Following the outbreak of the Pacific War on 8 December 1941 (local time), No. 12 Squadron was dispersed between two air bases; the squadron's 'B' and 'C' flights were transferred to Batchelor Airfield while 'A' flight returned to the civil aerodrome. On 12 December, the unit had a strength of 18 Wirraways but was down to 14 aircraft by mid-February 1942. Two of the aircraft based at Darwin were destroyed on the ground in the devastating first Japanese air raid on Darwin which took place on 19 February 1942. The squadron also lost a considerable portion of its stores when a new hangar was destroyed at the civil aerodrome in this raid. Following the attack, No. 12 Squadron's surviving aircraft dropped supplies to the survivors of sunken ships and conducted patrols of the area around Darwin. It was stationed at Pell Airfield from 15 July – 16 September 1942 while Batchelor was being used by United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) units.