It continued in combat until V-E Day, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for defending bombers attacking a target in Austria in 1944.

In the summer of 1955 the group was activated at Ethan Allen Air Force Base, where it assumed the mission, personnel and equipment of the 517th Air Defense Group under ADC's Project Arrow, which was designed to replace post-war units with fighter organizations with distinguished combat records.

[2] It returned to Hamilton Field on 7 February 1942 to receive operational P-38Fs and flew patrols on the west coast of the US after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

[citation needed] Even though the defense of the US west coast initially took priority, plans were made in the spring of 1942 to deploy the 14th and other P-38 groups to Great Britain.

[citation needed] In Britain, the group was stationed at RAF Atcham as part of Eighth Air Force.

[2] From bases in Algeria, and later Tunisia, the group flew escort, strafing, and reconnaissance missions from the middle of November 1942 to late in January 1943.

[2] In November, Lt. Carl T. Williams scored the first United States victory in the western desert over a German aircraft and Lt. Virgil Smith became the first American ace in the theater.

[citation needed] On 2 April 1944, the 14th Fighter Group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for beating off attacks by enemy fighters while escorting bombers attacking ball-bearing and aircraft production facilities at Steyr, Austria,[7] enabling the bombers to strike their targets.

[citation needed] The group provided escort for reconnaissance operations, supported the invasion of Southern France in August 1944, and on numerous occasions flew long-range missions to strafe and dive-bomb motor vehicles, trains, bridges, supply areas, airdromes, and troop concentrations in an area extending from France to the Balkans.

The group was initially equipped with surplus Republic P-47N Thunderbolts[7] and was responsible for air defense of the Northeastern United States.

[12][13] In July 1947 the group deployed to Muroc Air Force Base, California to conduct accelerated service tests with new F-84Bs prior to acceptance.

Findings indicated that the extreme cold weather at the base enhanced aircraft performance over what was found during testing in California, however as the temperatures moderated in the spring of 1948, accident rate remained high.

[citation needed] In May 1948, the group's entire fleet was grounded until inspections could be performed on each aircraft, but the earlier restrictions still applied when the planes returned to service.

[12] With the F-84s, the 14th's mission was daylight and fair weather defense of northeast United States[14] from New York City north to Maine/New Brunswick border, shared with the 52d Fighter Group (All-Weather) at Mitchel Air Force Base, New York which flew F-82 Twin Mustangs for night and inclement weather operations.

[20] The group wound up active USAF operations at Ethan Allen and inactivated along with its support organizations the following month.

From its activation, the group trained USAF and allied pilots in basic flying skills[7] and from 1993 to 2005 in fighter fundamentals,[7] using AT-38 aircraft.

In 1993, Captains Kathy McDonald and Ellen McKinnon became the first women at Columbus Air Force Base to complete the fighter fundamentals course.

The group uses a fleet of Beechcraft T-6 Texan II, Northrop T-38 Talon, and Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk aircraft and flight simulators.