It was formed in August 1942 and disbanded in July 1946 after seeing action against the Japanese in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II.

[1] From then the squadron flew ground-attack missions against Japanese forces in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), concentrating on airfields and ships.

It operated from Coomalie Creek in this role until December 1944 when the squadron moved to Noemfoor to bring them closer to targets in the region.

From then until the end of the war the squadron continued in the ground attack role from bases in the NEI, including Morotai and Tarakan.

[4] As the war progressed, the armament available to the squadron was developed; initially the Beaufighters employed 20 mm cannons and .50 calibre machine guns, but these were later supplemented with bombs and rockets, which were carried on hard points under the wings.

The squadron returned to Australia in December 1945, moving to Deniliquin, New South Wales, and was disbanded at RAAF Base Williamtown on 9 July 1946.