Established in mid-1942 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb group; trained under Second Air Force in Idaho. Deployed to Southern California flying antisubmarine patrols over the Pacific coast. Completed training in southwest June–August 1942; deploying to European Theater of Operations (ETO) as one of the initial heavy bomber squadrons assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England, September 1942. Activated in the postwar Strategic Air Command in 1947 at Andrews Field, Maryland with B-29 Superfortress bombers. Inactivated in 1949 due to budget restrictions.