HMS Nabaron

HMS Nabaron Mobile Operational Naval Air Base IV
on Ponam Island, Admiralty Islands, in the Manus Province in Papua New Guinea
Ponam island in 1944, with runway visible, location of MONAB IV
Movere et Servire (Latin for 'We move to serve') Unofficial, no official design approved
HMS Nabaron Papua New Guinea
Coordinates	01°54′45″S 146°53′8″E
Type	Mobile Operational Naval Air Base
Site information
Owner	United States Navy
Operator	Royal Navy
Controlled by	Fleet Air Arm
Site history
In use	1945 (1945) – 1945 (1945)
Garrison information
Garrison	MONAB IV
Occupants	721 Fleet Requirements Unit 1701 Air Sea Rescue squadron 'B' Flight Mobile Maintenance (MM) No. 3 Mobile Servicing (MS) No. 5 Mobile Servicing (MS) No. 6 Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 1 Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 4 Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 6 Mobile Annexe No. 1 Mobile Air Torpedo Maintenance Unit (MATMU) No. 7
Airfield information
Elevation	6 feet (1.8 m) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 11/29 1,665 yards (1,522 m) x 50 yards (46 m) Crushed coral
Source: Royal Navy Research Archive

HMS Nabaron was a Royal Navy (RN) Mobile Operational Naval Air Base (MONAB) which was situated at the United States Navy (USN) airfield NAS Ponam Airfield on Ponam Island, Admiralty Islands in Papua New Guinea, which had been transferred to RN on loan. HMS Nabaron was also known as MONAB IV and Royal Naval Air Station Ponam (or RNAS Ponam).

History

The personnel and equipment for MONAB IV began to assemble at Royal Naval Air Station Ludham (HMS Flycatcher), Norfolk, on 15 November. This was to be a Type A MONAB (Small), which was required to support up to 50 aircraft. It was initially allocated Mobile Servicing (MS) No. 5 for Vought Corsair Mk II & IV, Mobile Servicing (MS) No. 6 for Grumman Hellcat F. Mk. I & II, Mobile Maintenance (MM) No. 3 for Grumman Avenger Mk I & II, Fairey Firefly Mk. I and Supermarine Seafire F Mk III & L Mk III and Mobile Annex (MA) No. 1.

MONAB IV commissioned as an independent command on New Year's Day 1945 bearing the ship's name HMS Nabaron, with Captain A.N.C. Bingley, OBE, RN, in command. By mid-January the unit was ready for despatch overseas and the unit's vehicles, equipment and personnel travelled to Liverpool on 16 January 1945. The personnel embarked in the troopship SS Dominion Monarch, while stores and equipment were loaded in the SS Clan Macaulay. Both vessels sailed with convoy UC.53A on the 19.

They passed through the Panama Canal on 3 February to enter the Pacific Ocean, and arrived in Sydney, Australia on 21 February. The following day the personnel were disembarked into tented accommodation at Warwick Farm Racecourse an extension of the RN Barracks at HMS Golden Hind. While MONAB IV had been sailing to Australia it was decided to use it to man the US Navy's NAS Ponam Airfield on Ponam Island in the Admiralty Islands. This decision meant MONAB IV was in the forward area and therefore it was also to be tasked with providing a reserve aircraft storage. To enable it to provide a storage facility an additional component was added and Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 4 was transferred from the strength of MONAB II at RNAS Bankstown (HMS Nabberley), Sydney.

A small advance party including Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 4 was sent to Ponam on the maintenance carrier HMS Unicorn which sailed with the British Pacific Fleet (BPF), arriving on 13 March. On 22 the Victualling Store Issue Ship (VSIS) Fort Edmonton arrived with three months victualling stores. SS Clan Macaulay was unloaded with the stores and equipment and the main party arrived on 24 March in the SS Empire Arquebus. HMS Nabaron re-commissioned at RNAS Ponam on 2 April. HMS Nabaron started to provide aircrew training from 30 April. HMS Fencer disembarked two Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber aircraft together with four spare aircrew and this was the initial collection of reserve aircraft. By the end of May forty reserve airframes had been received from the ferry carriers and there were no aircraft issues made by that date.

