No. 17 Squadron

No. 17 Squadron entered the Second World War flying Hurricane Mk.Is from RAF Debden, conducting defensive patrols before deploying to Brittany in June 1940 to cover the BEF’s withdrawal. It fought in the Battle of Britain that autumn, based at Tangmere among other stations. In late 1941 the squadron was earmarked for the Middle East, but the Japanese advance rerouted it to Burma, where it reached Rangoon in January 1942 — just as the city was falling. Hurricanes carried the squadron through a fighting retreat into India, then through the grinding Arakan campaign of 1943, during which the unit took up ground-attack duties. A spell in Ceylon under No. 222 Group followed before the squadron re-equipped with Spitfire VIIIs in early 1944 and returned to the Burma front for the final offensive. It was poised for the Malaya landings when Japan surrendered in August 1945.