Following the departure of the "B-25 Special Project" personnel, most of fully-qualified aircrew members of the 17th Bomb Group remaining at Columbia were ordered to Morrison Field, Florida, as were personnel from the 12th Bomb Group.

These experienced men would be the foundation for the twenty-six crews forming the Air Echelon of "Project 157", under the command of Major Gordon C. Leland (12th Bomb Grp.). Other men were reassigned from 21st, 92nd, 97th, and 98th Bomb Groups which were still awaiting aircraft. As these inexperienced men arrived they were assigned to fill out incomplete combat crews. Some two weeks were spent outfitting the planes, testing all the apparatus, and flying training missions to get the crews accustomed to working together.

Part of the "plan" was for these crews, and the soon to follow ground support personnel, to join up with the 'Tokyo Raiders'in China and form the medium bomber portion of the U.S. Army Air Force support which President Roosevelt had promised to Chiang Kai Shek.

The plan then had them conducting missions against shipping in the South China Sea and against reachable targets in the Jpanese islands from airfields in Eastern China. The planes were not only completely fitted and ready for immediate combat, but were loaded with a great variety of extra ground equipment and men for maintaining planes. Every one of aircraft was least 500 pounds over the maximum overload for safe flight.

The night of May 2, the first Project 157 aircrews left for overseas. Their route had never before been flown over by combat crews, Athough B-25s marked for delivery to British and Russian units and flown by ferry pilots had flown part of the trip, however, lacking armament, munitions and crew equipment they had lighter loads.

The planes of Project 157 followed the regular ferry route to India; though Puerto Rico, Trinidad, British Guiana, routing through Brazil then across the South Atlantic to Africa via Ascension Island. At Accra, on the Gold Coast of Africa, several of the B-25s picked up formations of six to eight P-40s, which been transported on a Navy carrier. The B-25s, leading these fighters, flew across Africa to Karachi India by way of Asia Minor. Many of these fighters and pilots would later fly escort missions for the bombers in China. Three B-25s never reached India and some arrived several months after the others.

Support personnel of the 17th Bombardment Group which remained at Columbia Field following the departure of Raiders were tasked to establish training and orientation programs for incoming personnel, which would prepare them for operating and maintaining B-25s assigned a combat role. This included the Ground Ecelons of fficially reconstituted as 11th and 22nd Bomb Squadrons (Medium).

The squadrons were reactivated on 3 May 1942 at Columbia Field. They drew experienced, volunteer personnel from the 17th Bomb Group and recently assigned 21st Bomb Group to form their Ground Echelon. With the cadre units in place at Columbia, other personnel began to arrive from various parts of the U.S., by far the biggest contingent coming in from Keesler Field, Mississippi. They continued organization and training until 28 May 42.

During the organizational stages both the 11th and the 22nd were independent units, i.e. not assigned to any group. Although unaware of their assignment destination, the personnel forming the support nucleus of the 22nd and filling in the ground support of the 11th, sailed from Charleston on 25 May, 1942. The members of the 11th traveled aboard the troop transport, 'SS Santa Paula', and members of the 22nd aboard the 'SS Mariposa'.

While this build up was going on an advance cadre of the 11th Bomb Squadron had established the organization in the China-Burma-India Theater, following their arrival at Karachi, India, 20 May 1942 along with the ground echelon of the 7th Bomb Group.

By the last of May many of the of Project 157 aircraft and crews had arrived at Karachi. Though the Squadrons remained part of the 7th Bombardment Group (H) at Karachi. The aircrews of the 11th were attached to the newly formed China Air Task Force (CATF) and would be operating in a country already invaded by the enemy and whose very existence was continually threatened. The Squadron was to support Gen. Claire Chennault's forces, with the prime responsibility the destruction of the enemy land transport system. Rail yards and rolling stock would come under almost constant attack by the B-25s of the 11th and the CATF fighters.

Thirty special maintenance personnel from the 88th Recon Sq. attached to the 7th Group were transferred to the 11th. Fifteen of them were sent to Kunming by transport aircraft on 2 June, as ground personnel for the B-25's there. The thirty men made their way to the staging base at Allahabad, India, by the 27th.

