No. 32 Squadron

No. 32 Squadron entered the Second World War as a Hurricane unit at RAF Biggin Hill, a sector station in No. 11 Group, Fighter Command. It flew patrols over northern France during the Dunkirk evacuation in May–June 1940 before becoming one of the most effective fighter squadrons of the Battle of Britain’s opening phase, accumulating 102 claimed victories by late August 1940 — the highest tally of any squadron for that period. Squadron Leader Michael Crossley, who led the unit through the height of the battle, was the top-scoring ace in Fighter Command when the squadron rotated north for rest. Reequipped with Hurricane IIs, it later flew night-intruder sorties before deploying to Algeria in December 1942 following Operation Torch. Converting to Spitfires in 1943, it supported the Italian campaign from Foggia and finished the war operating over Greece during the turbulent winter of 1944–45.