After a period of organization at Davis-Monthan the squadron moved to Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas.

In November 1943 The 444th reorganized as a Very Heavy group and added the 8th Bombardment Maintenance Squadron, which was paired with the 679th to maintain its B-29s.

[5] From India, the 444th Bomb Group planned to fly missions against Japan from advanced airfields in China.

However, all the supplies of fuel, bombs and spare parts needed to support operations from the forward bases in China had to be flown from India over The Hump.

"[6] The squadron flew its first combat mission on 5 June 1944 against the Makasan railroad yards at Bangkok, Thailand.

[2][4] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency