("Together in battle") , equipment=

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...

, equipment_label= Aircraft, identification_symbol= A demi-Norwegian axe , battle_honours= Number 332 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 ...

was formed 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 ...

in the North Riding of Yorkshire on 16 January 1942, as a

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 ...

-equipped fighter squadron manned by

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

History

In World War II (1942–1945)

The squadron became operational on 21 March 1942, and moved on 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 ...

to operate alongside another Norwegian crewed squadron, No. 331 Squadron. With squadron code "AH", No. 332 squadron became part of No. 132 Wing alongside Norwegian No. 331 Squadron. It operated as air cover for 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 later flew 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 late 1943/early 1944 both squadrons were transferred to the 2nd Tactical Air Force and participated in 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 ...

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, ...

s and tactical air superiority fighters. From September onwards No. 132 Wing participated in the liberation of the Netherlands. In April 1945, the squadron was transferred to

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 ...

, and the following month transferred to Norway after the German surrender. On 21 September 1945, the squadron was disbanded at Værnes as an RAF unit and passed to the control of the

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). During the war between them, No. 331 and No. 332 Squadrons scored many air victories: 180 confirmed destroyed, 35 probables and more than 100 damaged. Combined losses were heavy as well: 131 aircraft lost with 71 pilots killed.

In the Royal Norwegian Air Force (1945–present)

In honour of its achievements during World War II, the Royal Norwegian Air Force has maintained its RAF squadron names. Thus, the RNoAF still has the fighter units 331 Squadron and 332 Squadron. Today, the Norwegian 332 Squadron is based at Ørland Air Station where it operates the

Notable pilots

*Sgt

Per Bergsland Sgt Per Bergsland (17 January 1918 – 9 June 1992) was a Norwegians, Norwegian fighter pilot and POW in the Nazi Germany, German POW camp Stalag Luft III and one of only three men to escape to freedom in the "Stalag Luft III#The great escape, Gr ...

(Captured August 1942) *Sgt Carl Sejersted Bødtker (April 1943) *Sgt

Jan Staubo Jan Staubo (28 September 1920 – 15 June 2003) was a Norwegian sportsman, politician and sports official. As a sportsman he competed internationally in tennis and nationally in other sports. He was a member of the city council of Norway's capit ...

*Cpt

Finn Thorsager The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to a member of the majority Balto-Finnic ethnic group of Finland, or to a person from Finland. Finn may also refer to: Places * Finn Lake, Minnesota, United States * Finn Township, Logan County, Nort ...

*Lt

Soren Kjell Liby Soren may refer to: * Søren, a given name of Scandinavian origin, also spelled ''Sören'' * Suren (disambiguation), a Persian name also rendered as Soren * 3864 Søren, main belt asteroid * Sōren, also known as ''Chongryon'' and ''Zai-Nihon Chōs ...

*Lt Marius Eriksen *

Gunnar Piltingsrud Gunnar is a male first name of Nordic origin (''Gunnarr'' in Old Norse). The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (''gunnr'' "war" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

*Fnr

Ola Gert Aanjesen Ola may refer to: Places Panama *Olá, a subdistrict in Coclé Province *Olá District Russia *Ola, Russia, an urban settlement in Magadan Oblast *Ola District, an administrative division in Magadan Oblast *Ola (river), a river in Magadan Obla ...

*Maj

Reidar Emil From Reidar is a Scandinavian male given name of Old Norse origins. As of 2013, there are 6,850 people with this name in Norway, 1,519 in Sweden and 108 in Finland. In Estonia there are 5 Reidars and in Italy there's only one. The namesday is July 28 in ...

Otto Grieg Tidemand Otto Grieg Tidemand (18 June 1921, Oslo – 10 June 2006, Oslo) was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. He served as Minister of Defence from 1965 to 1970 and Minister of Trade and Shipping from 1970 to 1971. Military service Dur ...

- later Norwegian Minister of Defence 1965-70

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated include: * Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Va (January 1942 – April 1942) * Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb (April 1942 – November 1942; May 1943 – June 1943) * Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXb (November 1942 – April 1945) * Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXe (April 1945 – 1952) * Republic F-84G Thunderjet (1953 – 1957) * North American F-86F Sabre (1957 – 1962) * North American F-86K Sabre (1962 – 1964) *

Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and the ...

(1966 – 1973) * Fokker (GD) F-16A Fighting Falcon (1980 – 2001) * Fokker (GD) F-16AM Fighting Falcon (2001 – July 2016) *

(November 2017 – present)

References

Notes

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

RAf official website Squadron history

Historical photos from the No. 332 Squadron during WW2

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