Armament Training Squadron
774 Naval Air Squadron formed on 10 November 1939 at RNAS Worthy Down (HMS Kestrel), in Hampshire, England.[4] It was formed as an Armament Training Squadron for Air Observers and Telegraphist Air Gunners. The squadron was equipped with aircraft taken from 815 and 782 Naval Air Squadrons, along with other airframes from storage and the initial number of aircraft consisted three Blackburn Skua, a dive bomber and fighter aircraft, three Blackburn Roc turret fighter aircraft (for turret conversion course), four Blackburn Shark, a torpedo/spotter/reconnaissance aircraft for target tugs and four Fairey Swordfish, a biplane torpedo bomber. Six days later, on 16 November the squadron moved to RAF Aldergrove, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland,[4] as part of No. 3 Bombing and Gunnery School RAF.
On 3 July, 774 Naval Air Squadron relocated to RAF Evanton, in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland and on 17 September, it moved south to RNAS St Merryn (HMS Vulture), in Cornwall, England.[5] Here the squadron received Fairey Albacore, a single-engine biplane torpedo bomber. The following year both the Blackburn Roc and Blackburn Skua were withdrawn from squadron use and during 1942 the Blackburn Shark left. Fairey Barracuda, a British carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber, arrived in 1943 and replaced both the Fairey Albacore and Fairey Swordfish and the squadron also received some Boulton Paul Defiant target tug variant aircraft along with a number of Hawker Sea Hurricane, a navalised version of the Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft.
On 24 October 1944, 774 Naval Air Squadron moved to RNAS Rattray (HMS Merganser), Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It became a target-towing unit, and disbanded there on 1 August 1945.