Its operational squadrons were: The group flew both Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.

The change-over was made during the summer of 1944 when, in common with other groups assigned to the 93rd Combat Wing, the 3rd Division standardized on the Fortress.

The group helped to prepare for the invasion of Normandy by bombing airfields in France and Germany, and supported the landing in June by attacking coastal defenses and communications.

Continued to take part in the campaign in France by supporting ground forces at Saint-Lô, 24–25 July, and by striking V-weapon sites, gun emplacements, and supply lines throughout the summer of 1944.

Targets included marshalling yards in Ludwigshafen, Hamm, Osnabrück, and Darmstadt; oil centers in Bielefeld, Merseburg, Hamburg, and Misburg; factories in Berlin, Dalteln, and Hanover; and airfields in Münster, Neumünster, and Frankfurt.

A small but impressive memorial bronze plaque, subscribed to by the men of the 34th Group before their departure and erected in 1949 on the old airfield next to the A140 road, was stolen in April 2010 and presumably melted down for scrap.

In January 2014 an appeal was made to raise £35,000 to replace it in the more secure location of St Mary's Church in Mendlesham.

Some aerospace-related use still remains though: one portion of runway 08/25, although now covered with grass, is now in use by local microlight pilots and by Suffolk Coastal Floaters hang-gliding club along with a blister-type hangar at the EOR.