No. 135 Squadron

No. 135 Squadron RAF was reformed at Baginton on 15 August 1941, equipped with Hawker Hurricanes drawn from No. 605 Squadron, and initially conducted brief home defence duties before embarking for the Far East in November 1941. Diverted to Rangoon in response to the Japanese invasion, the squadron flew its first combat sorties against enemy aircraft over Burma from 26 January 1942, but sustained heavy losses and was evacuated to India by late February. Rebuilding at Dum Dum near Calcutta, the squadron spent much of 1942 on convoy patrols over the Bay of Bengal before resuming offensive sweeps over Burma in early 1943. For a period the unit also served as a conversion organisation, helping Blenheim squadrons transition to the Hurricane. In mid-1944 the squadron re-equipped with the Republic Thunderbolt, and from October 1944 flew sustained ground attack operations against Japanese positions in Burma until withdrawn from the front line in May 1945. Operating under No. 222 Group, Air Command South-East Asia, it carried the motto “Pennas ubique monstramus” — We show our wings everywhere — before being renumbered as No. 615 Squadron on 10 June 1945.