Reactivated the same day at Smoky Hill Army Airfield, Kansas as a Very Heavy B-29 Superfortress bomb group, began training under Second Air Force for deployment to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. During April and the early part of May 1944, personnel was being assigned to the new Group in small numbers, but no aircraft were yet available. Four squadrons, the 60th, 61st, 62d and 402d were assigned to the group. On 10 May the 402d was inactivated due to personnel shortages, with its assets redistributed to other squadrons in the group. On 15 May the group was reassigned to Dalhart Army Airfield, Texas where the ground echelon was formed, and the operational squadrons trained with old II Bomber Command B-17s. In August, the unit returned to Smoky Hill where limited B-29 training was begun while waiting for the 499th Bomb Group to complete training and deploy to the Pacific.