No. 131 Squadron RAF

No. 131 (County of Kent) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed to be a bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a fighter unit in World War II.

No. 131 (County of Kent) Squadron RAF
Active1 March 1918 – 17 August 1918
28 June 1941 – 10 June 1945
26 June 1945 – 31 December 1945
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
Motto(s)Latin: Invicta
("Unconquered")[1]
Insignia
Squadron BadgeIn front of an estoile of sixteen points, a horse forcene.
Squadron CodesNX (Jun 1941 - Dec 1945)

History

Formation and World War I

No. 131 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed on 1 March 1918 and became a unit of the Royal Air Force, but it disbanded on 17 August 1918 without becoming operational.

Reformation in World War II

The squadron reformed in 1941 at RAF Ouston as a fighter unit equipped with Spitfires and then provided air defence for convoys from RAF Atcham and Llanbedr in Wales. It moved to India in October 1944. The squadron re-assembled at Amarda Road on 5 February 1945 but its Spitfires were re-allocated to the Royal Indian Air Force and the squadron was disbanded on 10 June 1945. Sixteen days later, 134 Squadron was renumbered to 131 and was equipped with Thunderbolts to begin training to support the invasion of Malaya. It was disbanded on 31 December 1945 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Aircraft operated
No. 131 Squadron Spitfires
Aircraft operated by no. 131 Squadron RAF[2]
FromToAircraftVariant
Jun 1941Nov 1941Supermarine SpitfireIA
Sep 1941Jan 1942Supermarine SpitfireIIA
Dec 1941Sep 1943Supermarine SpitfireVB
Dec 1942Sep 1943Supermarine SpitfireVC
Sep 1943Mar 1944Supermarine SpitfireIX
Mar 1944Oct 1944Supermarine SpitfireVII
Feb 1945Jun 1945Supermarine SpitfireVIII
Jun 1945Dec 1945Republic P-47 ThunderboltII

References
  1. Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 115–116. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  2. C.G.Jefford (1988). RAF Squadrons. UK Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
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