402 Squadron - The Second World War

The Second World War

No. 2 Squadron RCAF was formed at RAF Digby, Lincolnshire, England, in December 1940 from personnel of No. 110 Squadron RCAF and No. 112 Squadron RCAF and initially equipped with the Hawker Hurricane Mk I. Renumbered as No. 402 Squadron RCAF in March 1941, the unit was re-equipped with the Hurricane Mk II in May and then Hurricane Mk IIBs in June. With these, it began training to become the first "Hurribomber" (Hurricane IIC) unit, commencing operations in this role in November, carrying pairs of 250 lb bombs beneath the wings.

In March 1942, the Squadron resumed its fighter role moving to RAF Colerne and converting to Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vbs. Cross-Channel sorties from various bases followed, notably RAF Kenley and RAF Redhill, until August when it received Spitfire Mk IXs, employing these over Dieppe on 19 August. A move to RAF Digby in March 1943, brought a return to Spitfire Mk Vs, which were flown from a variety of airfields right up to and during the Battle of Normandy, when it operated from Horne, Westhampnett (now Chichester/Goodwood Airport) and Merston, mainly in a fighter-bomber role. Spitfire IXs were again received in July, but their stay was brief, as in early August, a move was made to Hawkinge where the Squadron re-equipped with the Griffon-engine Spitfire Mk XIVs and operations against the V-1 flying bombs were commenced.

At the end of September, with the V-1 threat being largely over, the squadron was posted to the 2nd Tactical Air Force (TAF) in Belgium, joining No. 125 Wing RCAF. A move to Grave in the Netherlands followed where the first victories were claimed over Nijmegen on 6 October. In December, the Squadron joined No. 126 Wing RCAF to fly alongside the Wing's Spitfire IXs. It continued to see regular action against Luftwaffe aircraft during the last weeks of the European war; 19 victories being claimed in April 1945 alone. The ending of the hostilities found the unit on German soil at Wunstorf with total victories for the war of 49½ aircraft. The code letters carried by the Squadron during this period were "AE". The Squadron disbanded at RAF Fassberg, Germany on 10 July 1945.