKER returned to the UK to refit and allow their squadrons the opportunity to receive replacement aircraft and aircrews.

No. 4 Naval Fighter Wing

On arriving on the Clyde on October 6th 879 disembarked to RNAS Machrihanish before moving to RAF Andover the following day. Meanwhile her carrier, ATTACKER, and sister ships HUNTER and STALKER were to undergo conversion to assault carriers and operating a single Seafire squadron apiece. These were to be 807, 809, and 879 squadrons, which were grouped together as the 4th Naval Fighter Wing which came into existence on October 25th 1943. 879 squadron arrived at RNAS Burscough on November 29th, joining the other elements of No.4 Nava Fighter Wing. HMS ATTACKER emerged from the dockyard in December and then took passage from Rosyth to the Clyde where she re-embarked the Seafires of 879 and 886 squadrons on December 29th to begin work up and training in her new role. On January 24th the ship sustained damage when HMS FENCER dragged anchor on the Clyde during gale conditions and collided with her; ATTACKER was ordered to Liverpool for further repair work to be carried out in early February, her squadrons flew ashore to RNAS Burscough on the 6th. The ship entered the Alexandra Dock on the 9th and would remain in dockyard hands for the next month. On February 24th 879 absorbed the Seafires, and some crews, of 886 Squadron to bring their strength up to 20 aircraft and 27 pilots. On the 16th 879 squadron rejoined the ship for nine days of flying, before being put ashore to RAF Long Kesh, Northern Ireland on the 24th for a more Army Co-operation training. The squadron rejoined the ship on April 30th and ATTACKER was allocated to join the Home Fleet for Operation HOOPS; this strike on Norwegian coast shipping with HUNTER and STALKER was scheduled for May 8th but was cancelled and the ships returned to Belfast.

The officers and men of 879 squadron aboard HMS ATTACKER, Bangor Lough, Northern Ireland, March 1943. Photo: From the collection of the late W. A. Clarke, Sub Lt (A) RNVR (P). Click to see larger image

Return to the Mediterranean

All three assault CVEs and their squadrons were set to return to the Mediterranean, sailing on May 14th 1944. ATTACKER put into Gibraltar on May 24th, and two groups of 5 Seafires were disembarked to operate from RNAS North Front until June 5th.

On June 16th, at Algiers, 6 aircraft were flown off to operate from the airfield at Blida, they were joined by four others on the 18th. 879 squadron was now effectively split 50/50 between the ship and various airfields engaged on Army co-operation flying with units in North Africa and Italy including Blida (Algeria) June 16th - July 22nd, Pomigliano (Italy) June 22nd - 25th, Capodichino (Italy) June 22nd - 26th, Orvieto (Italy) June 25th - July 19th and Castiglione (Italy) July 5th - 18th. The ship was escorting convoys in the western Mediterranean until the entire squadron was re-embarked by July 22nd when the ship withdrew to undertake a short self maintenance period in Malta.

Operation DRAGOON

The squadron was next in action for Operation DRAGOON, the invasion of Southern France The CVEs ATTACKER, EMPEROR, KHEDIVE, PURSUER and SEARCHER joined Task Group 88.1 under Rear Admiral Troubridge in the cruiser HMS ROYALIST, as carrier task force flagship. HMS HUNTER, STALKER, and two US CVEs, USS TULAGI and USS KAZAN BAY joined Task group 88.2 under Rear Admiral Durgin USN in USS TULAGI. By this time 879 squadron strength had been increased to 28 aircraft (24 Seafire L.III and 4 Seafire LR.IIcs), 19 of which were equipped for dive bombing. The first sorties took off at 0600 hours on Tuesday August 15th, TacR (Tactical Reconnaissance) sorties were flown throughout the day but cloud and haze prevented the identification of targets, some encountered light flak.

