857 Naval Air Squadron

We take in turns with our sister unit, 854, to provide vital airborne monitoring of insurgent activity in southern Afghanistan, supplying ground units with key pieces of intelligence. We also deploy with carrier task groups in our more usual environment keeping track of aerial activity and keeping tabs on movements on the ocean.

Sea King ASaC Mk7
Sea King ASaC Mk7
Sea King ASaC Mk7
Sea King ASaC Mk7
Sea King ASaC Mk7
Sea King ASaC Mk7
Sea King ASaC Mk7
Members of 857 Naval Air Squadron chat on their return home from Libya.
Sea King on the flight deck of HMS Ocean off Libya
857 NAS
857 NAS
857 NAS
857 NAS
857 NAS

COMMANDING OFFICER

Geoff Hayward

RANK:
Lieutenant Commander

JOINED:
1987

SPECIALISATION:
Warfare (Observer)

PREVIOUS UNITS:

Military experience

More than 2,500 hours’ experience in the skies as an observer.
Flown numerous aircraft types including Jetstream, Sea King Mk2/7 and USN E2C Hawkeye.
Married and living in Portsmouth.

Enjoys photography and carp fishing

OPERATIONS

Operation Telic

CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED

MISSION SUMMARY

An ongoing UK commitment to clearing and maintaining a mine countermeasures force in the Gulf.

Operation Herrick

CURRENT STATUS: COMPLETED

MISSION SUMMARY

Operation Herrick is the code-name for the work UK Forces have been doing in Afghanistan since 2002, working to bring about stability in the country and maintain the forces of law and order, pushing back the Taliban and preventing them from using the country as a base for terrorism.

LATEST NEWS

TAKE A LOOK

- Sea King ASaC Mk7
- Sea King ASaC Mk7
- Sea King ASaC Mk7
- Sea King ASaC Mk7
- Sea King ASaC Mk7
- Sea King ASaC Mk7
- Sea King ASaC Mk7
- Members of 857 Naval Air Squadron chat on their return home from Libya.
- Sea King on the flight deck of HMS Ocean off Libya
- 857 NAS
- 857 NAS
- 857 NAS
- 857 NAS
- 857 NAS

UNITS IN TIME

857 Naval Air Squadron HISTORY

TRACK THE HISTORY OF SHIPS NAMED 857 Naval Air Squadron

A Torpedo Bomber Squadron

The squadron was originally formed in April 1944 as a torpedo-bomber squadron flying Grumman Avengers.
Battle Honours

Its aircraft attacked oil refineries at Palembang as well as targets around Okinawa, the East China Sea and Formosa (today Taiwan), before spending the last days of the conflict in Hong Kong where it fought off Japanese suicide boats.
War's End

Within three months of the war’s end, the squadron was disbanded. It only stood up again in December 2006 when 849 Naval Air Squadron was divided; its Bee Flight became the core of 857.

1944
1945
2006

Current Jobs

Air Engineer Officer

In this technically demanding job, you’re ultimately responsible for the people who keep the Royal Navy flying. On an operational squadron, you’ll lead a team maintaining, updating, fitting and testing sophisticated propulsion, weapons, navigation, communications and control systems and keeping...

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Air Engineering Technician

As a vital part of our air operations team, you’ll take charge of scheduled maintenance and pre- and post-flight servicing and inspections for the Fleet Air Arm’s aircraft. You could serve on board a frigate, destroyer, helicopter carrier, at a...

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Aircrew Officer Pilot

You must have the commitment and physical and mental stamina to cope with the long and demanding training. You’ll need to be calm, confident and decisive under pressure. But you’ll need to develop more than just flying and tactical skills...

More info

857 Naval Air Squadron