No. 82 Squadron — United Provinces

No. 82 (United Provinces) Squadron entered the war as a Bristol Blenheim IV day-bomber unit based at RAF Watton, Norfolk, assigned to 2 Group. Its early war record was one of the costliest in Bomber Command: on 17 May 1940 ten of twelve Blenheims were destroyed by Messerschmitt Bf 109s over Gembloux, Belgium, with twenty-two aircrew killed and three captured. A raid on Aalborg airfield in August 1940 cost eleven of twelve aircraft. Under Wing Commander the Earl of Bandon, the squadron rebuilt and continued anti-shipping operations before a Lossiemouth detachment in 1941. In March 1942 it transferred to India, re-equipping with Vultee Vengeance dive-bombers and striking Japanese targets in Burma from June 1943. A conversion to de Havilland Mosquito VIs in July 1944 brought low-level ground-attack work over Burma until the Japanese surrender, after which the squadron disbanded in March 1946.