During World War II, the group was an Eighth Air Force Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit stationed at RAF Halesworth, England, in May 1944. It returned to the United States in November 1944 and converted to a Boeing B-29 Superfortress group, but the war ended before the group could deploy to the Pacific. Lieutenant Colonel Leon R. Vance was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery and actions on the day before D-Day, 5 June 1944 over Wimereux, France. It was the only Medal of Honor awarded to a B-24 crewman for an action flown from England.