No. 231 Squadron

No. 231 Squadron reformed on 1 July 1940 at RAF Newtownards, Northern Ireland, from No. 416 Flight, initially equipped with Westland Lysanders on army co-operation duties and patrols along the Irish border. From September 1941 the squadron began converting to Curtiss Tomahawks, though a Lysander flight was retained until mid-1943; in April 1943 North American Mustangs began to arrive, transforming the unit into a more capable tactical force. The squadron moved to Yorkshire in March 1943 and by July 1943 had joined No. 128 Airfield of the Second Tactical Air Force, flying shipping and weather reconnaissance missions, defensive patrols, and ground-attack sorties over northern France before disbanding on 15 January 1944. A second wartime incarnation followed on 8 September 1944, when the squadron reformed at Dorval, Canada, from No. 45 Group Communications Squadron, operating Consolidated Coronado flying boats on transatlantic ferry routes linking North America, West Africa, and the United Kingdom, with RAF Largs serving as the British terminal. This transport phase continued until the squadron’s final disbandment on 15 January 1946. No badge was ever officially authorised for the squadron.