No. 264 Squadron — Madras Presidency

No. 264 (Madras Presidency) Squadron reformed in October 1939 at RAF Sutton Bridge, flying the Boulton Paul Defiant as a day fighter. During the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940 it achieved notable success against German aircraft, but the Defiant’s lack of forward armament proved fatal once the Luftwaffe learned to attack from ahead, and the type was withdrawn from daylight operations in August 1940. The squadron then converted to the night-fighter role, flying Defiants nocturnally until mid-1942. In May 1942 it became one of the first RAF squadrons to receive the de Havilland Mosquito NF.II, conducting both defensive patrols and offensive intruder sorties over occupied Europe. It supported the D-Day landings from May 1944 and ended the war flying patrols from Twente in the Netherlands with Mosquito variants including the NF.VI and NF.XIII.