Alarmed by the fall of France in 1940, Congress funded an increase from 29 to 54 combat groups in the United States Army Air Corps.

The Air Corps signed an agreement to lease Hattiesburg Airport, but construction did not begin until March 1941.

The 27th was forming in the Philippines at the time of the Attack on Pearl Harbor and without any aircraft (they were diverted to Australia), the unit's ground echelon were pressed into infantry duty and were either killed or surrendered after the Battle of Bataan.

Its pilots reformed the unit in Australia, but its A-24 Dauntlesses were badly mauled during the battle of the Dutch East Indies and in New Guinea.

In early 1945 military activities were phased down, and the Air Force put Hattiesburg on standby inactive status.

[1] In the year ending June 14, 2012 the airport had 39,672 aircraft operations, average 108 per day: 88% general aviation, 8% military, 3% airline, and 1% air taxi.