Naval Operational Training Unit (1945) On 11 April 1945, 704 Naval Air Squadron was formed at
RNAS Zeals (HMS Hummingbird), located near the village of
Zeals in
Wiltshire, as a Naval Operational Training Unit, for the conversion of de Havilland Mosquito
aircrew. The squadron was equipped with
de Havilland Mosquito, a British twin-engined,
multirole combat aircraft. It mainly operated with the FB.VI strike ("fighter-bomber") variant and also had a smaller number of T.III two-seat
trainer versions. On 20 June four of the aircraft were detached to
703 Naval Air Squadron which was operating at
RAF Thorney Island, which was located on
Thorney Island,
West Sussex. The aircraft were utilised for development work in conjunction with the
Royal Air Force’s
Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit (ASWDU). The rest of 704 NAS relocated to RAF Thorney Island on 4 September and the detachment was incorporated back into the squadron. Three months later the squadron disbanded on 2 December 1945 when it was absorbed into
762 Naval Air Squadron, a Twin Engine Conversion Unit. == Aircraft flown ==