HMS Nabbington
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HMS Nabbington, was a Royal Navy, Mobile Operational Naval Air Base (MONAB), that was established at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base RAAF Nowra at Nowra, New South Wales, in Australia during the final stages of the Second World War. HMS Nabbington was also known as MONAB I and Royal Naval Air Station Nowra (or RNAS Nowra).
| HMS Nabbington Mobile Operational Naval Air Base I
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| at RAAF Base Nowra, near Nowra, in New South Wales in Australia | |||||||||
HMS Nabbington Location within New South Wales
HMS Nabbington HMS Nabbington (Australia) | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°56′56″S 150°32′13″E / 34.94889°S 150.53694°E | ||||||||
| Type | Mobile Operational Naval Air Base | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Australian Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator |  Royal Navy | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Fleet Air Arm | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| In use | 1945 – 1946 | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Garrison | MONAB I | ||||||||
| Occupants |
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| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Elevation | 365 feet (111 m) AMSL | ||||||||
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| Source: Royal Navy Research Archive[1][2] | |||||||||
History
After being assembled at HMS Flycatcher, at Royal Naval Air Station Ludham, Norfolk, on 4 September 1944, the base was commissioned as an independent command bearing the ship's name HMS Nabbington on 28 October 1944. Established to support the aircraft carriers of the British Pacific Fleet, the base's stores, equipment and vehicles sailed from Victoria Dock, Birkenhead, aboard the S.S. Suffolk, and personnel sailed from Gladstone Dock, Liverpool upon S.S. Empress of Scotland on 20 November 1944 bound for Sydney, Australia.[3]
After arriving in Sydney on 20 December 1944, the personnel set up at Warwick Farm racecourse, which had been converted into Camp Warwick, a part of HMS Golden Hind, the Royal Navy barracks in Sydney. Upon Suffolk's arrival at Sydney on 24 December 1944, Royal Australian Air Force personnel from No. 1 Transportation & Movements began unloading the stores and equipment for transport to RAAF Nowra, which was officially transferred to the Royal Navy on a loan basis and commissioned as HMS Nabbington, Royal Naval Air Station Nowra, on 2 January 1945. Some improvements and expansion were required in order to make the base operational, and these were undertaken during January 1945.[3]
After these improvements were completed, the base provided shore based facilities for the British Pacific Fleet's Carrier Air Groups when the carriers were in Sydney for repairs and resupply. In early March 1945 operational flying was transferred to Nowra's satellite airfield at Jervis Bay Airfield in order to permit emergency repairs to be carried out on the runways and taxiways at Nowra which were deteriorating due to wet weather and heavy use. Flying operations returned to Nowra on 28 April 1945. On 18 May 1945, the 3rd Carrier Air Group was formed as a reserve Air Group.[4]
When the Japanese surrendered on 15 August 1945, Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) or Victory in the Pacific (VP Day), was celebrated at Nowra and the men and women of HMS Nabbington marched through the streets. Nabbington, MONAB I, was paid off on 15 November 1945 and RNAS Nowra was subsequently re-commissioned as HMS Nabwick (MONAB V) on 15 November 1945.[5]
Commanding officers
List of commanding officers of HMS Nabbington with date of appointment:
Units based at HMS Nabbington
List of units associated with MONAB I, in support of disembarked Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance (TBR) Squadrons, the provision of continuation & refresher flying training and a fleet requirements unit:
Function
Aviation support componenets
- Mobile Maintenance (MM) No. 1
- Maintenance Servicing (MS) No. 1 & 2
- Mobile Repair (MR) No. 1
- Maintenance, Storage & Resave (MSR) No. 1 & 2
- Mobile Air Torpedo Maintenance Unit (MATMU) No. 3, 6 & 7
Aircraft type supported
- Grumman Avenger Mk.I & II
- Vought Corsair Mk II & IV
- Grumman Hellcat F. Mk. I & II
- Miles Martinet TT.MK I
Squadrons based at HMS Nabbington
List of first line squadrons, station flight and other flying units based at RNAS Nowra:
- 820 Naval Air Squadron (10 – 27 February 1945) & (18 September 1945) (Grumman Avenger Mk.II)
- 828 Naval Air Squadron (24 August 1945) (Grumman Avenger)
- 837 Naval Air Squadron (29 October 1945) (exchanged Fairey Barracuda for 12 Fairey Firefly FR.Is)
- 848 Naval Air Squadron (24 August – 25 October 1945) (Grumman Avenger)
- 849 Naval Air Squadron (10 – 27 February 1945) & (6 – 24 June 1945) (Grumman Avenger)
- 854 Naval Air Squadron (11 February – 6 March 1945) & (18 May – 24 October 1945) (Grumann Avenger)
- 857 Naval Air Squadron (11 – 28 February 1945), (5 June – 2 August 1945) & (11 – 22 October 1945) (Grumman Avenger)
- 1771 Naval Air Squadron (13 September – 16 October 1945) (Fairey Firefly I)
- 1830 Naval Air Squadron (9 February – 7 March 1945) (Vought Corsair)
- 1833 Naval Air Squadron (9 February – 7 March 1945) (6 Vought Corsair)
- 1834 Naval Air Squadron (10 – 27 February 1945) (Vought Corsair)
- 1836 Naval Air Squadron (10 – 27 February 1945) (Vought Corsair)
- 1839 Naval Air Squadron (11 – 27 February 1945), (1 June – 3 August 1945) & (10 – 22 October 1945) (Grumman Hellcat)
- 1841 Naval Air Squadron (23 August – 25 October 1945) (Vought Corsair)
- 1842 Naval Air Squadron (23 August – 25 October 1945) (Vought Corsair)
- 1843 Naval Air Squadron (15 July 1945 – 24 October 1945) (Vought Corsair Mk IV)
- 1844 Naval Air Squadron (11 – 27 February 1945), (5 June – 3 August 1945), (11 – 16 August 1945) & (10 – 22 October 1945) (Grumman Hellcat)
- 1845 Naval Air Squadron (14 July – 24 October 1945) (Vought Corsair Mk IV)
- 1846 Naval Air Squadron (14 July – 13 August 1945) (Vought Corsair Mk IV)
Aircraft carriers squadrons disembarked from/embarked to
Satellite airfields
Citations
- ^ "Nabbington-1". Royal Navy Research Archive - The MONAB Story - A history of the mobile airfields of the Royal Navy. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Nowra". Royal Navy Research Archive - Fleet Air Arm Bases 1939 - present day. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Mobile Naval Air Base No. 1: Formation & Assembly in the UK". The MONAB Story. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ "Mobile Naval Air Base No. 1: Operations at Nowra, NSW". The MONAB Story. Retrieved 17 January 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Mobile Naval Air Base No. 1: VJ Day & the run down to paying off". The MONAB story. Retrieved 17 January 2016.[permanent dead link]
References
- "The MONAB Story". Archived from the original on 20 July 2012.