846 Naval Air Squadron

846 Naval Air Squadron
846 Naval Air Squadron
	Squadron badge
Active	1943–1945; 1962–1964; 1968–1975; 1976–1977; 1978–2013; 2014–present;
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Commando Helicopter Force medium-lift squadron
Role	Royal Marines: Tactical airlift; amphibious assault; Merlin HC4/4A pilot and aircrew training;
Part of	Fleet Air Arm; Joint Aviation Command; Commando Helicopter Force;
Home station	RNAS Yeovilton
Nickname	'Junglies'
Motto	Semper instans (Latin for 'Always threatening')
Aircraft	AgustaWestland Merlin MK4
Decorations	Boyd Trophy 1963, 1984
Website	Official website
Commanders
Current; commander	Commander James Coleman
Insignia
Squadron Badge Description	Blue over water barry wavy of six white and blue, a man proper helmeted red holding in the sinister hand a sword gold and mounted on a Pegasus white attacking a sea serpent proper langued red (1944)
Identification Markings	4A+ (Avenger); JA+ (Avenger on Trumpeter September 1944); single letters (Wildcat); J:A (Wildcat September 1944); single letters (Whirlwind); single letters (Wessex); XA+ (Wessex June 1971); V plus individual letters S,Q,U,A,D,R,O,N (Wessex); then P,O,L,A,R,C,U,B,S (October 1978); VA+ (Sea King December 1979); single letter B-Z (Merlin);
Fin Carrier/Shore Codes	A (Whirlwind); CU (Wessex); CU:VL:B:H (Wessex June 1971); VL (Sea King December 1979, later no fin code);

846 Naval Air Squadron (846 NAS), sometimes referred to as 846 Squadron, is a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). The squadron represents one of the two primary AgustaWestland Merlin HC4 Squadrons that constitute the Royal Navy's Commando Helicopter Force, having operated this variant since 2019.

The squadron was active in the later years of the Second World War, utilising the Grumman Avenger. During the early sixties, it flew the Westland Whirlwind, providing support for Royal Marines deployments abroad. It transitioned to the Westland Wessex using these between 1968 and 1981. Between December 1979 and the summer of 2013, 846 Squadron operated the Westland Sea King HC4 helicopter to provide troop transport and load lifting support to 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, notably during the Falklands conflict, the Gulf War, operations in the Adriatic and former Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, 846 NAS stood down in the summer of 2013 and its personnel, buildings and equipment were amalgamated into 845 Naval Air Squadron.

The squadron stood up on 30 September 2014 with the AgustaWestland Merlin HC3 and it now holds the Operational Conversion Flight and Maritime Counter Terrorism Role.