As part of the Ninth Air Force the 394th Bomb Group was deployed to RAF Boreham, England, on March 11, 1944, and immediately participated in the bombing of bridges, airfields and the rail system in France in preparation for the cross-channel invasion. On D-Day, the group attacked gun positions in Cherbourg, then continued to support Allied ground units in Normandy by attacking German lines of communication. In late July, the group changed bases to RAF Holmsley South in preparation for a move to the continent, and on August 7, 1944, began a three-day campaign against rail and bridge targets in the Île-de-France region of northern France for which the group as a whole received a Distinguished Unit Citation.