Maj. Leland, leading six B-25s, departed Dinjan, India, on 2 Jun 42 for the first combat mission assigned to the new Squadron. They would bomb the Japanese held airfield at Lashio, Burma transferring to their new station at Kunming, China. They encountered adverse weather conditions on the way to the target and the plane piloted by 1Lt. William T. Gross became separated from the flight. Maj. Leland was the first of the other five aircraft to attack the target, and as they were departing. Lt. Gross was arriving for his bomb run. Gross's aircraft was attacked by Jap fighters. Although they were eventually able to get away from the fighters and land at Kunming, radio operator Sgt Wilmer Zeuske was killed during this action. The first combat casualty for the unit.

Unfortunately, the casualties increased significantly soon after. Maj. Leland was leading the flight of five on to Kunming, flying through a solid overcast at 10,000 feet, when his aircraft crashed into the side of a mountain. No. 2 in the lead element and No. 1 in the second element followed him in. Close enough, for just a moment, to see trees and grass through the heavy clouds, the other two ships by only a fraction. They also saw the flash caused by the others crashes. These two became separated in the weather. One made it to Kunming, the other ran out of gas some miles north of the field. The crew bailed out without mishap, reaching Kunming about two weeks later.

Among the casualties in the aircraft which struck the mountain were three men who only six weeks before had participated in the the Tokyo Raid; 2Lt. Eugene McGurl - navigator on crew #5, Sgt Melvin Gardner - engineer on #11, and Sgt Ohmer Duquette - engineer on #. They were the first of the surviving Raiders to be lost during the continuing war, but not the last.

Three more aircraft with complete crews joined the two at Kunming on 10 June. On the 16th, three more ships arrived, led by Maj. William Bayse, arriving as Commander of the 11th. Seven of the arriving personnel had been among Doolittle's Raider crews; Capt. Everett W. Holstrom and 1Lt. Lucian N. Young Blood - pilot and copilot on #4, 1Lt. Clayton J. Campbell - Navigator on #3, 1Lt. Horace E. Crouch - navigator on #9, MSgt Edwin W. Horton, Jr. - gunner on #9, TSgt Adam R. Williams - gunner on #13, and SSgt Douglas V. Radney - gunner on #2.

In India, 11th Bomb Squadron personnel remaining at Karachi formed the Headquarters and an inprocessing and training unit for personnel arriving during the next few months. Six planes of 22nd Squadron were sent to fields near Calcutta to provide armed reconnaisance of Central Burma. three at Dum Dum airport and three at Dinjan. On 27 May Maj. Leland, now Commanding the 11th, led a flight of 6 planes to Allahabad, India, where the bomb bay fuel tanks were removed and 6 - 500 pound bombs mounted into each bomb bay in preparation for their first sorties.

18 June, ten more enlisted men arrived at Kunming to augment the 11th's ground personnel. The remainder of the month was spent smoothing out the organization and working on equipment. The lower turrets of the B-25 were considered of little use and were taken out. Lt Elmer L. Tarbox, as Armaments Officer, in addition to his pilot duties, had twin 30 caliber machine guns mounted in the remaining opening. Plentiful opportunities to test the installation in combat proved the arrangement satisfactory. The only tools available had been brought by the maintainers and the only spare parts available were those stripped from planes as they were damaged and retired. Since one of the recently arrived aircraft had leaking fuel tanks it became the "supply room", cannibalized for parts to keep the others operational for nearly two months before any new parts would arrive.

Beginning on 28 June 1942, a detachment of the 11th began working out of Dinjan, India. Their orders placed their operations under control of the Ferry Command, and Lt. Col. J. R. Joplen, who gave them a free hand. Immediately, they began armed reconnaissance missions into northern Burma.

In addition to the cannibalized plane at Kunming, another needing repair work was left behind when six ships took off for Kweilin, China, on 30 June for operations in that section of the theatre. Necessary ground crews had been sent ahead by transport. This was to be the real beginning of the 11th Bomb Squadron's operations in China, using guerilla tactics for which Gen. Claire Chennault was already famous, tactics in which the 11th soon became expert as the bomber contingent of the China Air Task Force (CATF).