In February 1942, it was involved in the Channel Dash, attempting to disrupt the aerial cover provided by the Luftwaffe for the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

In the mid-1930s, the Royal Air Force (RAF) was in the process of expanding and required an increasing number of suitable flying personnel.

[1] At around the same time there was discussion between the governments of Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to facilitate the co-ordination of training of air crew in the event of hostilities.

[4][5] While the majority of the pilots that flew with the squadron during the war were New Zealanders, at times its flying personnel included Britons, Canadians and Australians, and even briefly, an American of the United States Army Air Force.

[11] Its first aerial victory was achieved in the evening of 3 June when Knight, leading a flight of four Spitfires, intercepted and destroyed a Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber that was attacking a convoy off the Yorkshire coast.

[14] Smaller scale operations, carried out by roving sections and flights, targeted shipping, port facilities and airfields.

Flying on 23 June as part of the Wittering Wing accompanying Bristol Blenheims on a bombing raid on a power station at Chocques, it saw no action until it turned back to the United Kingdom at which several Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters intercepted the squadron.

[19] Wells shot down a Bf 109 on 5 July, the first claim over France for the squadron, while escorting Short Stirling heavy bombers on a raid to Lille.

[20][21] The squadron ended up being involved in 22 Circus raids over the course of the month but also did convoy patrols and provided protection for air-sea rescues.

They began to encounter the newly introduced Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter, superior in performance to their Spitfire Mk Vbs and, together with the Germans implementing an improved raid detection system, this advantaged the Luftwaffe in its aerial engagements with the RAF.

Two non-operational and obsolete destroyers were taken to the English Channel and the squadron mounted standing patrols over the ships for nearly two hours, ready to intercept any enemy aircraft attempting to attack.

[32][33] By this stage the effectiveness of the German aerial defences was resulting in high casualties in Fighter Command and together with the winter weather this saw an end to the Circus raids for the time being.

The squadron flew in the last Circus raid of the year, on 8 November, proving high cover for 12 Blenheims attacking railway facilities at Lille.

[36] Particularly poor weather meant there was little operational flying for the early part of 1942 but on 12 February, the squadron flew a mission to target the fighter screen put up by the Luftwaffe to cover the Channel Dash by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

[44] Soon the Circus operations were abandoned and Fighter Command switched to mounting smaller, synchronised raids on variety of different targets.

The squadron was not as fully engaged in these, as they had yet to receive the new Spitfire Mk IX, and instead were used for convoy patrols and close escort missions.

[51] In June, a contingent of pilots were detached to Scotland to practice takeoffs and landings on "dummy" aircraft carrier decks.

The Spitfire squadrons, which had a shorter operational range, escorted the bombers making their way to France while North American P-51 Mustangs and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, having greater fuel endurance, accompanied the main force.

[56] This was bettered on 9 August; while escorting B-26 Marauders bombers on their return to England after a bombing raid, a section led by Checketts encountered eight Bf 109s that had not noticed their approach.

[57] On 22 August the squadron suffered its worst day; during a high cover escort mission for B-26 Marauders, over 50 German fighters attacked the Biggin Hill Wing.

[68] However, opportunities for air-to-air combat came on D-Day, 6 June, on which it flew four patrols covering the landings on Gold, Juno and Sword beaches.

[70] By the middle of June, the squadron, although still based in the south of England, was regularly landing at airstrips in the Normandy beachhead to refuel.

[69][72] From late August, the squadron were flying from a base in Caen-Carpiquet, supporting the Canadians as they advanced along the north coast of France dealing with the ports that remained in the hands of the Germans.

485 Squadron, based at Maldegem in Belgium at the time, lost eleven Spitfires on the ground when attacked by Bf 109s during Operation Bodenplatte.

[78] In February, the squadron returned to the United Kingdom and were based at RAF Predannack in Cornwall where Typhoons were flown in preparation for a planned conversion to the similar Hawker Tempest.

However, the change in aircraft never happened due to a lack of availability of Tempests, and the squadron went back to Europe after two months and reequipped with Spitfire Mk XVIs at Twente, in Holland.

[81] In April, near Bremen, several pilots attempted to attack a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter that they spotted beneath them while escorting some bombers.

485 Squadron:[85] The Spitfire Mk IXc in which John Houlton shot down a Ju 88 on D-Day is now an airworthy display aircraft.

After the war it was converted to a two-seat trainer for the Irish Air Corps and then acquired and restored to flying condition by Nick Grace.

485 (NZ) Squadron and depicting aircraft OU-V as it appeared in 1945, is displayed at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand at Wigram.