Flying increased at RNAS Ponam in May. 721 Naval Air Squadron, a Fleet Requirements unit (FRU), equipped with Vultee Vengeance TT.IV target tug aircraft and 1701 Naval Air Squadron's 'B' Flight, an Air Sea Rescue (ASR) unit, equipped with Supermarine Sea Otter amphibious Air-Sea rescue aircraft arrived off the island on 28 May in HMS Begum. 721 Naval Air Squadron target tugs were to act as targets for fighter interceptions and tow drogues for air to air firings. 1701 'B' Flight remained until the end of August, but never needed to undertake a rescue.

On 29 May HMS Implacable arrived at Manus to begin a six-week work up and RNAS Ponam was used for Aerodrome Dummy Deck Landing (ADDL) training. 1843 Nava Air Squadron's twenty-four Vought Corsair Mk IV aircraft disembarked from HMS Arbiter on 31 and they were to remain until 25 June. Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 6 disembarked from HMS Arbiter on 1 June, to assist with aircraft replenishment. It was equipped to service Fairey Firefly I, Supermarine Seafire F Mk III & L Mk III, and Supermarine Sea Otter aircraft, and increased the HMS Nabaron's reserve capacity to one hundred aircraft.

On 21 June, RN Forward Aircraft Pool No. 1 (FAP1) disembarked from HMS Pioneer to the USN Air Station Pityilu, an airstrip constructed by the USN 140th Naval Construction Battalion on Pityilu Island, situated 22 miles east of Ponam, where lodger facilities had been secured for a RN Forward Aircraft Pool and Air Train test flight, and was attached to MONAB IV for administration purposes.

During June the numbers accommodated on the island were at their highest. MONAB IV's complement, including the two Mobile, Storage & Reserve units, totalled roughly 785 men, however, it was required to provide accommodation for up to a further 930 officers and men from both the resident and the disembarked FAA squadrons. At its maximum capacity HMS Nabaron could be home to 1700 men. The overflow accommodation was provided in the form of native style reed huts situated along the edges of the lagoon and were found to be very suitable for temporary accommodation.

On 4 July the commanding officer, Captain Bingley, was taken ill. He made no improvement, therefore, he was flown back to Australia for treatment at the Royal Naval Hospital, Herne Bay, Sydney, on 17. Commander. W.S. Thomas, DSO, RN, temporarily assumed command. Another component arrived on 6 July when Mobile Air Torpedo Maintenance Unit (MATMU) No. 7 disembarked from the SS Clan Chattan.

Victory over Japan (V-J) Day was celebrated on Ponam the day after it was announced. With Captain Bingley being unfit to return to duty, on 30 August Captain C.J. Blake, RN, arrived to assume command of MONAB IV, with orders to place RNAS Ponam on one month's notice to close down and the RN Forward Aircraft Pool No. I, at USNAS Pityilu to close in September.

uring September all reserve aircraft held the RN Forward Aircraft Pool No. I, on Pityilu, were flown to RNAS Ponam. Every opportunity was taken to embark aircraft and stores in ships returning to Australia. An evacuation programme had been created for October. Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 6 was embarked in the escort carrier HMS Vindex on 26 September. The escort carrier HMS Reaper arrived on 3 October to embark 'B' Flight of 1701 Naval Air Squadron and on 6 HMS Unicorn arrived to embark Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 4 for return to Australia. SS Empire Charmain arrived to take on board the vehicles of Mobile Air Torpedo Maintenance Unit (MATMU) No. 7 and she sailed for Sydney on 16. HMS Unicorn arrived back at RNAS Ponam on 24 to embark the remaining stores and personnel. HMS Chaser arrived on 30 October to load equipment and two Supermarine Walrus and both ships sailed for Australia on 31 October.

HMS Unicorn arrived at Sydney on 6 November and MONAB IV ceased to exist. On 9 November the personnel of MONAB IV embarked in the escort carrier HMS Slinger for passage to the UK arriving in time for Christmas.

