Created on March 1, 1944 at Port Lyautey in Morocco under the designation of the 17th Colonial Engineer Regiment ().
The airborne engineer group (17) was redesignated 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion on February 15, 1949 and was based in metropole at Castelsarras in (Tarn-and-Garonne) and successive designations of 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion, Center of Instruction of Airborne Engineer (17), 17th Airborne Engineer Regiment.