The squadron was reformed from Australian personnel in the United Kingdom at RAF Drem, near Edinburgh, in Scotland on 18 June 1942. The squadron was equipped with Supermarine Spitfire aircraft, and joined RAF Fighter Command. The squadron provided defensive air patrols over Britain and surrounding waters, escorted Allied bombers over Europe, and conducted offensive strikes in its own right attacking targets on both land and sea. Its first engagement with German aircraft came on 31 October 1942, after it had moved to Hornchurch; during this action the squadron accounted for three German fighters and one bomber, and lost one of its own aircraft. At the end of the year, the squadron relocated to Southend and continued operations from there until mid-1943 when it moved to Ibsley, remaining there until August when it moved once again to Perranporth. While operating from there, on 8 October, the squadron engaged a formation of eight German Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter-bombers, during which five German aircraft were shot down and two Spitfires were destroyed.