In November 1943 Baker was assigned as flight commander with the 493rd Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Group, at Tullahoma, Tenn. Early in 1944, he went to the European Theater of Operations with the group which was assigned to the Ninth Air Force. He flew P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft in the campaigns of Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; and Rhineland. He was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action and also received an oak leaf cluster to the Distinguished Flying Cross. By the end of his second European tour of duty, he had flown a total of 523 hours on 272 combat missions in British Spitfire and Thunderbolt fighter aircraft.