815 Naval Air Squadron

Flying the nimble, fast and potent Lynx, 815 Naval Air Squadron is the largest helicopter squadron in Europe. Every day of the year, Flights from 815 are deployed at sea in one of Her Majesty's Ships or Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, providing aviation support to the Fleet on the front line.

Lynx Mk8
Lynx Mk8
Lynx Mk8

COMMANDING OFFICER

Louis Wilson-Chalon

RANK:
Commander

JOINED:
1988

SPECIALISATION:
Warfare (Pilot)

PREVIOUS UNITS:
Sea Kings and Lynx helicopters

Military experience

Louis Wilson-Chalon joined the RN in 1988 as a Seaman officer and earned his pilot’s wings in 1992. Flying anti-submarine warfare Sea Kings and Lynx Helicopters he has served in a variety of warships. He has also worked at Navy Command, Flag Officer Sea Training and been the RN pilot’s Career Manager.

A keen sportsman, he is chairman of Naval Air Command Golf Society, Governor-Director of Huish Episcopi Academy and a family man.
To keep fit he runs and plays both tennis and squash

OPERATIONS

Operational Flying Training

CURRENT STATUS: active

MISSION SUMMARY

Flying training conducted on board RFA Argus

LATEST NEWS

ABOUT THE UNIT

KEY STATISTICS

Number of Pirate Skiffs Destroyed on Last Deployment: 7

Amount of fuel used 10/11: Nearly 600,000 Gallons

Number of counter narcotics seizures: 4 - £10 million total

Rounds of M3M heavy machine gun ammunition fired - 10/11: 43,000Rounds

Deck Landings achieved: over 2000

Number of People Rescued in SAR Ops: 24

Number of pilots/observers trained: 12

Fleet Royal Marine Sniper Teams Trained: 11

TAKE A LOOK

- 200 Flt celebrates 6000 Flying Hours
- Journalists from the national and local media interview First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope aboard HMS Liverpool
- A tender embrace for pilot Lt Al Crawford from his wife Stacy
- Families wait expectantly for 217 Flight to return to Yeovilton
- Flight Commander Lt Phil Barron holds his sons Samuel, two, and Thomas, three.
- 815 NAS and Royal British Legion Bruton forge new links
- Best Beard – AET Jones
- Not the Best Beard – AET Smetana
- Liz Ridgeway and Cdre Paul Chivers OBE judge the beard growing competition in 815 NAS hangar
- Beard Competition winner
- The Lynx helicopter from 815 NAS
- CPO ‘Elf’ Jason Finlayson with the excited children from Milford School in Yeovil
- CPO ‘Elf’ Jason Finlayson with the excited children from Milford School in Yeovil
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa
- Montrose’s Lynx goes on safari in South Africa

UNITS IN TIME

815 Naval Air Squadron HISTORY

TRACK THE HISTORY OF SHIPS NAMED 815 Naval Air Squadron

Formation

815 Naval Air Squadron was born as World War 2 began, formed at RNAS Worthy Down on 9th October 1939 with obsolete Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers.
The Greatest Victory

Despite its antiquated aircraft, 815 scored the Fleet Air Arm’s greatest victory, crippling the Italian Fleet at Taranto in November 1940 – for the loss of a single Swordfish. It is a victory celebrated by the squadron to this day.
In The Mediterranean

Flying Swordfish and Fairey Albacores, the squadron continued to support operations in North Africa and Sicily. 815 would later spend some time in the Far East and home waters flying Fairey Barracudas in an anti-submarine role.
Cape Matapan

815 remained a thorn in the Italian Navy’s side, torpedoing the cruiser Pola at the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941, sowing the seeds for the subsequent routing of five enemy ships by the Mediterranean Fleet.
Changing Airframes

Through the 1950s the squadron operated Grumman Avengers and, finally, Fairey Gannets, before it converted to helicopters: the Westland Whirlwind in 1958 and from 1961, the more capable Wessex.
Tanzania

815 took part in operations off East Africa (Tanzania), Indonesia and Aden during the era of the ‘end of Empire’, flying from the carrier, HMS Centaur.
Disbanded

In 1966, the squadron was disbanded, not returning to the Fleet Air Arm fold for another 15 years when it recommissioned at RNAS Yeovilton in 1981 with the Lynx HAS Mk2 as the Headquarters Squadron for embarked Lynx flights.
In the Falklands

It moved to Portland in 1982 and was involved in the Falklands campaign, the Armilla patrol in the Gulf and relief operations off Lebanon, Aden and in the Caribbean.
Offensive Operations

Between August 1990 and February 1991 several flights were involved in offensive operations in the northern Gulf, using their Sea Skua missiles to knock out much of the Iraqi Navy.
Battle Honours

Kuwait 1991
Merging

Parenting of flights was shared with 829 Naval Air Squadron until 1993 when the two merged, making 815 NAS the largest helicopter squadron in the world.

1939
1940
1941
1941
1958
1964
1966
1982
1990
1991
1993

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815 Naval Air Squadron