No. 93 Squadron

No. 93 Squadron was formed on 7 December 1940 at RAF Middle Wallop from No. 420 (‘Pandora’) Flight, initially tasked with deploying an experimental aerial mine system in which steel cables were trailed from Handley Page Harrow and Douglas Havoc aircraft to snare enemy bombers. The Pandora concept proved ineffective, and the squadron was disbanded on 6 December 1941 after less than a year. It reformed on 1 June 1942 as a conventional fighter unit equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire, spending the summer on convoy patrol duties over the Irish Sea before deploying to Gibraltar in September 1942 in preparation for Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa. The squadron subsequently fought across the Mediterranean theatre, providing fighter cover during the campaigns in Algeria and Tunisia, and supporting the invasions of Sicily and Italy. In the summer of 1944 it relocated to Corsica to assist the Allied landings in southern France, before returning to Italy where it operated in a fighter-bomber role until the German surrender. Following a brief period of occupation duties in Austria, the squadron disbanded on 5 September 1945; its motto was Ad arma parati — “Ready for battle.”