The Squadron was expanding rapidly but they were missing the vital element - the volunteers themselves. A recruiting campaign was mounted with a three pound bonus for joining and people were soon signing on the dotted line.
Within a year the Squadron had trained its first, riggers, fitters, and other tradesman and had three Auxiliary pilots, Drew, Davidson and Parker. They also had their 1st Auxiliary CO, Captain John David Latta MC, and by the end of the 1920’s had a full complement of trained pilots and ground crew.
In 1932 602 squadron were asked to become involved in the first survey flight over Everest, which had three main objectives. The first was to show the world what British planes and pilots could do, second to make a survey of the region and the third was to experiment with high altitude flying. The expedition was paid inpart by a contribution from Lady Houston who also provided the money to back the development of the Super Marine S6B, which had won the Schneider Trophy. After many attempts to fly over Everest which were beaten back by the very strong down winds which threw the wooden bi-planes around like matchsticks they manage on the 3rd April 1933 to fly over the wind blown summit.
In 1933 the Squadron moved to Abbotsinch, now home to Glasgow International Airport, which was a purpose built airfield and boasted one of the finest officers Mess anywhere in the country. In 1934 the Squadron converted to the first Hawker Harts.
Training at this time was interesting and the Adjutant would post up a complete programme for the weekend with which he would leave them to get on with it. But on the Sunday evening he would devoted himself to what they had been practising. The Squadron was the first Auxiliary Squadron ever to attend an Armaments Training Camp and at the end of which had turned in better results than the regular units.
The year 1937 was a special one for 602 squadron because of the presentation of the Squadron Crest and the posting of Squadron Leader Douglas Farquahar who arrived to take over the Squadron who finally was destined to lead the Squadron into war.
On the 20th May 1939 the first Spitfires arrived, such was the confidence of the Air Ministry in this unit that 602 was the first Auxiliary Squadron to be equipped with Spitfires, and indeed, 7th in the whole Royal Air Force.
1939-1945
The Squadron was posted at Abbotsinch when the war broke out and was equipped with Spitfire I’s. It was moved to Grangemouth by October and then another move onto Drem in East Lothian. 602 squadron was to see some of the earliest combat against Luftwaffe aircraft, Heinkel 111's, which were thought to be searching for the battleship the HMS Hood which Hitler believed to be at dock in Rosyth.The intent was to bomb Rosyth in the Firth of Forth and the mighty Hood along with it, fortunately the Hood was out of dock and was elsewhere. Both 602 and 603 squadrons were involved in this defense of Rosyth and it was with their Spitfires that they got involved with the shooting down of the first German aircraft of the war in the UK skies on the 16th October 1939. That afternoon they shot down a Junkers Ju. 88 over the sea near Crail and this may well have been the first enemy aircraft to be shot down over Britain during Second World War. The pilot was Flight Lieutenant George Pinkerton from Millerston, Glasgow.
In August 1940 a move south to Westhampnett was made where much action was seen during the Battle of Britain. It soon established itself as the one of the leaders and finished the conflict with the second highest total of kills, the lowest pilot loss rate and the longest serving Squadron in the front line. The unit remaining there until mid-December, when it returned home to Scotland just in time for Christmas.
Then began a quiet period for the Squadron comprising of mainly convoy patrols and a few scrambles with very little combat. Spitfire IIs were received at Ayr in May 1941 where the lull in combat continued until July 1941. When 602 returned south to the Kenley Wing and was requipped with Spitfire Mark Vbs it began cross-Channel “Circus” operations. Operating either from Kenley or Redhill the "Circus" operations continued right up until the next year when in July 1942 the unit moved to Peterhead in the far north of Scotland.
The squadron returned to Biggin Hill in mid-August to take part in the Dieppe operation on the 19th, and then proceeded back to Peterhead remaining there and in the Orkneys until January 1943. Then they moved onto Perranporth in Cornwall which provided a new base of operations.
By 1943 only 15 of the original 602 (City of Glasgow) airmen were still with the Squadron and in 1944 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron was made up of aircrew from at least seven countries including several Frenchmen (including the future French Ace Pierre Clostermann), a Belgian (Jean Oste), a Norwegian (Thorvald Johnsen), Australians, South Africans, New Zealanders and Canadians. A truely international force.
