It was organized in the spring of 1941, and was the Army Air Force's only non combat mapping unit until December 1943, when a second group was formed.

It was disbanded on 5 October 1944, and its personnel and equipment absorbed by the 311th Wing, but it was reconstituted in 1985 as the 358th Special Operations Group.

[7] During the Second World War, the group charted and mapped areas of the United States and sent detachments to perform similar functions in Alaska, Canada, Africa (including Operation Rusty), the Middle East, India, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Kurils.

[1][8][10] The group was transferred in inactive status to the newly created United States Air Force in 1947.

[11] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency