In August 1942, the squadron transferred to Key Field, Mississippi, to start flight training in the Douglas A-20 Havoc.

By year's end, the squadron started the transition to two new combat aircraft types, the Vultee A-31 Vengeance and the North American A-36 Apache.

[3] Ready to support the war effort, the 309th Bombardment Squadron boarded the SS John Erickson in April 1943.

Twelve days after its departure from the United States, the squadron landed at La Senia Airfield, Algeria.

The 525th Fighter-Bomber Squadron figured prominently in these battles, providing air support to Allied ground forces.

The 525th flew its last combat mission on 8 May 1945, and postwar the headquarters moved to AAF Station Schweinfurt on 23 October 1945.

In October 1950, the squadron transitioned to its first jet aircraft, the Republic F-84E Thunderjet and operated under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program.

As a part of MDAP,[jargon] the 525th trained pilots and ground crews of many European and Middle Eastern countries.

[3] In 1957, the squadrons of the 86th Group were dispersed throughout Europe to provide better air defense coverage and reduce vulnerability to attack.

[3] The 525th received its first Convair F-102 Delta Dagger in February 1959 and was selected to represent the U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) at the 1959 William Tell competition.

This award for "outstanding operational achievement" was given for twice consecutively earning the rating of "1" on tactical evaluations by Allied Air Forces Central Europe.

[3] 525th pilots flew the first 23 F-15 Eagles to Europe on 27 April 1977 during a non-stop deployment from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, to Bitburg.

Operation Ready Eagle became a success when, 18 hours after arrival at Bitburg, the squadron's pilots were sitting five-minute alert status with two of the F-15s.

[3] In August 1990, Iraqi military forces attacked and occupied the nation of Kuwait, precipitating the Gulf War.

In addition to protecting strike aircraft, the 525th was frequently tasked to man barrier Combat Air Patrols in eastern Iraq to destroy Iraqi fighters attempting to flee to Iran.

These missions, often lasting in excess of five hours, required the squadron to operate more than 150 miles behind enemy lines without any support assets.

[3] Following the war against Iraq, numerous Kurdish refugees fled northward from the remaining forces of Saddam Hussein.

The United States initiated Operation Provide Comfort, to drop food and supplies to these refugees concentrated in Iraq along the Turkish border.

In addition, the 525th was tasked, as part of the operation, to fly at low altitude over Iraq and provide intelligence updates of Iraqi troop and equipment locations.

In December 1991, the Bulldogs deployed to RAF Bentwaters, England, to train on the new North Sea Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation range.