On the 24th of February 1941 the squadron moved to RAF Exeter, before moving again in April to RAF Perranporth in Cornwall to operate fighter sweep missions over the Channel. It moved to Portreath in December 1941 and re-equipped with the Spitfire V. In April 1942 the squadron moved to RAF Ibsley and was involved in the support for the combined operations at Dieppe. By October 1942 the squadron was based at RAF Zeals in Wiltshire. It moved to RAF Sumburgh in the Shetland Isles in April 1943 to provide fighter cover for the British fleet based at Scapa Flow before returning to the West Country, firstly at RAF Church Stanton in Somerset and then back to Perranporth in Cornwall in October 1943.