| Unit Name: | 715 Naval Air Squadron |
| Dates: | Royal Air Force 15 July 1936 - 24 May 1939 Royal Navy 24 May 1939 – 21 January 1940 17 August 1944 – 31 March 1946 |
| Type: | Fleet Air Arm Second Line Squadron |
| Role: | Maritime Attack (1936-1940) Training (1944-1946) |
| Size: | Squadron |
| Command Structure: | Fleet Air Arm |
| Garrison: |
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| Garrison Label: | Home station |
| Identification Symbol: | 43-45 (Walrus) WM-WW (Walrus 1936) 43-45 (Walrus 1937) K9A+ (Walrus from May 1939) S4A+ (all types 1944) S3+ (Harvard) |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Identification Markings |
| Aircraft Fighter: | Vought Corsair Supermarine Seafire Supermarine Spitfire |
| Aircraft Bomber: | Hawker Osprey |
| Aircraft Patrol: | Supermarine Walrus |
| Aircraft Trainer: | North American Harvard Miles Master |
715 Naval Air Squadron (715 NAS) was a Naval air squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm created in July 1936 to serve as a catapult flight of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force. It was elevated to squadron status at the end of 1937, before being disbanded in January 1940. It was re-formed in August 1944 to operate as the Fighter Wing of the School of Air Combat, before being disbanded in March 1946, and absorbed into 736 Naval Air Squadron.[1]
The flight originally came into being following a renumbering of the No. 403 (Catapult) Flight and operated in the 5th Cruiser Squadron in the China Station under the command of Lieutenant Commander E.O.F. Price, RN. Its shore-based headquarters was at Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, but it also had a satellite at Wei-Hai-Wei, China. The flight was initially equipped with Hawker Osprey III seaplanes, the navalised carrier-borne version of the Hawker Hart, and was stationed aboard the County-class cruisers:,, and . It was re-equipped with Supermarine Walrus amphibious biplane in September 1936, and the last Hawker Osprey III left the flight in July 1937.
In 1937, HMS Berwick and HMS Kent left the 5th Cruiser Squadron for major refits, and the flight was rebased onto,,, and . At the end of this year, it was elevated from flight to squadron status.
On 24 May 1939 the squadron was transferred to Admiralty control, and operated from shore bases at Kai Tak and Seletar with seven Supermarine Walrus aircraft, on five RN cruisers. The squadron was disbanded at RAF Kai Tak on 21 January 1940 when all catapult squadrons were merged into 700 Naval Air Squadron.
On 17 August 1944 the squadron was re-formed at RNAS St. Merryn (HMS Vulture) to operate Fighter Air Combat Instructor and Fighter Leaders Courses, under the command of Lieutenant Commander (A) R.E. Gardner, RNVR.
They used a collection of planes including the Supermarine Spitfire, a British single-seat fighter aircraft, Supermarine Seafire, a navalised version of the Supermarine Spitfire, and Vought F4U Corsair, an American carrier-based fighter-bomber, but also had access to a few Miles Master, a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer, and North American Harvard IIB, an American single-engine advanced trainer aircraft.
On 12 December 1944 the command was passed on to Lieutenant Commander D.G. Carlisle DSC, SANF(V), and then to Lieutenant Commander F.R.A. Turnbull, RN on 28 June 1945. Following the end of the Second World War, training continued for several months, but on 31 March 1946 the squadron was disbanded for the final time and reabsorbed into 736 Naval Air Squadron.
The squadron operated a variety of different aircraft and versions:
715 Naval Air Squadron operated from a single naval air station of the Royal Navy, a number of Royal Navy capital ships and Royal Air Force stations overseas:
1936 - 1940
1940 - 1946
The unit operated a variety of different Royal Navy ships’ flights, between 1936 and 1940:
List of commanding officers of 715 Naval Air Squadron with month and year of appointment:
1936 - 1940
1944 - 1936