It was responsible for airfield construction and the air defence of the beachhead bases during the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 (Operation Overlord) and the subsequent campaign.

Air superiority over the battlefield was vital and the landing area had been chosen partly because of the availability of suitable sites for airfields.

In 85 Group, the three squadrons of 150 Wing at Newchurch were part of the 'Pool of Readiness', a rapid reaction force in case the Luftwaffe intervened in the landing operations.

85 Group's Mosquitos maintained constant patrols over the beachhead and claimed to have shot down 12 of the 40 enemy aircraft plotted in the area that night, including specialist bombers of Fliegerkorps X attempting to use guided bombs against the anchorage.

These would be allocated by fighter controllers, and the S/Ls would assist by illuminating targets and indicating raid approaches, while area boundaries would be marked by vertical S/Ls.

[14] At the end of August the Allies broke out of the Normandy beachhead and pursued the retreating Germans quickly across Northern France and Belgium.

On 19 September the reconnaissance party, travelling with the leading troops of Guards Armoured Division and closely followed by one of its squadrons, reached the airfield at Eindhoven and found it badly cratered by Allied air attacks.

Work was interrupted by German machine gun fire on the tarmac dump, but the enemy were driven away by the Wing's patrols.

[15] Aircraft of 2nd TAF flying from this strip were instrumental in foiling a major Luftwaffe attack on the Nijmegen bridges on 27 September.

[19][20] As early as September 1944, GHQ AA Troops drew up a plan to defend the vital port of Antwerp and the city of Brussels against the anticipated onslaught of V-1 flying bombs.

[21] AA Command and ADGB had gained considerable experience in dealing with these weapons (codenamed 'Divers') when they were launched from Northern France towards London in June–September 1944.

Large numbers of AA guns were deployed across the approaches to these cities, but it was equally important to detect, track and identify the targets.

This consisted of Wireless Observer Units or Posts (WOUs), sited 40–50 miles in front of the guns to give eight minutes' warning by radio of a missile's approach.

The WOUs fed their information to a control centre linked by radio or line communications to 155th AA Operations Room (AAOR).

In the intermediate line the radar was manned by the Royal Artillery gunners of 80th AA Bde, and the inner belt consisted of visual observation posts to provide conformation that the tracked target was a missile.

An RAF balloon barrage was also emplaced over the Scheldt Estuary against both pilotless and low level piloted air attacks.

When the first missile appeared there was a 36-hour delay before 2nd TAF's controllers accepted the need to apply 'Diver' rules and free the sky up to 5000 feet for AA fire.