No. 131 Squadron RAF facts for kids

Quick facts for kids No. 131 (County of Kent) Squadron RAF
Active	1 March 1918 – 17 August 1918 28 June 1941 – 10 June 1945 26 June 1945 – 31 December 1945
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Nickname(s)	County of Kent
Motto(s)	Latin: Invicta ("Unconquered")
Insignia
Squadron Badge	In front of an estoile of sixteen points, a horse forcene.
Squadron Codes	NX (Jun 1941 - Dec 1945)

No. 131 (County of Kent) Squadron RAF was a special group of the Royal Air Force, which is the UK's air force. It was first set up as a bomber unit during World War I. Later, it was started up again as a fighter unit in World War II.

Squadron History

Early Days: World War I

No. 131 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was created on March 1, 1918. It then became part of the Royal Air Force. However, this squadron closed down on August 17, 1918. It never got to fly any missions during that time.

Back in Action: World War II

The squadron started up again in 1941. This happened at RAF Ouston, and it became a fighter unit. They flew Spitfire airplanes. Their job was to protect groups of ships, called convoys. They did this from airfields like RAF Atcham and Llanbedr in Wales.

In October 1944, the squadron moved to India. They gathered again at Amarda Road on February 5, 1945. But their Spitfire planes were then given to the Royal Indian Air Force. Because of this, the squadron closed down on June 10, 1945.

Just sixteen days later, another squadron, 134 Squadron, was renamed to 131. This new 131 Squadron flew Thunderbolt planes. They began training to help with a plan to take back Malaya. The squadron finally closed down for good on December 31, 1945, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Airplanes They Flew

No. 131 Squadron Spitfires

This table shows the different types of airplanes that No. 131 Squadron used: