Fleet Air Arm Patch 899 Naval Air Squadron NAS Crest g Sea Harrier a

Fleet Air Arm FAA Patch Royal Navy 899 Naval Air Squadron NAS Sea Harrier FRS 1 Crest 1980 RNAS Yeovilton Embroidered applique on wool cut edge plastic coated white back 124mm by 92mm four and seven eighth inches by three and five eighth inches.

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Badge Winged Gauntlet on sea and clouds.

Motto Strike And Defend.

Squadron History 1955 2005

Following disbandment in 1945 899 Naval Air Squadron reactivated on 7 November 1955 at RNAS Brawdy equipped with Seahawk FGA6 jet aircraft tasked with maritime strike and deployed aboard HMS Eagle on 16 April 1956 to the Mediterranean and Egypt and carried out combat missions during Operation Musketeer during the Suez Crisis. The Squadron returned to RNAS Brawdy on 3 January 1957 and inactivated on 5 January 1957 having undertaken 165 combat ground attack missions and achieved over 4000 hours flying time and over 2000 deck landings.

899 NAS was reactivated on 1 February 1961 at RNAS Yeovilton equipped with Sea Vixen Mk 1 fighter aircraft as the fourth Sea Vixen Squadron becoming the Sea Vixen Headquarters Squadron responsible for evaluating tactics and equipment including conducting flight refuelling trials with buddy packs during 1961 and 1962 and deployed to HMS Victorious in August 1963. The Squadron converted to Sea Vixen FAW2 in February 1964 and in June 1964 regained front line status becoming the Sea Vixen FAW2 Intensive Flying Trials Unit IFTU and embarked on HMS Eagle for the Far East in December 1964 returning in May 1965.

The Squadron embarked aboard HMS Eagle for the Far East on 25 August 1965 and with the Rhodesian UDI crisis November 1965 the Squadron provided air cover for the Biera Patrol blockade remaining at sea for a record seventy two days. In 1967 the Squadron aboard HMS Eagle provided air cover for the British withdrawal from Aden with one of the Squadrons Sea Vixens the last aircraft to leave Aden carrying the British flag back to HMS Eagle. The Squadron remained part of HMS Eagles air group rotating to RNAS Yeovilton when not embarked until it was disbanded 23 January 1972 at RNAS Yeovilton following the governments decision that Britain no longer needed aircraft carriers.

899 Naval Air Squadron was reactivated in 1980 at RNAS Yeovilton equipped with Sea Harrier and Harrier T4N trainer VSTOL aircraft on the redesignation of 700A Squadron to provide Sea Harrier pilot training. The Squadron received a Hunter T8M with Sea Harrier cockpit layout in 1981 to provide instrument radar training not available with the Harrier T4N trainer. In 1982 the Squadron provided five pilots each to 800 and 801 Squadrons and provided the core of short lived 809 Squadron when it commissioned in April 1982 for Operation Corporate to recapture the Falkland Islands. The Squadron returned to strength in August 1982 and received another Hunter T8M in 1983 and established its Sea Harrier FA2 OEU Operational Evaluation Unit at Boscombe Down in June 1993 and began training pilots to fly and engineers to maintain the Sea Harrier FA2. FA2 OEU relocated to Yeovilton in January 1994 with the Squadron completing conversion to the FA2 and reassigning its Hunter T8Ms to FRADU.

The Squadron sent four OEU Sea Harrier FA2s to join 800 NAS on HMS Invincible in the Adriatic in October and November 1994 for combat operations in support of British and United Nations ground forces in Bosnia Herzegovina. The Squadron upgraded its T4N trainers to Harrier T8 in May 1995. 899 NAS continued to train pilots and engineering personnel for the front line squadrons 800 NAS and 801 NAS until its inactivation at RNAS Yeovilton on 31 March 2005.

This patch dates from 1980.