A successor unit by the same name was raised in Britain from mid-1942, to take part in fighting against Nazi Germany in Europe until 1945.

488 Squadron RNZAF, converted to Brewster F2A Buffalo fighters, which proved to be poorly built, unreliable and unpopular with the pilots.

[11] The squadron was ordered to provide air cover for the two British battleships making up Admiral Tom Phillips' Force Z: Repulse and Prince of Wales.

453 Squadron strove to support Allied ground troops in Malaya by providing air cover and attacking Japanese troops and transport, but the outnumbered Allied squadrons suffered high losses in the air and on the ground.

In early February, only four aircraft remained operational and they were flown to Java while the squadron's ground crew were evacuated by ship.

453 Squadron arrived in Java it could not be brought up to operational readiness again due to lack of serviceable aircraft.

[14] The squadron was reformed from Australian personnel in the United Kingdom at RAF Drem, near Edinburgh, in Scotland on 18 June 1942.

[9] 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.

Further moves occurred over subsequent months, as the squadron began to focus on ground attack sorties, in the lead up to the Allied invasion of North West Europe.

Soon after D-Day, the squadron moved to France,[15] where it operated from the hastily constructed landing ground B11 at Longues-sur-Mer, close to the front line.

On 16 June, a large-scale dogfight was fought with 12 Messerschmitt Bf 109s over Caen, during which several were shot down.

[15] As the Allies advanced, the squadron moved forward so that it could continue to provide close support to the ground troops.

453 Squadron was heavily engaged in striking at assembly and launch sites used by the Germans in their V-1 and V-2 rocket attacks against Britain.

453 Squadron's last mission of the war; it moved between several bases in Britain in the months immediately following the end of hostilities before deploying to Germany in September.

[15] After the war it was planned that the squadron would form a long-term Australian presence among the occupation forces but sufficient volunteers could not be found to make this a viable proposition.

I had worked out a plan with the liaison officer on the Prince of Wales, by which I could keep six aircraft over him all daylight hours within 60 miles of the east coast to a point north of Kota Bharu.