The squadron was established on 1 October 1940, when the two
flights of
1 Squadron SAAF that were operating in
Kenya against the Italians in the
East African campaign, were formed into a new squadron. The Kenya-based flights had operated independently from the remainder of 1 Squadron, based in the
Sudan for several months, and two shootdowns of Italian aircraft made by the Kenya-based flights were retrospectively credited to the new squadron. Initial equipment of the new squadron was nine
Hawker Furys fighters, nine
Gloster Gladiators and five
Hawker Hurricanes. In November, the Squadron's Gladiators were transferred to 1 Squadron SAAF, and on 3 January 1941, its Hurricanes were also passed to 1 Squadron SAAF, leaving 2 Squadron equipped with Furys, supplemented by three old
Gloster Gauntlets inherited from 430 Flight RAF. In March 1941, the squadron was planned to re-equip with
Curtiss Mohawk IV fighters, but when the new aircraft were delivered to
Mombassa their engines proved to be faulty, and had to be sent to Britain for repair. On 17 April the squadron's pilots were sent off to Egypt where the squadron would be re-equipped for service in the
Western Desert campaign. The squadron claimed eight Italian aircraft shot down during the East African campaign. By July 1941, it had fully converted to and was operational on the Tomahawk. During the initial years of the war, 2 Squadron served as part of 1 Bomber Brigade in the
East African campaign and the
North African campaign. After August 1943, it also saw action in
Sicily, Italy and
Yugoslavia. •
Gloster Gauntlet •
Gloster Gladiator II •
Hawker Hurricane •
Tomahawk IIB June 1941 – May 1942 •
Kittyhawk I April 1942 – June 1943 •
Kittyhawk III June 1943 – July 1943 •
Supermarine Spitfire Vc July 1943 – March 1944 •
Supermarine Spitfire IX February 1944 – July 1945 ==Korean War==