No. 20 Squadron

No. 20 Squadron RAF was formed on 1 September 1915 at Netheravon, Wiltshire, and spent the entirety of the Second World War on the Indian subcontinent and in Burma. When Japan entered the war in late 1941 the squadron, then stationed at Secunderabad, was equipped with Westland Lysanders and deployed in the army co-operation role along the Burmese front, conducting armed reconnaissance and close-support sorties in Arakan and in support of Chindit operations in the Chindwin valley. From 1943 the unit re-equipped with Hawker Hurricane IID and IV variants fitted with 40 mm cannon or 60 lb rockets, shifting emphasis to specialised anti-tank and ground-attack work against Japanese armour and transport. During the Battle of Imphal in 1944 a detached flight flew more than 300 sorties, claiming sixteen enemy tanks and over 130 vehicles destroyed. Operating within No. 221 Group RAF under the Third Tactical Air Force, the squadron advanced westward with the reconquest of Burma and stood down from operations on 8 May 1945 before returning to RAF St Thomas Mount. Its motto, Facta non verba — Deeds not Words — reflects a tradition of front-line service that had continued unbroken from the North-West Frontier through to final victory in the Far East.