The 535^th Bombardment Squadron was activated on November 3, 1942 and assigned to the 381^st Bombardment Group of the 8^th Air Force. The squadron trained at Gowen Field, Idaho; Ephrata Field, Washington; Pyote AAB, Texas; and Pueblo AAB, Colorado before being assigned to Ridgewell, England June 2, 1943 where it flew B17’s in the European Theater of WWII.

It took part in the Air Offensive, Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Central Europe, and the EAME theater. The 535^th received the Distinguished Unit Citations for Germany, October 8, 1943 and 11 January 1944.

The squadron was designated the 535^th  Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) December 20, 1946 and inactivated on June 27, 1949.