[3] The squadron left Kelly Field on 28 October 1917, arriving at the Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, Long Island on 3 November.

It waited in Halifax for other ships to form a convoy for the Atlantic crossing, and arrived at Liverpool, England on 8 December.

[5][note 2] The unit was consolidated on 5 December 1936 with the 492d Aero Squadron, in order to perpetuate the history and traditions of the World War I organization.

The consolidation of the two units under the bombardment designation thus served to extend the history of the reserve squadron back to 15 August 1917.

[3] The squadron actually entered combat on 24 January 1943 when, operating from its base at Gaya Airfield, India, it bombed docks, shipping, and warehouses at Rangoon, Burma.

During the next five months the squadron participated in repeated attacks on enemy communications lines In central and southern Burma, particularly in the area around Rangoon.

It began the second year of combat activities with continued efforts to destroy enemy-held communications into and within Burma by bombing bridges, docks and warehouses, locomotives and rolling stock, and railway marshalling yards on land, and cargo vessels and naval craft on the adjacent waters.

In mid-June 1944, after the beginning of the monsoon period, the squadron moved to Tezganon-Kurmitola, India, and for the time being ceased combat operations.

[3] Early in 1945 the 492d Bombardment Squadron supported British ground forces in the region north of Mandalay and east of the Irrawaddy River.

After the fall of Rangoon on 7 May 1945 the 492d Bombardment Squadron moved to Tezpur Airfield, India, and once again took on the mission of airlifting gasoline over the Hump into China.

It sailed from Calcutta aboard the USS General Black on 7 December 1945, and arrived at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, on 5 January 1946.

Lastly, the squadron helped to provide an escort for President Miguel Alemán Valdés of Mexico in a flight from New Orleans to Washington, D.C., in May 1947.

Before returning to Fort Worth they engaged in flights that provided training in local approach procedures and in navigation.

During February 1950 the squadron participated with other bombardment units of the group in an operational readiness test which also involved flights to Alaska.

It served as a forward staging area from which simulated missions were directed against designated targets in the United States.

In Hay 1950 the 492d Squadron provided one of two B-36'8 on a mobility mission to Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico.

[3] On 17 July 1951 six aircraft and aircrews assigned to the squadron departed Fort Worth for Goose Air Base, Labrador, Canada.

On the return flight from Goose Bay to Carswell, they made simulated attacks on Tampa, Florida; Birmingham, Alabama; and Fort Worth.

Meanwhile, in December 1951 the squadron provided one of two heavy bombers of the 7th Bombardment Wing on a special mission to RAF Sculthorpe, England.

[3] In August 1954 the 492d Squadron participated in a 7th Bombardment Wing maneuver to North Africa on a simulated strike mission, flying non-stop the 4,600 miles to Nouasseur Air Base, French Morocco, which had been designated the post-strike headquarters.