After training at Hillsgrove Army Air Field, Rhode Island, the group moved to North Africa in 1943, where it flew combat missions with the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for actions over Sardinia for engaging a superior force of enemy aircraft and destroying more than half of them.

The 325th was again activated in 1947 as an all-weather fighter unit, moving late in the year to Hamilton Air Force Base.

However, Air Defense Command (ADC) was finding that the single group and wing organization did not fit its model of dispersed fighter squadrons.

It trained at Hillsgrove Army Air Field with Curtiss P-40 Warhawk aircraft[9] before moving to North Africa by ship and transport planes in January through February 1943.

The group entered combat in April 1943 and began escorting medium bombers, flying strafing missions, and conducting sea sweeps from bases in Algeria and Tunisia.

[9] The 325th received a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for action over Sardinia on 30 July 1943 when the group, using diversionary tactics, forced a superior number of enemy planes into the air and destroyed more than half of them.

[9] The group did not fly combat missions from the end of September to mid-December 1943 as the 325th converted to Republic P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft and moved to Italy.

[9] It received a second DUC for a mission on 30 January 1944 when the group flew more than 300 miles at very low altitude to surprise the enemy fighters that were defending German airfields near Villaorba, Italy; by severely damaging the enemy's force, the 325th enabled heavy bombers to strike vital targets in the area without encountering serious opposition.

[10] It escorted heavy bombers during long-range missions to attack the Messerschmitt factory at Regensburg, the Daimler-Benz tank factory at Berlin, oil refineries at Vienna, and other targets, such as airfields, marshalling yards, and communications targets in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia.

[9] In 1948, the group converted to North American F-82 Twin Mustang aircraft[9] and moved to Washington, to provide air defense for the Atomic Energy Commission Hanford Plant.

[15] In 1948, the US Air Force unified operational and support organizations under a single wing under what is called the Hobson Plan.

[21] In 1955 the personnel and equipment of the inactivating 567th Air Defense Group,[22] including the 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron[6] were transferred to the newly designated 325th Fighter Group (Air Defense),[9] which activated once again at McChord as result of ADC's Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars.

[18] The 325th served as the USAF "host" group at McChord Air Force Base until October 1956, when the 325th Fighter Wing was reactivated[2] and was assigned several support organizations to fulfill its duties.

[28] The group was in the process of converting to Convair F-106 Delta Darts[18] when it was discontinued in March 1960, with its remaining tactical squadron being transferred directly to 325th Fighter Wing control.