It operated Cessna and Beechcraft T-6A Texan II aircraft conducting flight training for members of the Iraqi Air Force.

It continued in this role until Craig closed in 1977 as the Air Force demand for pilots diminished following the end of its involvement in Vietnam.

In May, it moved to MacDill Field, Florida, where it was equipped with a mix of pre-production YB-17s, early model Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Douglas B-18 Bolos.

The squadron was still at MacDill when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and it began to fly antisubmarine patrol missions in the Gulf of Mexico from January 1942.

[3] No longer needed in the Gulf, the squadron moved to Gowen Field, Idaho, where it became an Operational Training Unit (OTU).

However, standard military units, like the 52nd Squadron, were based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, and were not proving well adapted to the training mission.

[1][8][9] The AAF was organizing new Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment units, and the squadron was activated the same day at Pratt Army Air Field, Kansas.

The campaign against Japan switched that month and the squadron began to conduct low altitude night raids, using incendiaries against area targets.

The squadron earned a second DUC in June for an attack on an industrial area of Shizuoka Prefecture, which included an aircraft factory operated by Mitsubishi and the Chigusa Arsenal.

[8] Staff Sergeant Henry E."Red" Erwin of the squadron was awarded the Medal of Honor for action that saved his B-29 during a mission over Koriyama, Japan, on 12 April 1945.

Sgt Erwin was assigned to job of dropping white phosphorus bombs through a launching chute in the floor of his bomber.

Following VJ Day, the squadron dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners of war and participated in several show of force missions over Japan.

Like its parent 3615th Pilot Training Wing, it was a Major Command Controlled (MAJCON) unit and could not retain its history once it was discontinued.

[21] At Tikrit, it was located with the Iraqi Air Force College, and began to receive Beechcraft T-6A Texan II aircraft.