No. 331 Squadron RAF was a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

squadron of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. The squadron was primarily manned with Norwegian aircrew. The squadron was part of

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War World War II or the Second World War, oft ...

between 1941 and March 1944 when it joined the

2nd Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forc ...

until the end of the war. The squadron took part in the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, s ...

and the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

History

It was formed as a fighter squadron at

RAF Catterick Royal Air Force Catterick or RAF Catterick is a former Royal Air Force airfield located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England. It is located alongside the A6055 road on the outskirts of Catterick Village. Although initially a flying st ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

on 21 July 1941. The squadron was manned by exiled Norwegians,Thomas 2003, p. 91 except for the ground crew and the commanding officer. It was given the RAF aircraft code prefix "FN", which was often said to be an abbreviation for "First Norwegian" or "For Norway", the latter being the squadron's official motto (in Norwegian ''For Norge''). The squadron badge was a Norwegian Viking sword and a British sword in

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltatori ...

, bound together with a ring — symbolising the friendship between Norway and Great Britain. The squadron was initially equipped with

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

Mk 1s, inherited from a Polish RAF unit. These had to be rebuilt before 331 Squadron could become operational, on 15 September 1941. It provided defence for northern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, moving to

RAF Castletown Royal Air Force Castletown or more simply RAF Castletown is a former Royal Air Force station that operated during the Second World War. Built near to Castletown in Caithness, Scotland the station opened in 1940 and closed in 1945. Initially bu ...

on 21 August and later to

RAF Skaebrae Royal Air Force Skeabrae or more simply RAF Skeabrae is a former Royal Air Force station located in Orkney, Mainland, United Kingdom. History The following units were here at some point: ;Squadrons ;Units * Advanced Ship Recognition Flight R ...

. On 4 May 1942, the squadron moved south to

RAF North Weald North Weald Airfield is an operational general aviation aerodrome, in the civil parish of North Weald Bassett in Epping Forest, Essex, England. It was an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain, when it was known as the RAF Stat ...

, having re-equipped with

Spitfires The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...

in November 1941. 331 Squadron was joined by a second Norwegian unit 332 Squadron, also flying Spitfires. Together they were known as North Weald Wing and were part of the Allied air umbrella over the landing area in the

, and later flying fighter sweeps and escort operations over occupied France and the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. In November 1943, 331 and 332 Squadrons were transferred to the

and became known as No. 132 Airfield; later No. 132 Wing. Following fighter bomber and tactical air superiority operations, connected to preparations for

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

and the actual landings in France, the squadron moved to

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, in August 1944. From September onwards, 132 Wing participated in the

liberation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family re ...

and provided air support for the

crossing of the Rhine The crossing of the Rhine River by a mixed group of barbarians which included Vandals, Alans and Suebi is traditionally considered to have occurred on the last day of the year 406 (December 31, 406). The crossing transgressed one of the Lat ...

. On 24 April 1945, the squadron was transferred to North Weald and later to

RAF Dyce Aberdeen International Airport ( gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Obar Dheathain) is an international airport, located in the Dyce suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately northwest of Aberdeen city centre. A total of just under 3.1&nbs ...

, where 331 and 332 Squadrons converted to Spitfire Mark IXe and Mk XVI. Following the end of the war, the wing flew to Norway and on 21 September 1945, 331 Squadron was officially disbanded as an RAF unit, with control passed to the re-formed

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...

(RNoAF). Between them during the war, 331 and 332 Squadrons scored 180 confirmed destroyed, 35 probables and more than 100 damaged. Combined losses were 131 aircraft lost with 71 pilots killed. In honour of the achievements of the Second World War squadrons, the RNoAF has maintained RAF squadron names, including a 331st Fighter Squadron, now flying F-16s and based at

Bodø Main Air Station Bodø Air Station (; no, Bodø hovedflystasjon) is a military air base of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) located in the town of Bodø in Bodø Municipality, Nordland county, Norway. It is home to the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons ...

Aircraft operated during RAF service

*July–August 1941 Hawker Hurricane I & IIB *August–November 1941

Supermarine Spitfire IIA Supermarine Spitfire variants powered by early model Rolls-Royce Merlin engines mostly utilised single-speed, single-stage superchargers. The British Supermarine Spitfire was the only Allied fighter aircraft of the Second World War to f ...

*November 1941-August 1942 Supermarine Spitfire VB *March–October 1942 Supermarine Spitfire IXB *October 1942-November 1945 Supermarine Spitfire IXE

All aircraft operated by No.331 Sqn

*1941

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...

*1951 Squadron deactivated *1952

Republic F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thun ...

*1957

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing ...

*1963

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...

*1981

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a success ...

RAF bases

*July–August 1941:

*August–September 1941:

*September 1941-May 1942: RAF Skeabrae *May–June 1942:

*June–July 1942:

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpo ...

*July–August 1942: North Weald *August 1942: Manston *August–September 1942: North Weald *September 1942:

RAF Ipswich Ipswich Airport was an airfield on the outskirts of Ipswich, Suffolk England. It was known as RAF Nacton when No. 3619 Fighter Control Unit of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force were based there. History The site of Ravens Wood was purchased by t ...

*September–October 1942: North Weald *October 1942: Manston *October 1942-January 1944: North Weald *January 1944:

RAF Llanbedr Llanbedr () is a village and community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. History Ancient monuments at Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones; the St ...

*January–March 1944: North Weald *March 1944: Southend *March 1944: North Weald *March–June 1944: Bognor Regis *June–August 1944:

RAF Tangmere RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a ...

*August 1944: RAF Funtington West Sussex *August 1944: RAF Ford *August–September 1944: Villons les Buissons (B.16) *September 1944: Camp Neuseville (B.33) *September 1944: Lille/ Wambrechies (B.57) *September–October 1944:

RAF Fairwood Common Royal Air Force Fairwood Common or more simply RAF Fairwood Common is a former Royal Air Force Sector station located at Fairwood Common on the Gower Peninsula to the west of Swansea. It is now the location of Swansea Airport. History RAF Fa ...

*October–December 1944: Grimbergen (B.60) *December 1944-February 1945: Woendrecht (B.79) *February–March 1945: Schijndel (B.85) *March–April 1945: Fairwood Common *April 1945: Schijndel (B.85) *April 1945: Enschede (B.106) *April–May 1945:

*May–November 1945: Gardermoen (detachment at Stavanger)

References

Bibliography

* Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (new edition 1976, reprinted 1978). . *

External links

Historical photos from the No. 331 Squadron during WW2

Article about the No. 331-332 Squadrons' 60th anniversary visit to North Weald Airfield
{{DEFAULTSORT:331 Squadron Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons Royal Norwegian Air Force squadrons Military units and formations of Norway in World War II