Activated as the 761st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) in mid-1943;[1] 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.



Deployed to Southern Italy in January 1944; entered combat in January 1944, being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force 55th Bombardment Wing. Engaged in very long range strategic bombing missions to enemy military, industrial and transportation targets in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia, bombing railroad marshaling yards, oil refineries, airdrome installations, heavy industry, and other strategic objectives.



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