784 Naval Air Squadron

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784 Naval Air Squadron (784 NAS) was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm unit formed on 1 June 1942 at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus). It was a Night Fighter Training squadron, training crews for night interception.

Formation and early work
- Initial aircraft: six Fairey Fulmar fighters and two Vought Chesapeake aircraft. More Fulmars and Avro Anson aircraft joined later; the Ansons were used as AI radar training aircraft.
- 18 October 1942: Moved to RNAS Drem (HMS Nighthawk) in Scotland.
- 1943: Some personnel detached to RAF Christchurch to support the Naval Air Radio Installation Unit; some pilots served with No. 29 Squadron RAF, earning DFCs for night-fighting actions (notably Price and Armitage).

Convoy protection and 1944 updates
- 1944: Three Flights (each with three Fulmar aircraft) were attached to escort carriers for convoy defense—813 NAS on HMS Campania, 825 NAS on HMS Vindex, and 835 NAS on HMS Nairana.
- September 1944: Received the night-fighter Fairey Firefly NF Mk I, equipped with ASH radar for air-intercept duties.

Later 1945–1946 changes and disbandment
- November 1945: A B Flight was formed from the disbanded 732 NAS, operating Grumman Hellcat NF Mk II and North American Harvard trainers.
- January 1946: Moved to RNAS Dale (HMS Goldcrest) in Pembrokeshire, Wales, but mainly operated from the satellite RNAS Brawdy (Goldcrest II).
- 10 September 1946: Disbanded, becoming B Flight of 790 NAS.

Aircraft operated
- Fairey Fulmar, Avro Anson (AI radar trainers), Vought Chesapeake, Fairey Firefly NF Mk I, Grumman Hellcat NF Mk II, North American Harvard, among others.

Home stations
- Primary: RNAS Lee-on-Solent (Daedalus), RNAS Drem (Nighthawk), RNAS Dale (Goldcrest), and RNAS Brawdy (Goldcrest II), with detachments and carrier assignments in between.

Motto and insignia
- Motto: Illumina tenebras (Lighten our darkness). The squadron had a distinctive badge, but details are omitted here for brevity.

784 NAS served in the UK and aboard escort carriers, playing a key role in night-fighter training and convoy protection during World War II, until its dissolution in 1946.