In April the Squadron moved to Lasham and became part of the embryo 2nd TAF and they began working towards the ground-attack role. The Squadron made various moves around Britain during the summer of 1943. 602 moved to 122 Airfield between June and August then on the 13th of August the unit moved to Newchurch joining 125 Airfield for the first time. Then on the 12th of October moved on to Detling where they sampled their first taste of Spitfire IXb's.
The Spitfire IXb’s were given up in the January of 1944 when a return to the Orkneys brought back the Spitfire Vbs. On the 12th of March 1944 the Squadron was back in Detling with the IXb's once more become part of 125 Airfield, it was here that they stayed until September, becoming involved in the air supremacy battles over the beachhead, and the 17th of July attack on Feldmarschall Erwin Rommel, before moving into Belgium and then back on to the UK.
In April they moved to Ford in Sussex and it was from here on D-Day that along with the other 125 wing squadrons launched their mission to provide cover over Utah and Omaha beaches.On the second patrol of the 7th of June P/O Kidd crash landed on Omaha beach as a result of engine trouble and was later reported safe before rejoining his unit a day or two later. On the 16th of June 1944, 125 Wing (132, 453 and 602 Squadrons) landed safely at B.2 Bazenville and spent the night being bombed by the Luftwaffe. On the 25th of June the Squadron permanently landed in France at B.11 Longues-sur-Mer. By August the got Mark IXe Spitfires and by Mid-September they were in Belgium at B.70 Antwerp/Deurn.
On Monday the 17th of July 1944 Feldmarschall Erwin Rommel, the commander of the German Forces in Normandy was visiting Sepp Dietrich, commander of the 1st SS Panzer Corps. He was driving back to his HQ when his staff car was sighted by twelve Spitfires of 602 Squadron, who were doing an armed recce in the area. The Commanding Officers section, at that time this was Sqn Ldr Le Roux, had bounced six Bf109’s earlier and then went straight on to strafe Rommels car killing the driver and seriously wounding Rommel. It was on this mission that Flt-Lt Manson was shot down by flak.
It was decided to replace the Spitfire IX’s
and 125 wing was chosen to do this.It was decided that the three Squadrons
equipped with Spitfire IXE’s, 132, 453 and 602 squadrons should exchange
these aircraft for 126 Wing's older Mark IXB’s, which were now in need
of major inspection, and return to mainland Britain. Their place in the
Wing was to be taken by Spitfire XIV and Tempest units from home. On the
27th of October 1944 602 Squadron handed over its aircraft and on the 29th
132 squadron and 602 squadron returned back home to the mainland.
Here they were issued with mark IXbs at Coltishall
and the Squadron moved to Matlaske to fly on the bomber escort role.
On the 11th of December 1944 the CO and five others dive-bombed Statspoor Station in the Dutch capital with 250 pound bombs as this was a filling point for the lorries carrying liquid oxygen to the rocket sites. He dropped a total of 10 bomb all over the station causing considerable damage.
On February the 14th 1945 several Spitfire's had just finished a bombing run over Wassenaar when a V2 was fired from the forest. One of the aircraft tried to attack to fast moving rocket, but was unable to hit the target from the range they were at. One Squadron member, Raymond Baxter, remembers the attack.
"I read in my log book that we attacked a target just North above The Hague on 14 February 1945. I must have been in a very aggressive mood because I read in my logbook that after a dive attack of 6000 feet, I ordered the boys to return to attack the anti-aircraft defense, which was trying to make it difficult for us. After we dropped the bombs I saw to my surprise at a distance of 600 meters a V2 out of the forest, that we just had bombed, rising into the air, very slowly. Right in front of us. It was an incredible sight and it was so unexpected that I couldn't do anything about it. But my number three, a Scotchman called Cupid Love, responded very fast and shot at the V2 that was rising slowly. It must have been one of the most optimistic shots of the entire war. So far as I know this was the only time in history of the war that a dive-bomber attacked a rocket in the air. Fortunately, he didn’t hit the rocket. I say fortunately, because if he had hit the rocket, the war would have been ended for me quite abruptly."
On 18th March 1945 along with 453 (RAAF) Squadron,their old 125 wing parteners, 602 Squadron attacked the Bataasher-Mex office building it the Hague which housed V2 research scientists, laboratories and German workers.The buildings were very badly damaged and some were even completely destroyed.
Coltishall and Ludham were to become their bases during 1945 as targets became scarce and little or no action was seen during the closing weeks of the war. The Squadron finally disbanded at Coltishall on 15th of May 1945 by which time the squadron had been credited with the destruction of 150 enemy aircraft.