World War II VMA-214

f4u-1 corsair of 1st lt rolland n. rinabarger of vmf-214

the black sheep squadron fought eighty-four days. met japanese on own fields , territory , piled record of 203 planes destroyed or damaged, produced 9 fighter aces 97 confirmed air-to-air kills, sank several troop transports , supply ships, destroyed many installations, in addition numerous other victories. actions, original black sheep awarded presidential unit citation extraordinary heroism in action. following first combat tour, 26 pilots squadron left airfield @ munda week of rest , relaxation in sydney, australia holed in australia hotel.

the black sheep ended second combat tour on january 8, 1944, 5 days after major boyington shot down , captured japanese. original black sheep disbanded , pilots placed in pilot pool in marine aircraft group 11. exploits of incarnation of unit loosely fictionalized in 1970s television series baa baa black sheep, later renamed black sheep squadron, starring robert conrad boyington.

vmf-214 reformed on january 29, 1944 @ marine corps air station santa barbara near goleta, california. deployed aboard uss franklin (cv-13) on february 4, 1945 join on-going operations on okinawa. on march 19, japanese bomber hit uss franklin. explosion , resulting fire caused 772 deaths aboard franklin including 32 black sheep members. many black sheep aircraft launching strike on mainland japan @ time. one, first lieutenant ken linder, given half credit shooting down japanese bomber struck franklin. ended vmf-214 involvement in world war ii. during course of war, squadron suffered 23 pilots killed in action or missing , lost 48 aircraft accidents or enemy contact.

in april 1945, black sheep relocated marine corps air station el centro, california, , mcas el toro, ca in october 1945. in next few years, black sheep deployed operations on board uss rendova (cve-114), uss bairoko (cve-115), uss badoeng strait (cve-116), , uss boxer (cv-21).