Activated as the 761st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) in mid-1943; assigned to II Bomber Command for training with B-24 Liberators. Primarily trained in New Mexico and Utah. Received deployment orders for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in August 1943. Moved to Georgia and Virginia where the squadron flew coastal patrol missions over the Southeast, October 1943-January 1944 while station in Italy was being constructed.