31 Squadron RAAF

31 Squadron RAAF

No. 31 Squadron was formed at the Forest Hill base near Wagga Wagga, NSW, on 14 August 1942. After equipping with the Bristol Beaufighter and being brought up to strength, it moved to Batchelor in the Northern Territory in October and then to its new home at Coomalie Creek, south of Darwin in November. The squadron’s first combat operation took place on 17 November 1942.

Over the next two years, No. 31 Squadron flew ground attack sorties against the Japanese in Timor and the Netherlands East Indies, as well as anti-shipping patrols and convoy protection missions. One of its greatest successes was the raid on Penfoei on 2 December 1942, when the Beaufighters caught 40 Japanese aircraft on the ground. Without loss to themselves, they destroyed eighteen and damaged many more. In November 1944, the squadron deployed to Noemfoor, from where it flew two convoy protection missions before moving again, to Morotai, in late December to attack Japanese positions in the Celebes and Halmahera Islands.

Setting up on Tarakan in May 1945, No. 31 Squadron carried out strikes in support of the Australian landings in Borneo and Brunei in June and the operations that followed. After the Japanese surrendered on 15 August, the squadron dropped leaflets over the Halmaheras to inform the garrison of those islands that the war was over.

No. 31 Squadron returned to Australia in December 1945 and disbanded at RAAF base Williamtown on 9 July 1946.

Squadron motto

  • ”No Turning Around”

Squadron code

  • EH

Glossary

  • Timor, Celebes, Halmahera Islands, Morotai, Tarakan


Equipment

Bristol Beaufighter.

Casualties

79 died.

For more information please see the Roll of Honour and Second World War Nominal Roll databases.

Commanding Officers

  • Sqn Ldr Bruce Frederick Rose DFC (temp)
  • Wing Cdr Charles Frederick Read DFC
  • Wing Cdr Frederick William Ball Mann DFC
  • Sqn Ldr Reginald Lloyd Gordon DFC (temp)
  • Wing Cdr GeorgeD’Arcy Wentworth DFC
  • Sqn Ldr John A’Beckett Penleigh Boyd DFC & Bar
  • Sqn Ldr John Couper Black
  • Sqn Ldr Robert Ernest Bowman (temp)
  • Sqn Ldr John Robert Jones DFC (temp)

Decorations

  • 16 DFC
  • 2 DFC and Bar
  • 1 DFM
  • 6 MID
  • 1 King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct.

Collection Items

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References

Coomalie Charlie’s Commandos by Kenneth Neal McDonald DFC.