No. 79 Squadron — Madras Presidency

No. 79 (Madras Presidency) Squadron entered the Second World War as a Hurricane fighter unit based at RAF Biggin Hill. Deployed briefly to France in May 1940, it claimed around twenty-five enemy aircraft destroyed before withdrawing to England. During the Battle of Britain the squadron flew from Biggin Hill and later from Acklington, where on 15 August 1940 it helped break up a large Luftwaffe raid crossing the North Sea from Norway — one of the day’s decisive engagements. Among its pilots was Flight Lieutenant Jimmy Davies DFC, an American-born ace whose death on 27 June 1940 made him the first US-born airman killed in combat in the war. In March 1942 the squadron sailed for India, re-entering the fight over Burma with cannon-armed Hurricane IICs flying ground-attack and offensive-sweep missions. It re-equipped with the Republic Thunderbolt II in mid-1944 and continued operations until disbanding at Meiktila on 30 December 1945.