No. 261 Squadron

No. 261 Squadron RAF was formed during the war and is best known for its defence of Malta. Flying Hurricanes from the island, the squadron helped resist intense Axis air attacks against Malta’s airfields, ports and convoys. It later moved into the Middle East and India, where the squadron continued fighter operations before converting to Thunderbolts for the Burma campaign. No. 261’s wartime path runs from one of the RAF’s most hard-pressed island battles to the long Allied advance in South-East Asia, linking air defence with later fighter-bomber support work.