The squadron was formed again on 25 September 1941 at RAF Colerne, equipped with Bristol Beaufighter night fighters.

The squadron moved out to the Middle East to defend the Nile delta and the Suez Canal.

On 3 March 1942 the squadron scored its first victory when it shot down a German Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111.

The squadron was active in the Mediterranean area, sending aircraft to Malta and Algiers, and in 1943 sought targets over Crete and later Sicily.

With the withdrawal further north of the German night fighter units, the squadron moved first to Ceylon, then in the summer of 1944 to Burma on intruder missions.