847 Naval Air Squadron

847 Naval Air Squadron (847 NAS), sometimes called 847 Squadron, is a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It operates AgustaWestland Wildcat AH.1 helicopters and provides armed reconnaissance and light transport support to UK Commando Force. Along with 845 and 846 naval air squadrons, it forms part of the Commando Helicopter Force. The squadron was re-formed from 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron on 1 September 1995 and is based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, a Royal Naval establishment, with helicopters drawn from an Army Air Corps pool and flown by Royal Marines and Royal Navy aircrews.

The squadron was active in the later years of the Second World War, utilising the Grumman Avenger. In the late fifties, it operated the Fairey Gannet, particularly during the Cyprus Emergency. Throughout the sixties, it flew the Westland Whirlwind, providing support for Royal Marines deployments abroad, and by 1970, it transitioned to the Westland Wessex. Additionally, it operated the Westland Wessex briefly in 1982, especially during the Falklands conflict. From the mid-nineties onward, the squadron utilised the Westland Lynx and Westland Gazelle across various operational theatres internationally, eventually transitioning to the AgustaWestland Wildcat in 2014.