No. 133 Squadron — Eagle

No. 133 (Eagle) Squadron was the third of three RAF squadrons formed from American volunteer pilots — men who crossed the Atlantic to fight before the United States entered the war. Reformed at RAF Coltishall on 1 August 1941, it flew Hawker Hurricanes before converting to Spitfires, spending the winter of 1941–42 at RAF Eglinton in Northern Ireland. Moving south to RAF Biggin Hill in May 1942 as part of 11 Group, the squadron flew offensive sweeps over occupied France and took part in the Dieppe operation that August. On 26 September 1942, eleven of its twelve new Spitfire Mk IXs were lost on a B-17 escort when strong winds pushed the formation over Brest, where the aircraft ran out of fuel; four pilots died, six were captured. Three days later, on 29 September, all three Eagle Squadrons transferred to the United States Army Air Forces, with No. 133 becoming the 336th Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Group.