159 Squadron was reformed at RAF Molesworth on 2 July 1942 during the Second World War and its ground crew personnel were posted, without aircraft, to the Middle East on 12 February 1942 and then to India on 18 May 1942.

Flying Consolidated Liberators, the squadron was posted to Palestine in July 1942 and carried out bombing raids in North Africa, Italy and Greece.

The first operation against the Japanese was on 17 November 1942, and during the rest of the war, the squadron flew mine-laying, bombing, and reconnaissance missions over Burma, Siam, Malaya, Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies.

The mission entailed a round trip of over 3,000 miles, which at the time was the longest distance bombing raid in history.

Flight Sergeant Stanley James Woodbridge, a wireless operator who served with 159 squadron, was awarded the George Cross posthumously in 1948.