Constituted as 25th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 22 Dec 1939. Activated on 1 Feb 1940. Trained with A-17’s and B-18’s. Moved to the Caribbean late in 1940. Re-designated 25th Bombardment Group (Medium) in May 1942. Flew antisubmarine patrols, escorted convoys, and served as part of the defense force of the area. Aircraft: B-18’s (1940-1943), A-20’s (1942-1943), and B-25’s (1943-1944). Returned to the US early in 1944, assigned to Second AF, and equipped with B-17’s. Disbanded on 20 Jun 1944.
| Squadron | Date |
| 10th | 1940-1943 |
| 12th | 1940-1944 |
| 35th | 1940-1944 |
| 59th | 1943-1944 |
| Stations | Dates |
| Langley Field, Va | Feb-26 Oct 1940 |
| Borinquen Field, PR | 1 Nov 1940 |
| Edinburgh Field, Trinidad | 1 Nov 1942 |
| Ft Amsterdam, Curacao | 1 Aug 1943 |
| Borinquen Field, PR | 5 Oct 1943-24 Mar 1944 |
| Alamogordo AAFld, NM | 6 Apr-20 Jun 1944 |
| Commander | Dates |
| Maj Theodore J Koenig | 1 Feb 1940 |
| Maj William B Sousa | |
| Lt Col Caleb V Haynes | Jan 1941 |
| Maj Alva L Harvey | Jun 1941 |
| Maj Neil B Harding | 10 Sep 1941 |
| Maj Jasper N Bell | |
| Lt Col Robert Alan | |
| Maj Mathew J McKeever Jr | |
| Maj Milton E Lipps | |
| Maj Howard A Cheney | |
| Col Charles F Born | 1942 |
| Maj John J Mullen | |
| Col Kenneth 0 Sanborn | 1 Aug 1943-7 Apr 1944 |
None.
Shield: Azure, issuing out of sinister side an arm embowed grasping a trident bend sinisterwise prongs to base or, on and over the junction of the shaft and prongs a compass rose of the first on a background of the second.
GUARD WITH POWER. (Approved 3 Oct 1940.)
Constituted as 25th Bombardment Group (Reconnaissance) on 17 Jul 1944. Activated in England on 9 Aug 1944. Served with Eighth AF until V—E Day. Used various aircraft, including B—17’s B—24’s, B—25’s, B—26’s, P—38’s, and L—5’s. Operations included reconnaissance over the waters adjacent to the British Isles and occasionally to the Azores to obtain meteorological data; flights over the Continent for weather information needed in planning operations; night photographic missions to detect enemy activity; and day light photographic and mapping missions over the Continent. Occasionally engaged in scout missions to target areas for last-minute weather information that was furnished to approaching bomber formations, on-the-scene visual evaluation of bombardment strikes, and electronic-countermeasure missions in which chaff was spread to confuse enemy defenses during Allied attacks. Moved to the US, Jul—Aug 1945. Inactivated on 8 Sep 1945.