The following day 26 sorties were flown during the day - 8 bombing, 10 TacR, 2 spotting and 6 CAP (Combat Air Patrol), and at the end of the day 879 had 24 aircraft serviceable. TF88.1 withdrew late on the 19th and took passage overnight to Maddalena, Sardinia, to refuel and rearm. On the 21st, ATTACKER launched 4 Seafires at dawn which split into pairs to search for targets of opportunity; only one returned to the ship. Each pair was to have an aircraft shot down, Sub Lt G. Calder was hit first, suffering damage from AA fire; he managed to make a forced landing in the countryside and avoided capture until allied forces found him. Later that sortie Sub Lt A.I.R. Shaw's Seafire was hit by enemy AA fire after he successfully attacked German mobile artillery on a country road; his engine was on fire so he had to bail out over enemy territory. He was soon captured but subsequently escaped and was helped by locals until the advancing allied forces reached his location. His wingman was flying in a camera equipped Seafire and he took photos of the parachute as it floated to earth. Both downed pilots eventually rejoined the squadron. A further 5 aircraft were put out of commission that day; Sub Lt W.A. Clarke, returning from a TacR sortie, cleared the barriers to crash into the forward deck park, damaging three other aircraft; Sub Lt A.A. Gowan RNZNVR5 was critically injured in the crash, he was still in the cockpit of his aircraft having taxied forward into the aircraft park, his thigh was broken by an airscrew which ripped through the cockpit door. The fifth aircraft was put out of commission by Lt G. Ogilvy who went into the barrier.

ATTACKER and the ships of TF88.1 withdrew for a second time to Maddalena on August 23rd. ATTACKER and the other CVEs of Task Group 88.1 were released from their duties on August 28th by this time 879 squadron's aircraft had completed 226 sorties including strikes on ground targets, bombardment spotting for HMS AURORA and tactical reconnaissance missions; 120 were bombing missions. HMS ATTACKER arrived at Alexandria on September 2nd to replenish stores, 879 squadron received replacement aircraft and aircrew from RNAS Dekheila.

Operation OUTING I & OUTING II

The squadron was next in action during Operation OUTING I & OUTING II in the Aegean with the CVEs EMPEROR, KHEDIVE, PURSUER, and SEARCHER; their task was to hamper and delay German troop movements in the Dodecanese Islands, (Leros, Kos, Samos, Rhodes and Levitha). ATTACKER's aircraft (now comprised of 15 Seafire L.III and 5 Seafire LR.IIcs) flew armed reconnaissance sorties from the September 16th, and ground attack missions on enemy transport, including dive-bombed shipping in Rhodes harbour on he 19th. The force withdrew to Alexandria on the 20th to re-supply after OUTING I, returning for OUTING II on the 28th. Seafires from 879 squadron strafed the W/T station on Levitha on October 3rd before conducting Tactical Reconnaissance flights on the 4th together with bombardment spotting for the cruiser ROYALIST. The force returned to Alexandria for a further replenishment of aircraft and stores on October 5th; ATTACKER's aircraft having completed 102 sorties.

Sub Lt. Clarke flying in Seafire MB270 'A-A' overhead HMS ATTACKER, near Crete, on September 16th 1944 . Photo: From the collection of the late  W. A. Clarke, Sub Lt (A) RNVR (P).

Operation MANNA

The squadron was to participate in one more operation during 1944, Operation MANNA, which involved ATTACKER, EMPEROR and STALKER providing cover for the reoccupation of Piraeus. The operation began on the 15th, STALKER withdrew on the 20th, returning to Alexandria. On the 23rd and 24th railway rolling stock and motor transport was strafed and set on fire, and, together with extensive dive-bombing of the railway system, stopped all rail traffic on Kos. Towards the end of the month ATTACKER and EMPEROR provided air cover for amphibious landing at Mitylene on the island of Lesbos. On the 26th, aircraft from 879 squadron operated ashore at Mitylene until re-embarking to cover the landing on Piskopi on the 29th. ATTACKER withdrew to Alexandria on October 30th leaving EMPEROR as the only CVE operating in the area. 879 had flown 240 sorties between September 16th and October 29th.

