No. 335 Squadron (RAF) during the Second World War

No.335 Squadron was a Greek manned fighter squadron that served in the Mediterranean, the Balkans and over the Aegean from 1941 until the end of the Second World War.

The squadron was formed at Aqir (Palestine) on 10 October 1941. It was originally to be known as No.361 Squadron, Royal Hellenic Air Force, but instead became No.335 Squadron. The new fighter squadron performed defensive duties in Palestine until January 1942, when it transferred to the Western Desert.

The squadron flew fighter patrols over the desert from January to June 1942, when it was pulled back to Egypt. It returned to the front in September, and flew a mix of ground attack and escort missions until the Battle of El Alamein.

As the Allied armies advanced west, No.335 Squadron remained in the east, flying shipping protection patrols off the coast of Libya. From this point on it served alongside a second Greek fighter squadron, No.336. In the autumn of 1944 the squadron converted to the Spitfire, and in September took these aircraft to bases in Italy. The Spitfires were used to fly offensive sweeps over Albania and Yugoslavia.

In November 1944 the squadron was able to move onto home soil, and was based at Hassani from then until September 1945. The squadron was used to fly fighter sweeps over Crete and the remaining German bases in the Aegean.

In September 1945 the squadron moved to Salonika, in the north-east of Greece, where it remained until being disbanded on 31 July 1946.

Location
October-December 1941: Aqir
December 1941-January 1942: St. Jean d'Acre
January 1942: Helwan
January-May 1942: El Daba
May-June 1942: Gerawla
June 1942: El Daba
June-August 1942: Idku
August-September 1942: Dekheila
September-October 1942: LG.173
October 1942: LG.85
October-November 1942: LG.37
November 1942: LG.13
November 1942-February 1943: LG.121
February 1943: Mersa Matruh
February 1943-January 1944: Tocra
January-February 1944: Benina
February-March 1944: Tocra
March-September 1944: Bersis

September 1944: Savoia
September-October 1944: Nuova
October-November 1944: Biferno

Duty
October 1941-January 1942: Defensive cover, Palestine
January 1942-June 1942: Fighter patrols, Western Desert
June-September 1942: Egypt
September-November 1942: Ground attack/ escort, Western Desert
November 1942-September 1944: Shipping protection, Libya
September 1944-November 1944: Sweeps over Balkans from Italy
November 1944 onwards: Sweeps over Aegean and Crete from Greece

Part of
11 November 1941: No.263 Wing; RAF Palestine and Trans-Jordan; RAF Middle East
27 October 1942: No.7 (SAAF) Wing; No.212 Group; AHQ Western Desert; Middle East Command
10 July 1943: No.219 Group; Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean; Mediterranean Air Command

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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (21 November 2011), No. 335 Squadron (RAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/335_wwII.html