Pre-war history 825 Squadron's first assignment after commissioning was to board the aircraft carrier for service on the
China Station. This was short-lived, and by January 1935 both the squadron and the carrier were in the
Mediterranean. The squadron was transferred to
Hal Far, Malta in March, while
Eagle returned to Britain for a refit. replaced
Eagle, and the squadron alternated its time between the carrier and the aerodrome at Hal Far. They returned briefly to the UK in May 1937 to attend the Coronation
Fleet Review, before retaking their station in the Mediterranean, and were transferred to
Admiralty control on 24 May 1939. The squadron re-embarked on
Glorious in March and sailed to Britain to defend Norway after the
German invasion. On their arrival, they disembarked at
RNAS Prestwick. With the sinking of HMS
Glorious by the
German battleships and on 8 June 1940, the squadron was transferred to operate from
Worthy Down,
Detling and
Thorney Island, covering allied forces in France and the
Low Countries as the German forces advanced.
Atlantic and the Bismarck The depleted squadron was brought up to nine aircraft in July 1940 and embarked aboard . They then operated off the Norwegian coast in September, carrying out night attacks on
Trondheim and
Tromsø. After the British withdrawal, the squadron remained aboard
Furious, and by February 1941 was off the
Gold Coast. The 825 designation then returned to the Royal Navy, and the squadron reformed in June 1951 at
RNAS Eglinton. During this period, they spent time operating off . It then re-formed at
RNAS Culdrose on 16 August 1960, equipped with
Whirlwind HAS.7s. The squadron was deployed in the
Middle East during crises between
Iraq and
Kuwait in 1961. It then transferred most of its aircraft to 824 Squadron, returning to the UK aboard . In late 1961 they took part in relief operations after
Mombasa was hit by flooding. They were again disbanded on 2 April 1962. ==Current formation==