The group received a second DUC for a mission on 5 April 1944 when it fought its way through relentless attacks by enemy aircraft to bomb railroad marshalling yards at Ploiești, Romania. The group also struck such objectives as enemy defenses, troop concentrations, bridges, and marshalling yards in support of the Invasion of southern France. It operated from Poltava Airbase, near Kiev in the Soviet Union, to support the advance of Russian troops in the Balkans as part of Operation Frantic, and supporting the United States Fifth Army in the Allied effort in Italy.