It participated in combat in the Mediterranean and European Theater of Operations, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation and a French Croix de Guerre with Palm.

[1][7] The air echelon never conducted operations from England, with their Marauders arriving in North Africa between December 1942 and January 1943.

[4] The squadron and its aircraft arrived at its first true overseas station, Oran Es Sénia Airport, Algeria, in early January 1943.

bridges airfields, road junctions, viaducts, harbors, fuel and supply dumps, defense positions and other targets in Italy.

It supported Operation Avalanche, the landings near Salerno, on the Italian mainland, and knocked out targets to aid the seizure of Naples and to cross the Volturno River.

[1][4] In November 1943, the squadron moved to Decimomannu Airfield on Sardinia[1] to be better positioned to attack targets in central and northern Italy.

[4] Deployed to North Africa as part of Twelfth Air Force after Operation Torch landings in Algeria in November.

[11] The 444th was inactivated when Continental Air Command reorganized its reserve units under the wing base organization system in June 1949.

[1] The squadron's personnel continuing in paid reserve status and its equipment were transferred to elements of the 84th Fighter Wing.

[1] However, SAC was relying on the longer range Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, deciding to reduce the number of B-47 wings at March Air Force Base from two to one.