The squadron flew C-123 Provider and A-26A bomber aircraft over the Ho Chi Minh trail at night during the Vietnam War to interdict the movement of people and equipment.

C-123s had been used in Vietnam since 1962 to drop flares for night interdiction missions, but their use declined after the introduction of the Douglas AC-47 Spooky in the country.

[note 1][1] Although starting out as a flare support flight, the UC-123s had added night reconnaissance and forward air control, which became its primary missions by 1968.

The unit improvised a defense using chaff, which was manually thrown out the floor hatch to confuse enemy radars.

In September 1967, this detachment plus the T-28 "Zorro" forward air controllers were spun off into the 609th Special Operations Squadron.