World War II Insignia - 31st Pursuit Squadron - 8x8 Print

A remastered illustration of the insignia for the 31st Pursuit Squadron from World War 2The squadron was constituted in 1939 as the 31st Pursuit Squadron and activated on 1 February 1940 at Albrook Field, Panama Canal Zone as one of the original squadrons of the 37th Pursuit Group. The unit was part of the build-up of the Panama Canal Zone's defenses as war approached. It was initially equipped with a mixture of second-line pursuit aircraft, including Boeing P-26A Peashooters, Northrup A-17 Nomads, and some North American BC-1s. The mission of the squadron was air defense of the Panama Canal. In July 1941, the Squadron started re-equipping with new Curtiss P-40 Warhawks. The Squadron was briefly moved to Rio Hato Field on 5 October 1940 and, following a month there, returned to Albrook on 13 November, where it remained until 24 November 1941.After the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Squadron was moved to La Chorrera Army Airfield where it shared the field with the 30th Pursuit Squ