The squadron was first formed in December 1943 as part of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and saw combat in and around New Guinea during 1944 and 1945 equipped with P-40 Kittyhawk fighters.
120 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF was formed in 1943 and was manned by Dutch pilots and Australian ground crew.
120 Squadron was assigned to the Netherlands East Indies Air Force (NEIAF) on 20 June, thereby ending its relationship with the RAAF.
The British-led South East Asia Command, which was responsible for the western NEI at the time, ordered that the squadron proceed to Surabaya where it relieved Royal Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts.
[4] In late July 1947 the Dutch launched their first police action, called Operation Product, which aimed to capture important economic facilities in the NEI.
[5] Early in this operation the squadron attacked Solo and Madiun and claimed to have destroyed eight Indonesian aircraft on the ground.
A strike on Jakarta was delayed by fog; this may have saved the life of Indonesian Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir as he left the city on board a C-47 Dakota transport at about the time the Kittyhawks were originally scheduled to arrive.
[7] On 19 December 1948 the Dutch launched a second police action, called Operation Kraai, which involved offensives in western Java and Sumatra.
The Nike-Hercules missiles were armed with nuclear warheads and were provided to the Netherlands and other NATO countries by the United States.