Activated as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber squadron in mid-1943, it was assigned to the II Bomber Command for training. It trained primarily in New Mexico and Utah. The squadron received deployment orders for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in August 1943. It moved to Georgia and Virginia where it flew coastal patrol missions over the southeast US, between October 1943 and January 1944 while its station in Italy was being constructed.



It deployed to Southern Italy and entered combat in January 1944; being assigned to the Fifteenth Air Force 55th Bombardment Wing. It was engaged in very long range strategic bombing missions on enemy military, industrial and transportation targets in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia. It bombed railroad marshalling yards, oil refineries, airdrome installations and heavy industry.



The squadron flew its last World War II combat mission on 26 April 1945. After V-E Day, it was assigned to the 'Green Project' which was the movement of troops from Europe to the United States via the South Atlantic transport route. Its B-24s were modified with sealed bomb bays, the removal of all defensive armament and an internal fuselage equipped with seating to carry approximately 30 personnel. It was assigned to Air Transport Command at Waller Field, Trinidad and to Natal, Brazil. It moved personnel from Dakar in French West Africa where personnel were conveyed across the South Atlantic to Brazil and eventually to Morrison Field, Florida via Trinidad. This air transport was provided until the end of September when the unit was inactivated.