The first Group arrived at St Eval in Cornwall, in February 1943 and operated over the Bay of Biscay under the general direction of the RAF Coastal Command. A second group arrived during July and carried on operations until October the first Group having left for North Africa.

Being a major centre for anti-submarine activity's, St Eval was rather crowded and the Americans were not over impressed with the amenities and sought alternative bases for their operations. In July 1943 Dunkeswell was made ready for the Americans use, but initially with the RAF providing the majority of the ground personal needed. Temporarily deployed on anti submarine duties,  the 4th and 19th Squadrons of the 479th Bomb Group USAAF arrived from St Eval during August. Within the next three weeks they were to lose three of their B-24’s. Two whilst on patrol, one was brought down by enemy aircraft over the sea,  six of the ten man crew managed to get into a rubber dingy and were rescued  five days later the fate of the other plane was unknown.  The third crashed on take off  and only three crew members survived.  On the 8th  of September  a fourth plane was lost and a subsequent search of the patrol area found three crew members had survived adrift in a dingy and were rescued three days later.

With the phasing out of the USAAF anti-submarine squadrons a month after operations had commenced from the base and the units moving elsewhere,

Dunkeswell was then occupied by VP103 the first squadron of the US-Navy to completed their training with the RAF Coastal Command. They were soon joined by VP105 and VP110 of Flight Air Wing 7, and were soon to build up the scale of their operations.