1771 SQUADRON
ROYAL NAVY FLEET AIR ARM
BRITISH PACIFIC FLEET

1771 Squadron Crest

JERVIS BAY 07.05.45 24.05.45 Airfield Temp Huts JERVIS BAY

Commanding Officers

Aircraft

Fairey Firefly 1

Peter Hosford (ex LAM.E on Kite 87 or 88) from Canada was the youngest member of the squadron, being seventeen years old when he joined up in 1942. 

Peter Hosford has an old slip of paper recording the locations of his time with 1771 Squadron during WW2 on HMS Implacable as follows:-

Norway September 1944
Scapa flow March 10th 1945
Gibraltar, March 21 1945
Port Said, March 26th 1945
Suez Canal, March 28th, 1945
Columbo - Ceylon, April 8th, 1945
China Bay -April 9th, 1945
Freemantle - May 1st, 1945
Jervis Bay, May 9th or 10th -1945

A couple of notes - hardly readable on the piece of paper appear to show:-

Admiralty Isles - Manus - May 29th
Truk - in June

The first time that Peter Hosford  went ashore in Sydney they were met by some of the local people, who took them to their home, fed them and made them feel very welcome.  Peter fondly remembers the Thompson family. They lived in Woolloomooloo. Mr Thompson would meet Peter at the dock then take him to a ‘bar’.  "There would be a host of guys, at least six deep, passing ‘schooners’ to the latecomers at the back.  The bar closed at 5pm – sharp – no wonder the haste to put one down before closing time. Halcyon days – such wonderful people"

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

1771 Squadron at Burscough in August 1944. Peter Hosford
is at the far left in the 2nd row from the rear.

The fellow in the RAF uniform in the above photograph was Flight Sergeant Brett. He is 9th from the left in the 2nd row from the front. The person to his left is L.Commander Ellis - the original Squadron Leader. He was killed while landing on an Aircraft Carrier at night time. He apparently had a bad habit of approaching the Carrier from the bow, then pancaking on to the stern - one night he missed. He was a very good pilot, very highly decorated, but his choice of approach was a mite suspect.   

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

1771 Squadron at Port Said, in March 1945. 
Peter Hosford is in the rear row, tenth from the left.
The people with the ties on are the 'Petty Officers'

Picture:- via Peter Hosford

1771 Naval Air Squadron Weekly
News Sheet - the Last Edition

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

Ships postings

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

The Suby's on kite No 75

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

Recognise anyone?

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

Flight crew and ground crew for Kite No 79 off Japan in 1945

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

Recognise anyone?

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

Recognise anyone?

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

Aircraft on display in St Martins Place, Sydney on 4 May 1945  for a War Bond Drive

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

Funeral of Pilot, Petty Officer Stuart Walker and the Observer, Sub. Lt. (A)
John M. Jones. They were killed in a crash of a Fairey Firefly Mark 1 at
night time at RNAS Jervis Bay (HMS Nabswick) on about 10 May 1945.
They were both buried in the Nowra War Cemetery.

Photo:- via Peter Hosford

Funeral of Pilot, Petty Officer Stuart Walker and
the Observer, Sub. Lt. (A) John M. Jones.

Andy Catterall's father, Michael Catterall, was a member of 1771 Squadron since it was founded until the end of the war.

Photo: via Andy Catterall

Aircrew 1771 Squadron

Photo: via Andy Catterall

Fireflies with long range fuel tanks. The aircraft are also complete with their new "Pacific Markings", which comprises a bar across
the roundels. Peter Hosford told me "We were about to join up with the American Fleet. Someone decided that our markings could be
mistaken for Japanese, so we spent all night painting the Bar. There was controlled panic plus paint and paper everywhere, so to speak."

Photo: via Andy Catterall

1771 Squadron about to leave RNAS Burscough for HMAS Implacable

Photo: via Andy Catterall

Addls?

Photo: via Andy Catterall

HMAS Implacable in the Scapa Flow

Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm in Australia during WW2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank Dennis Whiley and Andrew Catterall for their assistance with this web page.

I'd also like to thank Peter Hosford (Canada) for his assistance with this web page. Peter was an LAM.E with 1771 Squadron on Kite 87 or 88. I'd also like to than Peter's neighbour Jim Carruthers for scanning Peter's photos and e-mailing them top me.

Can anyone help me with more information?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 17 December 2000

This page last updated 17 January 2020