No. 8 Squadron was disbanded at Batavia on 16 February and its personnel returned to Australia. No. 8 Squadron was reformed at RAAF Station Canberra on 12 March 1943 equipped with DAP Beaufort as a medium and torpedo bomber squadron. The squadron practiced cross-country navigation, bombing and air-to-air gunnery around Canberra, as well as torpedo training at Jervis Bay, before moving to Bohle River in northern Queensland in July 1943. The squadron then moved to Goodenough Island, Papua New Guinea, in September and began flying combat missions against Japanese airfields and supply dumps and shipping in the New Britain area. In December, one of the squadron's aircraft sank a 6,834 tonne Japanese ship with torpedoes in Simpson Harbour. Following the isolation of Rabaul, the squadron moved to the New Guinea mainland in April 1944 and flew strikes against Japanese positions near Wewak and anti-shipping patrols until the end of the war from bases around Nadzab and Tadji. No. 8 Squadron was disbanded at Tadji in New Guinea on 19 January 1946. During the war, 79 personnel from the squadron were killed in action or died on active service. Members from the squadron received the following decorations: one Order of the British Empire, 13 Distinguished Flying Crosses and one bar, two Distinguished Flying Medals, two British Empire Medals, and seven Mentions in Despatches. After the RAAF ordered eleven Bell AH-1G Cobra attack helicopters in December 1970, plans were developed to re-form No. 8 Squadron. The squadron would have either operated all of the helicopters, or shared them with No. 9 Squadron. The order for Cobras was cancelled in October 1971 before any were delivered, however, and No. 8 Squadron was not reestablished. Aircraft operated The squadron operated the following aircraft: Avro 504 (January 1918 – April 1919); Sopwith Pup (January 1918 – April 1919); Sopwith Camel (January 1918 – April 1919); Sopwith Snipe (?-April 1919); Douglas DC-2 (September 1939 – May 1940); Douglas DC-3 (September 1939 – May 1940); Lockheed Hudson (May 1940 – February 1942); DAP Beaufort (March 1943 – January 1946). Notes References Further reading 033T 8 Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 1946 disestablishments in Australia