The 566th flew its first combat mission from England on 7 September 1943, when it attacked an air base in the Netherlands. The squadron again deployed to Tunisia during September and October 1943 to support Operation Avalanche, the landings on the Italian mainland at Salerno, striking targets in Corsica, Italy, and Austria. After returning to England, the squadron concentrated on strategic bombing campaign against Germany, with targets including industrial areas of Berlin, oil production plants at Merseburg, and factories at Munster, and shipbuilding facilities at Vegesack. It struck V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites in the Pas de Calais and participated in the strikes against the German aircraft manufacturing industry during Big Week in late February 1944.