NAVY NEWS, MARCH 2011


21


disbanding ceremony, concluding (right) with 800 NAS’ last Commanding Offi cer Cdr David Lindsay leading the


in Leeds, including civic and business leaders, the Royal Armouries, local Sea Cadets and Leeds-based members of the Royal Naval Reserves. The Leeds-Ark Royal bond goes back to the aftermath of the sinking of the legendary third Ark in 1941. The good folk of Leeds raised millions of pounds to pay for a replacement and supported the carrier throughout her 25-year career – granting that ship’s company Freedom of the City in 1973. Nearly 40 years and one carrier


shortly before Christmas. Proceedings at Wittering – which proudly called itself ‘Home of the Harrier’ for more than 40 years – were focused on the decommissioning (or disbanding in RAF terminology) of Britin’s three squadrons: 800 NAS and 1(F) and IV(R) RAF Sqns. The trio made up Joint Force


history back beyond the birth of the Air Force and even WW1; they were formed in 1912. 800 NAS has served in three incarnations since the 1930s.


later, today’s Ark Royal marched through Leeds for the last time, led by the Band of HM Royal Marines Scotland, from Leeds City Museum through the centre to the town hall, where Lord Mayor Cllr Jim McKenna took the salute. “Today is a day of great celebration with the ship’s company exercising their Right of Freedom of the City,


but one of sadness too with the decommissioning.. “Ark Royal has always had a firm place in the hearts of the people of Leeds.”


A


provided the enduring memory of the day.


Syne from the RAF Cranwell Band filling the cavernous hangar at RAF Wittering, Cdr David Lindsay led the Colour Party of his 800 Naval Air Squadron – the Fleet Air Arm’s last fast jet squadron in this era – past the ranking officers of the Senior and Junior Services and saluted. A couple of guests in the 600-strong audience stood up and applauded. It set off a domino effect, a Mexican


With the strains of Auld Lang


MID the formalities, the military tunes, the official speeches, it was a spontaneous act which


Harrier, the combined jump jet unit which saw the Fleet Air Arm drop the Sea Harrier in favour of the ground- attack bomber flown by the RAF and decamp from its native Somerset for RAFs Wittering and Cottesmore in eastern England. As a joint force, the decommissioning ceremony highlighted the similarities – and differences – between the two forces.


800 and 1(F) are largely homogeneous dark blue/light blue squadrons respectively;


however, is a mixiblob of Navy and RAF ground and aircrew.


The RAF Band plays marches largely unfamiliar to Naval audiences (The Longest Day 633 Squadron) – but they did strike up Heart of Oak at the ceremony’s end.


val ay,


did e


The RAF Guard of Honour wear white gloves, their Fleet Air Arm counterparts do not (and probably regretted that fact on a bitter winter’s day) – but the sailors do wear white puttees. And while the sailors march behind


o


the White Ensign, the RAF follow their individual squadron standards which were laid up in a nearby church after proceedings, the Royal Navy’s flag is eternal.


Wave – or more accurately, ‘Mexican Clap’ – as in a flash friends, family and veterans rose from their seats to a man, woman and child and showed their appreciation for the deeds of Joint Force Harrier. Their applause, said Cdr Lindsay, “left a lump in my throat – it shows what a signifi cant day this is”. The aircraft he flew for two decades has already passed into history. The fabled jump jet took its final bow (literally, thanks to its unique abilities)


personnel om parade – 50 from each squadron – the head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, and First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope thanked the squadrons for their commitment, dedication and, in times of war, blood shed for their nation.


formations, said Air Chief Marshal Dalton, had given “distinguished and gallant service” and made “an outstanding contribution to the history of three iconic squadrons.” Both RAF squadrons trace their


The men and women of all three After inspecting at length the 150 IV(R),


And as three of the most celebrated, most honoured, most battle-proven squadrons in the history of aviation, all three would re-form one day, Air Chief Marshal Dalton said. “It is only adieu, not goodbye.” Most recently, all three squadrons


have taken it in turns to support the Allied effort in Afghanistan. In that last theatre,


Stanhope told the personnel of 800 Naval Air Squadron, its men and women had “carried the torch for the generations of naval aviators that came before you. “Not once have you let them, or


us, down.”


The admiral said the decision to pay off the Harrier force “was one not taken lightly or easily. It has been a painful one for a close-knit comm


outstanding service over very many “


Th fa c


also your legacy.” The immediate future for the 800 NAS personnel – the squadron was still 100 strong on the day of its decommissioning – is to prepare their aircraft for storage and keep the fl ame of carrier aviation burning until the future carriers and Joint Strike Fighter arrive in a decade’s time. “This is the end of an era of hard


sacrifice, some of it in blood,” said Cdr Lindsay. “We have to take that legacy


and move on into the future. I am a born optimist. Hopefully we will recommission as the fi rst squadron fl ying the Joint Strike Fighter. “It has been the greatest privilege


of my life to be the commanding offi cer of the last Harrier squadron in the Fleet Air Arm.”


in Lancashire (l-r) forming up near the Printworks (wet); past the Printworks (still wet); along Corporation Street “That is not only your future, but willsa


heart of the future forces which will safeguard our country.


hea - w


“But we have to move on. The implications reach far beyond the Harrier community. The challenge we now face is to recreate c


carrier strike capability which for so long has been - and will again be - at the


y years.


community which has given outst


Admiral


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