Return to UK and refit

RNAS Dekheila

879 squadron was to remain ashore at RNAS Dekheila for four months and the time was spent training in preparation for their next period of operations. The New Year saw three fatal crashes while the squadron was at Dekheila, on January 13th Sub Lt. N.I. MacLeod RNZN died when he failed to pull NN124 out of a dive during a dive bombing exercise at Gianaclis No.5 bombing range. A second death happened during a dive bombing exercise at Gianaclis on January 29th when Sub lt. K.A. Cain's aircraft, NF429, struck the ground and exploded. The third incident was on February 12th when Sub Lt. D.V. Cross was flying in NN450 on a low level TacR and his aircraft hit the ground and exploded 4 miles West of Damanhur.

Seafire of 879 squadron on the deck of  HMS ATTACKER,  at Trincomalee c/ July 1945.

 

Allocation to the East Indies Fleet

879 re-embarked in HMS ATTACKER on April 14th with 24 Seafire L.IIIs and the ship proceeded through the Suez Canal to Aden and on to Ceylon. The squadron disembarked to RNAS Katukurunda, on the west coast of Ceylon, on April 29th 1945. At RNAS Katukurunda the squadron began a training programme to work up the squadron which included a number of replacement pilots from the UK; training included formation flying, fighter tactics, bombing and gunnery and jungle survival. On June 5th a flight of 4 Seafires, on a routine Dive Bombing practice sortie took off from RNAS Katukurunda but encountered heavy clouds on reaching the range near Hambantota. With fuel levels low the flight leader decided they should make a precautionary landing on the dry lake bed that was the bombing range. Sub Lts WJ Cody, RC Hallas, and JR Little successfully put their down on the cratered lake bed but the fourth, Sub Lt. D Armstrong decided to attempt a landing on the nearby beach at Bundala but crashed and was killed. He was later buried in the naval cemetery at Colombo with full military honours.

The squadron re-embarked on June 10th, remaining aboard until July 17th, presumably on flying training, they then returned to RNAS Katukurunda. They re-embarked three days later as ATTACKER continued flying operations before taking passage to Trincomalee where they disembarked to RNAS Trincomalee on the 19th. This short ten day outing was a costly one for 879 squadron, 11 aircraft suffered damage through flying incidents, and one pilot was killed. The run of bad luck began the day the squadron re-embarked with Sub Lt B. Lees RNZN putting NF445 into the barrier. On the 11th two aircraft 'pecked' the deck on landing, NF600 flown by Sub Lt G. H. Wilson RNZN and NN401 flown by Sub Lt M.D. S. McClelland; Sub Lt I.H. Gladders made a heavy landing in NN437 resulting in the starboard tyre bursting and buckling the oleo leg. A fourth incident on the 11th resulted in Sub Lt A.W.K. Foxon being killed; his Seafire NN347 flew through the barrier damaging parked aircraft as it dived over starboard side into the sea. There were five more aircraft put out of action on the 12th, Sub Lt W.J. Cody in NF643 hit the rounddown with his tail wheel causing damage to the fuselage; later that day he put NN408 into the barrier. Sub Lt L. Livemore in NN365 also put his aircraft into the barrier, while Sub Lt G.H. Wilson RNZN flying NN451 caught a wire but his prop clipped the deck. While attempting to go round again, Sub Lt. HC Vane in NN397 hit the edge of the flight deck and the aircraft fell into the sea. The pilot was safely rescued. On the final day of flying before flying ashore to Trincomalee, Seafire NN437 flown by Sub Lt G.H. Wilson RNZN suffered fuselage damage when a bomb carrier dislodged landing on. While at Trincomalee those squadron pilots who had not done deck landing qualification flights from Katukurunda flew out to HMS HUNTER for DLT between August 2nd through to the 16th. This was dangerous work and cost one pilot his life; Sub Lt. WS Jones was killed when his aircraft stalled on approach to HUNTER and dived into the sea on August 4th.

