100 victories from July 1940 to the end of that year. On 23 February 1941, the squadron returned to Catterick for a well-earned break. Only four pilots remained from the original 18 who landed in Hornchurch on 3 September 1940. However, in reality it is much worse: 16 pilots had been killed, five wounded and hospitalised (who did not return) and 15 otherwise posted away, in effect a 200% turnover since the unit's deployment to Hornchurch in early September. The squadron also now has its third Commanding Officer since then, and its fourth within ten months. Following five months rest in Catterick, during which the last Battle of Britain hardened pilots departed and new recruits joined from the British Commonwealth Air Training Program, the squadron headed south to Merston, Sussex, on 28 July 1941, to join the Tangmere Wing, where the wing leader was Douglas Bader. There followed an intensive period of offensive activity over France. On 12 February 1942, 41 Squadron took part in the attack on the German Kriegsmarine's , and after they escaped from Brest and made a dash up the Channel to the safety of their home ports. During these actions, 41 Squadron claimed three German aircraft destroyed and one damaged, but lost one pilot who failed to return. The squadron also supported the ill-fated Canadian landings at Dieppe (Operation Jubilee) on 19 August 1942, completing three squadron-strength missions over the beaches. The pilots returned from the third without the Officer Commanding, Sqn Ldr Geoffrey Hyde, who was hit by Flak and killed; he was the squadron's only casualty that day. Tired, after a busy summer on the south coast fending off Me109s and FW190s fulfilling the Luftwaffe's "hit and run" strategy, the squadron was taken off operations until February 1943 and sent to Llanbedr, Wales, for an extended period of rest. This heralded the start of an intensive period of turnover in the unit's ranks as men were rested and fresh pilots brought in. In February 1943, the unit became the first of only two squadrons to receive the new Griffon-engine Spitfire Mark XII. Having rested, re-equipped and trained on the new aircraft, the squadron was sent back onto operations in April 1943, and claimed their first definitive victory in over ten months on 17 April. This was also the first by the RAF in the Mk. XII Spitfire. From late June 1943, large scale