KITS 11/2023

JN735, No. 3 Squadron, Newchurch, Great Britain, June 1944

No. 3 Squadron, founded in 1912, was initially

equipped with Hawker Hurricanes at the outbreak

of World War II, and it fought over Belgium and

France as a part of the British Expeditionary Force.

After returning to Great Britain, it flew patrols

over the Royal Navy naval base in Scapa Flow and,

from April 1941, served as a night fighter squadron

in southern England. In June 1943, it converted to

Hawker Typhoon aircraft, and in February 1944,

it was equipped with Hawker Tempests. With

these aircraft, it participated in preparations

for the invasion of Europe, the defense of

southern England against V-1 flying bombs, and

the subsequent deployment to Europe, where

it supported advancing Allied units until the end

of the war. The Tempests of No. 3 Squadron did not

carry the standard invasion stripes on the lower

wing surface after April 20, 1944. They used the

code letters QO until May 1944 when they changed

to the letters JF.

JN769, No. 287 Squadron, Gatwick, Great Britain, December 1944 – January 1945

After the Tempest squadrons were fully equipped

with Series 2 aircraft, surviving Series 1 Tempests

were refurbished by Hawker and assigned to

November 2023

No. 287 Squadron around the turn of 1944 and

1945. This squadron played a secondary role,

participating in calibration flights for anti-

aircraft units along the British coastline. The red

code letters corresponded to RAF instructions

at the time.

INFO Eduard

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