concentrations of troops and vehicles on the El Alamein battlefield. After the Allied victory in the battle, the squadron was moved westwards to aid attacks on the supply lines of the retreating German and Italian forces, moving first to El Daba and then in late November to Kambut in Eastern Libya. In February 1943, the squadron moved to Gardabia in Tunisia, replacing its elderly Wellington Ic aircraft with more powerful and better performing Wellington Xs. On 18 February, 37 Squadron, together with most of the rest of the RAF's night bomber force in the Mediterranean and American day bombers, joined the newly established Northwest African Strategic Air Force. While designated as a Strategic force, the distance to strategic targets from the airfields in North Africa meant that they were at first mainly employed on tactical operations. The squadron flew operations against targets in Sicily during the Allied invasion of that island in July–August 1943. In December 1943, the squadron moved to southern Italy, settling at Foggia Tortorella (Foggia 2) later that month, sharing the base with USAAF B17 Fortresses of the 99th Bombardment Group. The Wellingtons were replaced by Consolidated Liberators from November 1944, with the squadron flying its last mission with Wellingtons on 13 December 1944. Operations included bombing raids against targets in Northern Italy and the Balkans, together with supply drops to Yugoslav Partisans and dropping mines on the River Danube to disrupt German shipping. The squadron flew its last missions of the Second World War on the night of 25/26 April 1945, against marshalling yards North West of Salzburg, Austria. On 2 October 1945 37 Squadron moved to Aqir, moving again to Shallufa in Egypt in December, disbanding there on 31 March 1946. On 15 April 1946, 214 Squadron, an Avro Lancaster-equipped bomber squadron based at RAF Fayid in Egypt, was renumbered No. 37 which flew bombers until it was disbanded again on 1 April 1947. Maritime reconnaissance The squadron reformed again at Ein Shemer Airfield in Palestine on 14 September 1947, as a maritime reconnaissance squadron equipped with Lancaster GR3s and with responsibility for patrols over the Eastern Mediterranean, and in particular the location of ships carrying Jewish illegal immigrants to Palestine. In May 1948, at the time of the British withdrawal from Palestine, the squadron moved to RAF Luqa in Malta, coming under the control of AHQ Malta. In May–August 1953 the squadron replaced its