1703 Naval Air Squadron

1703 Naval Air Squadron
1703 NAS Badge
Active	1 August 1945 - 18 September 1945
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Amphibian Bomber Reconnaissance Squadron
Role	Air Sea Rescue
Size	six aircraft
Part of	Fleet Air Arm
Home station	RNAS Lee-on-Solent
Motto(s)	Elephanti Albi! (White elephant! - unofficial)[1]
Commanders
Notable commanders	Lieutenant(A) K.A. Chare RNVR
Insignia
Squadron Badge Description	An elephant's head (Wartime unofficial)[1]
Identification Markings	not coded[1]
Aircraft flown
Patrol	Supermarine Sea Otter

Supermarine Sea Otter, an example of the type used by 1703 NAS

1703 Naval Air Squadron (1703 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was formed in August 1945 at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus) for Air Sea Rescue duties in the Pacific. It was equipped with Supermarine Sea Otter. The Second World War ended in the same month that the squadron was formed, and it never deployed or saw action. ^[2]

History

Air Sea Rescue (1945)

1703 Naval Air Squadron formed on 1 August 1945 as an Air Sea Rescue (ASR) squadron at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus), Hampshire, England.^[3] It was equipped with six Supermarine Sea Otter, an amphibious maritime patrol and air sea rescue aircraft, and planned for operations in the Pacific.^[4] The squadron suffered from considerable issues with its aircraft and their engines,^[1] It was active for only forty-nine days, disbanding at RNAS Lee-on-Solent on 18 September 1945.^[3]

Aircraft flown

1703 Naval Air Squadron flew only one aircraft type:^[1]

• Supermarine Sea Otter ABR.1 air sea rescue aircraft (August - September 1945)

Naval air stations

1703 Naval Air Squadron operated from a single naval air station of the Royal Navy, in England:^[5]

• Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus) (1 August 1945 - 18 September 1945)
• disbanded - (18 September 1945)

Commanding Officers

List of commanding officers of 1703 Naval Air Squadron with date of appointment:^[4]

• Lieutenant(A) K.A. Chare, RNVR, from 1 August 1945
• disbanded - 18 September 1945

References

Citations

1. Ballance, Howard & Sturtivant 2016, p. 276.
2. "1703 NAS". Fleet Air Arm Archive. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
3. "Lee-on-Solent". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
4. Wragg 2019, p. 189.
5. "1703 Naval Air Squadron". Royal Navy Research Archive - Royal Naval Air Squadrons 1938 to present day. Retrieved 3 May 2024.

Bibliography

• Ballance, Theo; Howard, Lee; Sturtivant, Ray (2016). The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm. Air Britain Historians Limited. ISBN 978-0-85130-489-2.
• Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-9303-6.

External links

• "A History of 1703 Naval Air Squadron". The Royal Navy Research Archive. 26 September 2021.