No. 130 Squadron — Punjab

No. 130 (Punjab) Squadron RAF was reformed on 20 June 1941 at Portreath, Cornwall, as a Spitfire fighter unit within 10 Group, Fighter Command. During its first wartime spell it flew convoy escorts off the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, conducted offensive sweeps over northern France, and carried out local air-defence patrols, before disbanding on 13 February 1944. The squadron number was revived on 5 April 1944 when No. 186 Squadron at Lympne was renumbered, and the reformed unit continued Spitfire operations as part of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force ahead of the Normandy landings. From August 1944 the squadron flew Spitfire XIVs on anti-V-1 flying-bomb patrols, accounting for a number of the pilotless weapons before that threat diminished. It then moved to the Low Countries and carried out armed-reconnaissance sorties across Germany, attacking transport, airfields, and other targets of opportunity. After the German surrender the squadron deployed to Norway in June 1945 to assist with the peaceful liberation of that country, finally returning to the United Kingdom in November 1945.