Units based at HMS Nabaron

List of units associated with MONAB IV, in support of disembarked front line Squadrons, the provision of reserve aircraft storage for the forward area, a fleet requirements unit and an Air-Sea rescue flight:

Function

• 721 Fleet Requirements Unit
• 1701 Air Sea Rescue Squadron 'B' Flight

Aviation support components

• Mobile Maintenance (MM) No. 3
• Mobile Servicing (MS) No. 5
• Mobile Servicing (MS) No. 6
• Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 1
• Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 4
• Mobile, Storage & Reserve (MSR) No. 6
• Mobile Annexe No. 1
• Mobile Air Torpedo Maintenance Unit (MATMU) No. 7

Aircraft type supported

• Grumman Avenger Mk.I & II
• Vought Corsair Mk II & IV
• Fairey Firefly I
• Grumman Hellcat F. Mk. I & II
• Stinson Reliant I
• Supermarine Seafire F Mk III & L Mk III
• Supermarine Sea Otter I
• Vultee Vengeance TT.IV

Squadrons at HMS Nabaron

List of Fleet Air Arm first and second line squadrons, station flight and other flying units either based at or disembarked to RNAS Nowra (HMS Nabaron) and MONAB IV:

Based squadrons

• Station Flight operated a number of Stinson Reliant aircraft for communication duties.
• 721 Fleet Requirements Unit disembarked from HMS Begum, on 30 May 1945 and was initially equipped with six Vultee Vengeance TT.IV. It embarked in HMS Unicorn on 9 October for passage to RNAMY Archerfield.
• 1701 Air Sea Rescue Squadron 'B' Flight disembarked from HMS Begum on 28 May 1945, equipped with three Supermarine Sea Otter. It embarked in HMS Reaper on 3 October.

Disembarked squadrons

Torpedo, Bomber, Reconnaissance Squadron

• 812 Naval Air Squadron was a Torpedo, Bomber, Reconnaissance Squadron. It was equipped with Fairey Barracuda Mk II and a detachment of six aircraft disembarked from HMS Vengeance between 28 - 30 August 1945.
• 828 Naval Air Squadron was a Torpedo, Bomber, Reconnaissance Squadron which was equipped with twenty-one Grumman Avenger Mk.I. It disembarked from HMS Implacable on 29 May 1945 and re-embarked on 9 June. A detachment of nine aircraft was also disembarked between 9 - 12 June 1945.

Fighter Squadron

• 801 Naval Air Squadron, a Fleet Fighter Squadron was equipped with Supermarine Seafire L Mk III and a detachment of six aircraft disembarked from HMS Implacable between 28 - 31 May 1945.
• 880 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Fighter Squadron which was equipped with twenty-four Supermarine Seafire, a mixture of F MK II and L MK III. A detachment of six aircraft disembarked from HMS Implacable between 28 - 31 May 1945. The squadron was also disembarked here between 21 - 28 June 1945.
• 885 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Fighter Squadron. It disembarked from HMS Ruler on 31 May 1945 and was equipped with twenty Supermarine Seafire, a mixture of F MK II and L MK III. It re-embarked on 17 June 1945. A detachment of twelve aircraft was disembarked between 19 - 28 June 1945.
• 1771 Naval Air Squadron a Two Seater Fighter Squadron detached seven aircraft from HMS Implacable here between 9 - 12 May 1945. It was equipped with Fairey Firefly I aircraft.
• 1841 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Fighter Squadron equipped with twenty Vought Corsair Mk IV. It disembarked from HMS Formidable between 18 - 19 August 1945.
• 1843 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Fighter Squadron equipped with twenty Vought Corsair Mk IV. It disembarked here from HMS Arbiter on 31 May 1945 and re-embarked on 25 June.
• 1850 Naval Air Squadron was a Fleet Fighter Squadron equipped with twenty Vought Corsair Mk IV. A detachment of twelve aircraft disembarked from HMS Vengeance between 23 - 30.

References

• "The MONAB Story A history of the mobile airfields of the Royal Navy". Royal Navy Research Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
• Hobbs, David (2007). Moving Bases Royal Navy Maintenance Carriers and MONABs. Liskeard, Cornwall, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 978-1-904459-30-9.
• Ballance, Theo; Howard, Lee; Sturtivant, Ray (2016). The Squadrons and Units of the Fleet Air Arm. Air Britain Historians Limited. ISBN 978-0-85130-489-2.
• Wragg, David (2019). The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-9303-6.