when the Spitfires of 118, 167 and 504 Squadrons escorted the Lockheed Venturas of No. 487 Squadron RNZAF on a raid against a power station in Amsterdam. The German defences had been alerted by a fighter sweep earlier that day, and the raid was met by over 70 German fighters. Although 118 Squadron claimed two Focke-Wulf Fw 190s for the loss of one Spitfire, the escort could not keep the German fighters from the bombers of 487 Squadron, all but one of the Venturas being shot down. The Squadron moved to RAF Peterhead in Aberdeenshire on 20 September to carry out defensive duties over northern Scotland, with a detachment at RAF Skeabrae in the Orkney Islands, moving to RAF Castletown in Caithness in October. In February 1944 the Squadron, by now equipped with more modern Spitfire IXs, moved to RAF Detling in Kent where it became part of Second TAF, but on 10 March it moved back to Skeabrae, remaining in Orkney for four months. It moved south again in July 1944, flying escort missions over Normandy from RAF Detling until August. The Squadron moved to RAF Westhampnett in Sussex at the end of August, and to RAF Manston in September, flying escort missions for Bomber Command's heavy bombers during daylight raids. The short range Spitfire was not ideal for the long-range escort missions now required, and in January 1945 the squadron, by now based at RAF Bentwaters, re-equipped with the longer-ranged North American Mustang, continuing these operations until the end of the war in Europe. In all it claimed 29 enemy aircraft destroyed during the war, with a further nine probably destroyed and 27 damaged. On 10 March 1946, the Squadron was disbanded. Post war operations - jets and helicopters The squadron again reformed as a fighter-bomber squadron serving in RAF Germany on 10 May 1951. It flew de Havilland Vampires out of RAF Fassberg in Lower Saxony, close to the border with East Germany. The Vampire was obsolete however, and in November 1953 the squadron received de Havilland Venoms. Even the Venom was outdated by 1955, and so the squadron discarded its Venoms in March that year when it moved to RAF Jever, operating swept-wing Hawker Hunters in the pure day-fighter role. It kept the Hunters until 22 August 1957 when it was disbanded as a result of the 1957 Defence Review. On 1 September 1959, as a