It was formed from the resources of I Bomber Command, which had been carrying out the antisubmarine mission in the Atlantic and Caribbean since the Attack on Pearl Harbor due to the lack of long range Naval aviation in that area.

Within a day after the declaration of war by the United States the Army Air Forces (AAF) began patrols of both the East and West coasts.

Defense plans drawn up before the war began assigned the Navy responsibility for operations beyond the coastline, with Army aircraft serving in a supporting role.

However, although I Bomber Command was primarily involved in conducting ASW, it was doing so on an emergency basis, and was subject to withdrawal from these duties to perform its primary bombardment function.

[4] It soon became apparent that if the AAF were to continue with the ASW mission, its units would have to be organized under a specially trained and equipped command.

[8] Later in the month, the War Department requested General Arnold to reorganize I Bomber Command to fulfill the requirements of ASW air operations, either in support of, or in lieu of, naval forces to protect Allied shipping.

[16] In July 1943, German submarines concentrated off the coast of Portugal to intercept convoys bound for the Mediterranean Sea.

[25] The command's wings were assisted by Navy units and the Civil Air Patrol, but flew the only long range aircraft.

Activity in this region was at such a low level that for three months, from December 1942 to February 1943, not a single enemy U-boat was sighted.

[28] Finally, the 23d Antisubmarine Squadron deployed to Edinburgh Field, Trinidad to defend against this threat and to experiment with its 75mm cannon armed North American B-25 Mitchells.

[29][30] Disagreements between the AAF and the Navy over command of long range aviation units engaged in antisubmarine warfare and of whether those forces would best be employed (offensively or defensively) continued into 1943, and in June, the AAF agreed that "The Army is prepared to withdraw Army Air Forces from anti-submarine operations at such time as the Navy is ready to take over those duties completely.

"[31] In July, plans were made for 77 of the command's Consolidated B-24 Liberators equipped for antisubmarine warfare to be exchanged for an equal number of B-24s assigned to the Navy.

Navy squadrons relieved the 479th Group in October, and its personnel and planes were transferred to Eighth Air Force to form a pathfinder unit.

However, the AAF was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were not well adapted to the training mission.