The squadron was organized at Army Air Base, Savannah, Georgia in January 1941 as the 78th Bombardment Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the 45th Bombardment Group and equipped with Douglas A-20 Havocs (along with a few DB-7s, an export version of the A-20).
 In June the 80th moved with the group to Army Air Base, Manchester, New Hampshire.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor the squadron began flying antisubmarine patrols off the Atlantic coast.
 In 1942, it converted to the Douglas B-18 Bolo, which was equipped with radar for the antisubmarine mission.
 The squadron moved to Langley Field, Virginia in April 1942 and to Jacksonville Army Air Field, Florida in May.
In October 1942, the Army Air Forces organized its antisubmarine forces into the single Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, which established the 26th Antisubmarine Wing the following month to control its forces operating over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
 The command's bombardment group headquarters, including the 45th, were inactivated and the squadron, now designated the 7th Antisubmarine Squadron, was assigned directly to the 26th Wing.
  However, most squadron missions were flown over the Atlantic, so the 7th was attached to 25th Antisubmarine Wing, whose area of responsibility covered the Atlantic coast.

By the fall of 1942, the U-boat threat along the Atlantic coast had substantially diminished, but German wolfpacks were attacking merchant shipping in the waters near Trinidad.
 In April 1943, the squadron began operating from Edinburgh Field, where it joined elements of the 25th Bombardment Group, a Sixth Air Force unit, that was also engaged in antisubmarine patrols.
 They remained there until July 1943, when the 23d Antisubmarine Squadron deployed to Edinburgh to experiment with its 75mm cannon armed North American B-25 Mitchells in the antisubmarine role and the 7th returned to its base in Jacksonville.

In July 1943, the AAF and Navy reached an agreement to transfer the coastal antisubmarine mission to the Navy.
This mission transfer also included an exchange of AAF long-range bombers equipped for antisubmarine warfare for Navy Consolidated B-24 Liberators without such equipment.
The squadron was organized at Army Air Base, Savannah, Georgia in January 1941 as the 78th Bombardment Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the 45th Bombardment Group and equipped with Douglas A-20 Havocs (along with a few DB-7s, an export version of the A-20).  In June the 80th moved with the group to Army Air Base, Manchester, New Hampshire.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor the squadron began flying antisubmarine patrols off the Atlantic coast.  In 1942, it converted to the Douglas B-18 Bolo, which was equipped with radar for the antisubmarine mission.  The squadron moved to Langley Field, Virginia in April 1942 and to Jacksonville Army Air Field, Florida in May.
In October 1942, the Army Air Forces organized its antisubmarine forces into the single Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, which established the 26th Antisubmarine Wing the following month to control its forces operating over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.  The command's bombardment group headquarters, including the 45th, were inactivated and the squadron, now designated the 7th Antisubmarine Squadron, was assigned directly to the 26th Wing.   However, most squadron missions were flown over the Atlantic, so the 7th was attached to 25th Antisubmarine Wing, whose area of responsibility covered the Atlantic coast.
By the fall of 1942, the U-boat threat along the Atlantic coast had substantially diminished, but German wolfpacks were attacking merchant shipping in the waters near Trinidad.  In April 1943, the squadron began operating from Edinburgh Field, where it joined elements of the 25th Bombardment Group, a Sixth Air Force unit, that was also engaged in antisubmarine patrols.  They remained there until July 1943, when the 23d Antisubmarine Squadron deployed to Edinburgh to experiment with its 75mm cannon armed North American B-25 Mitchells in the antisubmarine role and the 7th returned to its base in Jacksonville.
In July 1943, the AAF and Navy reached an agreement to transfer the coastal antisubmarine mission to the Navy. This mission transfer also included an exchange of AAF long-range bombers equipped for antisubmarine warfare for Navy Consolidated B-24 Liberators without such equipment.
851st Strategic Missile Squadron