The No. 2 Squadron was formed in 1955 to provide transport for the newly formed
Royal Ceylon Air Force with
Airspeed Oxfords,
de Havilland Doves,
Westland Dragonfly helicopters and later
Scottish Aviation Pioneers. The Squadron was based at
RAF Negombo. It was the only operational squadron when the
1971 Insurrection began, carrying out air operations for the first time under combat conditions. Newer aircraft were acquired during the insurrection. With the escalation of the
Sri Lankan Civil War, air operations intensified. In 1985 the squadron received new aircraft
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 and
Beechcraft 200 for transport. The same year it took on the
close air support after gaining
SIAI Marchetti SF.260TPs. The squadron was moved to
SLAF Ratmalana in 1985. During the
Vadamarachchi Operation the squadron deployed 1 AVRO, 2 Y-12s and 1 Heron as improvised bombers.
Harbin Y-12 aircraft were equipped with bomb racks that had been fitted to carry up to 1,000 kilograms of fragmentation and
antipersonnel bombs were used against
LTTE locations with success. In 1994 the No. 2 Squadron's aircraft were divided between the No. 201 and No. 202 squadrons. The No. 201 squadron came to operate the larger transport aircraft Hawker Siddeley HS 748s and the newly acquired
Antonov An-32s. The No. 201 was later renamed the No. 2 Heavy Transport Squadron and the No. 202 squadron was renamed the
No. 8 Light Transport Squadron and operated the lighter aircraft of the air force. Throughout the civil war, since the early 1990s the squadron played a major role in maintaining the air passage to
Jaffna till 2009, when the land route was opened. The squadron flew relief missions during the
2004 tsunami,
Pakistan earthquake of 2005 In March 2009, the squadron was presented with the
President's Colours. ==Aircraft operated==