History VMA-311

1 history

1.1 world war ii
1.2 1946-1950
1.3 korean war, 1950-1955
1.4 vietnam war
1.5 gulf war
1.6 global war on terror

history
world war ii

vmf-311 during world war ii - south pacific

born during national call-to-arms following japanese attack on pearl harbor, marine fighting squadron 311 (vmf-311) first commissioned on 1 december 1942, assigned 3rd marine aircraft wing , headquartered @ mcas cherry point. transitioning training squadron flying snj texan combat squadron flying f4u corsair, vmf-311 participated in 1 of earliest american catapult operations involving corsair when 21 f4u’s launched uss nassau (cve-16) on october 6, 1943. time squadron formed part of mag-31. during world war ii, vmf-311 1 of first utilize , develop tactics corsair in ground attack mode, foreshadowing squadron’s future role attack squadron. indicative of combat effectiveness squadron destroyed 71 japanese aircraft in four-month period during battle of okinawa in 1945. end of world war ii saw vmf-311 leaving chimu airfield on okinawa start occupational duty flying yokosuka airfield on japan s mainland.

1946-1950

to-1 shooting star vmf-311 in 1948

occupational duty in japan lasted till may 1946, when mag-31 notified prepare termination of japanese assignment; vmf-311 going home. between july 1946 , april 1947 squadron had sleeping existence , being transferred mag-32 , later mag-12 while consisting of 1 officer, in 1949 vmf-311 became first west coast marine jet squadron when started flying to-1 shooting star. coincidentally squadron re-designated marine fighter squadron 311 (vmf-311) , around time acquired code letters wl, phonetically pronounced william love, came nickname willy lovers . squadron transitioned f9f panther in october 1949 , found once again preparing war november 1950, arriving once again @ yokusuka airfield in japan.

the korean war, 1950-1955

vmf-311 logo during korean war



two vmf-311 f9f-2bs @ pohang during korean war

arriving in korea on december 7, 1950, vmf-311 first land-based marine jet squadron used in combat providing close air support marines , soldiers on ground. in late-june 1952 squadron participate in attack on sui-ho dam. additionally squadron pioneered strip-alert tactics still practiced today. legendary pilots during era included later astronaut , senator john glenn , baseball star ted williams. in on 2½ years of action in korea squadron amassed 18,851 combat sorties. in 1957, squadron re-designated marine attack squadron 311 (vma-311). nickname “tomcats” bestowed during era.

vietnam war

vma-311 a-4e on south vietnam in 1970

the first a4d-2 skyhawk received tomcats in summer of 1958, initiating 30 years of skyhawk service. in may 1965 squadron, flying a-4es, deployed chu lai air base in republic of vietnam , on june 2, conducted first combat mission of vietnam war. in august 1965, vma-311 supported 7th marine regiment in operation starlite -- first major american operation of war. after 8 years of operations in vietnam tomcats totaled 54,625 combat sorties before leaving in january 1973. among sortie count amazing four-day sortie total of 240 5 8 may 1968 in support of fellow marines during battle of khe sanh. during of time based @ chu lai. squadron flew last marine corps sorties out of chu lai on september 11, 1970. in may 1972 vma-311 once again deployed vietnam mag-12 forward @ bien hoa air base, vietnam. final sortie in-country occur on january 29, 1973, day before drop last ordnance marine a-4 skyhawk during war. vma-311 fly 54,625 combat sorties during time supporting operations in vietnam, laos , cambodia.

the gulf war

some 311 harrier pilots in 1991

in 1988 vma-311 received first av-8b harrier , shortly thereafter headed harm’s way again. on august 11, 1990, after iraqi invasion of kuwait, vma-311 deployed in support of operation desert shield, leading other marine fixed-wing squadrons saudi arabia based out of king abdulaziz naval base. while there, tomcats forward deployed fixed-wing squadron. on january 17, 1991 while in support of operation desert storm squadron became first utilize av-8b in combat when flight of 4 harriers destroyed iraqi artillery position in support of battle of khafji. during 43 days of air combat operations, tomcat pilots flew 1,017 combat missions , delivered 840 tons of ordnance against enemy targets throughout kuwait , southern iraq.

a vma-311 harrier landing on uss tarawa in 2001


global war on terror

on november 3, 2001, vma-311 harriers attached 15th marine expeditionary unit embarked aboard uss peleliu became first harriers fly combat missions in afghanistan during operation enduring freedom.

on january 15, 2003, marines of vma-311 deployed northern persian gulf part of amphibious task force west. on march 21, 2003, 59 years day after vmf-311’s first combat sortie in world war ii, tomcats flew first combat sortie of operation iraqi freedom. during war flew on 550 sorties while dropping 77 tons of precision ordnance, destroying or neutralizing 132 iraqi targets while operating 2 amphibious assault carriers, uss bonhomme richard , uss tarawa. tomcats returned persian gulf on july 24, 2003. in 2008, later deployed in support of 15th marine expeditionary unit, while simultaneously sending detachment of marines , harriers iraq in support of operation iraqi freedom. these deployments followed in 2010 deployments again 15th meu, , unit deployment program pacific region. while there, tomcats spent on 2 months aboard uss essex 31st meu while participating in multilateral exercises cobra gold 2010 , balikatan 2010. vma-311 deployed camp bastion, helmand province, afghanistan in support of operation enduring freedom april september 2013.