No. 146 Squadron

No. 146 Squadron RAF was formed on 15 October 1941 at Risalpur, India, drawing its initial personnel and aircraft from B Flight of No. 5 Squadron, and was equipped with Hawker Audax biplanes. The squadron moved to Assam ahead of the Japanese declaration of war and subsequently passed through a rapid succession of aircraft types — Curtiss Mohawk, Brewster Buffalo, and finally the Hawker Hurricane — before settling into the air defence of Bengal through the latter part of 1942. From January 1943 the unit transitioned to a ground-attack role, flying offensive sorties over Burma from forward bases, and by April 1943 it had moved close to the front line in Burma itself. In February 1944 the squadron redeployed briefly to southern India in anticipation of Japanese coastal operations, before returning to Burma after converting to the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in June 1944. Flying Thunderbolts, the squadron resumed offensive ground-attack operations over Burma from September 1944 until the end of hostilities. No. 146 Squadron was disbanded on 30 June 1945, its personnel and aircraft transferred to No. 42 Squadron; its badge bore a panther’s head, reflecting the Latin motto meaning “The watchful panther strikes.”