Wilhelm Mohr

PART I – The Contribution of the Norwegian Air Forces
The birth of the 2 Norwegian Fighter Squadrons
By spring 1941 the training in Canada of pilots and ground crew had
reached the stage that a first fighter squadron could be transferred and
stationed in the United Kingdom. On 21 July 1941 331 Squadron was
established at RAF Station Catterick under 12 Group, Fighter Command.
In September of the same year another contingent of ground crew
was transferred, which together with pilots, some of whom had already
seen service in Fighter Command, made up the second squadron. This
became 332 (N) Squadron, established on 21 January 1942 also at Catterick.
Before 332 arrived, 331 had been moved first to the northern base
of Castletown (North Scotland) and then to Skeabrae (Orkneys). On
4 May 1942 it was transferred south to RAF Station North Weald, by
Epping, under 11 Group of Fighter Command. On 19 June 332 followed,
and for the rest of the war the two Norwegian squadrons operated
together.
331 Squadron in the North
331 (N) Squadron was equipped at the outset with Hawker Hurricane
Mark I and shortly after obtained Mark II B. It became operational
while at Castletown (North Scotland) on 10 September with the primary
task of providing air defence for the naval base at Scapa Flow.
It also offered general convoy protection in adjacent coastal waters.
To accommodate this task better the squadron was soon moved to
Skeabrae – a «difficult» and harsh airfield where single engine operations
were made more difficult by the darkness during winter and the
frequent strong winds and icing conditions. Clouds unfortunately often
let the enemy hide before intercepts could be accomplished. To improve
coverage the squadron used to hold detachments at Sumburgh Head
(Shetlands), Dyce and Peterhead (North Scotland).
In November 1941 Spitfire II A’s replaced the Hurricanes and, as the
serviceability of the squadron’s aircraft had proved to be high, these
were again changed for factory-new Spitfire VB’s with 20 mm can-
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