The group was activated as the 54th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) at the beginning of 1941 at Hamilton Field, California.
with the 42d,
56th, and 57th Pursuit Squadrons assigned.
It trained with Curtiss P-36 Hawks and Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, then moved to Everett Army Air Field, where it served as a part of the air defense force for the northwest Pacific coast during the first few months of World War II.
The group and its squadrons were redesignated as fighter units in May 1942.

The air echelon, equipped with Bell P-39 Airacobras, served in Alaska against the Japanese forces that invaded the Aleutian Islands during the summer of 1942, and for these operations the group received a Distinguished Unit Citation.

The air echelon returned to the US in December 1942 and rejoined the group, which had been assigned to Third AF in Louisiana, and became a replacement training unit (RTU) for North American P-51 Mustang pilots.
RTUs were oversized units training individual pilots or aircrews.
In early May 1943, the group began a split operation, with headquarters and the 56th and 57th Fighter Squadrons relocating to Bartow Army Air Field, Florida, while the 42d was at Hillsborough Army Air Field.
The AAF was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the training mission.
 Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.
As a result, in 1944 the group was disbanded as the AAF converted to the AAF Base Unit system.
The units at Bartow were replaced by the 340th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter), while those at Hillsborough transferred their mission, equipment, and personnel to the 343d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).
The group was activated as the 54th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) at the beginning of 1941 at Hamilton Field, California. with the 42d,
56th, and 57th Pursuit Squadrons assigned. It trained with Curtiss P-36 Hawks and Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, then moved to Everett Army Air Field, where it served as a part of the air defense force for the northwest Pacific coast during the first few months of World War II. The group and its squadrons were redesignated as fighter units in May 1942.
The air echelon, equipped with Bell P-39 Airacobras, served in Alaska against the Japanese forces that invaded the Aleutian Islands during the summer of 1942, and for these operations the group received a Distinguished Unit Citation.
The air echelon returned to the US in December 1942 and rejoined the group, which had been assigned to Third AF in Louisiana, and became a replacement training unit (RTU) for North American P-51 Mustang pilots. RTUs were oversized units training individual pilots or aircrews. In early May 1943, the group began a split operation, with headquarters and the 56th and 57th Fighter Squadrons relocating to Bartow Army Air Field, Florida, while the 42d was at Hillsborough Army Air Field. The AAF was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the training mission.  Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. As a result, in 1944 the group was disbanded as the AAF converted to the AAF Base Unit system. The units at Bartow were replaced by the 340th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter), while those at Hillsborough transferred their mission, equipment, and personnel to the 343d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).
54th Fighter Group