No. 72 Squadron — Basutoland

No. 72 (Basutoland) Squadron entered the Second World War as a Spitfire unit within Fighter Command, its honorific marking a gift of aircraft from the Basutoland Protectorate (today Lesotho). The squadron flew convoy patrols and then covered the Dunkirk evacuation in May–June 1940, operating initially from Acklington under 13 Group before moving south to RAF Biggin Hill in August 1940 to reinforce the hard-pressed 11 Group during the Battle of Britain’s critical phase. After two years of offensive sweeps over northern France, the squadron deployed to Gibraltar in November 1942 to support the Allied landings in North Africa, advancing through Tunisia, Malta, and Sicily before crossing to Italy in September 1943. It later provided cover for Operation Dragoon, the August 1944 invasion of southern France, before returning to Italy to serve until the German surrender. Flying successive Spitfire marks throughout, the squadron was credited with 248 enemy aircraft destroyed.