Operation CARSON

879 squadron's first offensive operation with the EIF was in early August; they re-embarked in ATTACKER on August 9th being allocated to Force 61 for operation CARSON, a series of attacks on shipping and airfields in Penang and Medan area of Sumatra. Force 61, consisting of the AA Cruiser ROYALIST (Flag of Rear Admiral G.N. Oliver, CB, DSO, Rear Admiral Commanding 21ACS), CVEs AMEER, ATTACKER, EMPEROR, EMPRESS, KHEDIVE, and SHAH, Destroyers TARTAR (Captain (D), Tenth Destroyer Flotilla), PENN, VIGILANT, and VERULAM. The force sailed from Trincomalee on August 10th, planning to carry out strikes on August 14th and 15th. On August 11th the force was ordered to hold west of 90 degrees east and await further orders; the operation was eventually cancelled in light of the news of Japan's announced willingness to accept the Allies' surrender terms. The force subsequently returned to Trincomalee, arriving on August 15th when the Station General Message "SUSPEND OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS AGAINST JAPANESE FORCES" was made to all ships and allied forces.

HMS ATTACKER briefly celebrated V-J Day in Trincomalee harbour while awaiting further orders, 879 remained aboard. She had been allocated to participate in Operation ZIPPER, the invasion of Singapore, planned for September 1945, but now that hostilities had ended they became a reoccupying force, not invading one, so the plan was radically revised. ATTACKER and HUNTER were next ordered to proceed to Rangoon. Political constraints and delays meant that all the reoccupation plans were now to change; the occupation of Penang was to be undertaken as Operation JURIST and the occupation of Sabang as Operation BEECHAM, and Operation TIDERACE, the occupation of Singapore. Carriers of the 2 ACS were to provide air cover for the various forces and convoys that were to take part in these operations; ATTACKER and HUNTER, sailed from Rangoon on August 27th 1945, headed for Penang to rendezvous with Vice Admiral Walker's force [NELSON, CEYLON, HUNTER, ATTACKER, 3 Destroyers and 3 Landing Ship (infantry)] to accept the Japanese surrender of Malaya, operation JURIST. The force reached Penang on the 28th, the surrender ceremony taking place on September 2nd. 879 continued to fly CAP (Combat Air Patrols) throughout the operation.

Vice Admiral Walker's force next sailed for Singapore; On September 5th and 6th they carried out photographic reconnaissance and tactical reconnaissance sorties over Singapore. ATTACKER and the rest of the force formed part of 90 ships (including 70 RN and RIN warships, 3 Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, 3 hospital ships and 14 merchant vessels) present in Singapore Roads for the surrender ceremony on September 12th 1945.

September 1945 - HMS ATTACKER enters Singapore harbour, the ship is 'dressed' for entering harbour, a Seafire of 879 squadron stands on the flight deck wearing invasion markings.

 

Return to the UK, re-equipping, and disbandment

HMS ATTACKER sailed from Singapore on September 14th bound for Trincomalee, arriving there on the 19th, 879 squadron disembarked to RNAS Trincomalee. The squadron was earmarked for return to the UK to receive new equipment and re-group, they re-embarked in ATTACKER on October 10th. She sailed for Bombay the following day, carrying many passengers and servicemen going home to be de-mobbed; after Bombay she called at Malta on route, arriving in UK waters on November 10th 1945. 879 squadron departed from the ship for the final time as she steamed up the Irish Sea, flying off to RNAS Nutts Corner, Northern Ireland.

On November 17th the squadron received 12 new Seafire XVlls at Nutts Corner, but was disband on January 7th 1946.

Content revised: 25 November 2016