The R.31 was hopelessly obsolete. Those that were not destroyed on the ground during the German Blitzkrieg invasion of Belgium in May 1940 were ravaged by German fighters as they attempted to gather information on the German invasion. None of the planes apparently functioned as ground support aircraft during the brief Belgian Army resistance, instead flying fifty-four reconnaissance sorties in support of the Allied forces defending Belgium. The last sortie, flown on the afternoon of May 27, 1940, was also the final mission flown by the Belgian Air Force in its attempt to repel the Germans. Following the German occupation of Belgium, the Luftwaffe had no interest in the machines, and those that had survived the initial onslaught were either unused or destroyed. Overall, these planes had no significant impact on the war, although they were briefly involved.
