No. 92 Squadron

No. 92 Squadron reformed on 10 October 1939 at RAF Tangmere, briefly flying the Bristol Blenheim before re-equipping with the Supermarine Spitfire in the spring of 1940. It fought over Dunkirk and then, from RAF Biggin Hill in No. 11 Group, became one of the best-known fighter squadrons of the Battle of Britain; in February 1941 it was the first unit to receive the Spitfire Mark V. Geoffrey Wellum, who joined the squadron in 1940 aged eighteen and later wrote First Light, was among the pilots who flew with it through this period.

In early 1942 the squadron moved to the Middle East, fighting through the desert battles around El Alamein before following the campaign to Malta, Sicily and, from September 1943, mainland Italy, where it ended the war in the fighter-bomber role. Over the course of the conflict No. 92 was credited with the highest victory total of any RAF fighter squadron. Its motto was Aut pugna aut morere, “either fight or die”.