The first predecessor of the squadron was activated as the 8th Observation Squadron at Pope Field, North Carolina in February 1942.
Two months after activating, it moved to Langley Field, Virginia.
 Although the squadron was equipped with a variety of aircraft, at Langley it flew primarily Martin B-10 and North American O-47 aircraft.
At Langley the unit began the target towing mission in addition to the artillery spotting mission of an observation squadron.
The squadron moved to Camp Davis Army Air Field, North Carolina a month later and by the end of the year was redesignated the 14th Tow Target Squadron.
While at Camp Davis the squadron was assigned several Women Airforce Service Pilots.

However, by 1944 the Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were proving less well adapted to the training mission.
 Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, while the groups and squadrons acting as training units were disbanded or inactivated.
This resulted in the 14th, along with other units at Camp Davis, being disbanded in the spring of 1944 and being replaced by an AAF Base Unit which absorbed the squadron's mission, personnel, and equipment.

The squadron was reconstituted in the fall of 1944 at McChord Field, Washington and equipped with North American B-25 Mitchell bombers modified to serve as target tugs.
Its personnel moved to Camp Stoneman, California in November and shipped out to the Pacific Theater of Operations on 12 December.
It arrived on Biak, an island north of New Guinea, on 6 January 1945, then moved to Nadzab Airfield on the main island, where it began towing targets for artillery and air-to-air gunnery training.
The squadron moved to Clark Field on Luzon in the Philippines, where it continued its mission until December 1945.
It was inactivated on 1 February 1946.
The first predecessor of the squadron was activated as the 8th Observation Squadron at Pope Field, North Carolina in February 1942. Two months after activating, it moved to Langley Field, Virginia.  Although the squadron was equipped with a variety of aircraft, at Langley it flew primarily Martin B-10 and North American O-47 aircraft. At Langley the unit began the target towing mission in addition to the artillery spotting mission of an observation squadron. The squadron moved to Camp Davis Army Air Field, North Carolina a month later and by the end of the year was redesignated the 14th Tow Target Squadron. While at Camp Davis the squadron was assigned several Women Airforce Service Pilots.
However, by 1944 the Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were proving less well adapted to the training mission.  Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, while the groups and squadrons acting as training units were disbanded or inactivated. This resulted in the 14th, along with other units at Camp Davis, being disbanded in the spring of 1944 and being replaced by an AAF Base Unit which absorbed the squadron's mission, personnel, and equipment.
The squadron was reconstituted in the fall of 1944 at McChord Field, Washington and equipped with North American B-25 Mitchell bombers modified to serve as target tugs. Its personnel moved to Camp Stoneman, California in November and shipped out to the Pacific Theater of Operations on 12 December. It arrived on Biak, an island north of New Guinea, on 6 January 1945, then moved to Nadzab Airfield on the main island, where it began towing targets for artillery and air-to-air gunnery training. The squadron moved to Clark Field on Luzon in the Philippines, where it continued its mission until December 1945. It was inactivated on 1 February 1946.
914th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron