Its current official abbreviated title is 41 TES. Disbanded in as part of the post-war draw down, No. During the Second World War , the squadron flew Supermarine Spitfire fighters, and saw action over Dunkirk and the during the Battle of Britain in the early years of the war. Combat operations were flown from Britain over German-occupied Europe during —, before the squadron moved to the continent after the Normandy landings. During —, the squadron supported the Allied advance into Germany, and it remained there until mid as part of the occupation force following the end of hostilities.
In the post-war years, the squadron was disbanded and re-formed several times, operating a variety of jet aircraft in the fighter, reconnaissance, and interceptor roles. Eighteen aircraft departed Gosport for the miles kilometres flight to St. Omer , but only twelve actually made it, the others landing elsewhere with technical problems.
The twelve pilots spent a week at St. Omer before moving to Abeele , where the ground crews reached them by road, and the remaining six pilots by rail, minus their aircraft. The F. On 24 January , the squadron claimed its first victories. These fell to Sergeant Pilot Cecil Tooms, who himself was killed in action only four hours later. By this time, the unit had become the last ' pusher ' fighter squadron in the RFC. In July , No.
The squadron provided distinguished service in the Battle of Cambrai November , and subsequently in the German spring offensive March , and the Battle of Amiens August Their new base was Tangmere , but they were moved to Croydon, Surrey, in early October, and formally disbanded on 31 December During the war, some seventeen aces served with No.
The unit had a remarkable number of Canadian aces in it; ten out of the seventeen. The pilots were credited with destroying aircraft and 14 balloons, sending down aircraft out of control, and driving down 25 aircraft and five balloons.
