Marine Bombing Squadron 433 (VMB-433) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

medium bomber squadron during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Nicknamed the 'Fork-tailed Devils", the squadron flew PBJ medium bombers which were the naval version of the

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

. The squadron participated in combat operations in the Pacific Theater and was quickly deactivated after the war.

History

VMB-433 was commissioned on September 15, 1943 at

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The squadron also received initial training at Marine Corps Air Station Edenton and Marine Corps Air Facility Peterfield Point, North Carolina. Upon completion, the squadron joined MarFAirWest on 27 January 1944 and continued their training syllabus at

Marine Corps Air Station El Centro Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. By May 26, 1944 the ground echelon was underway, bound for the Northern Solomons. The following day the flight echelon departed, arriving at

Marine Corps Air Station Ewa Marine Corps Air Station Ewa (MCAS Ewa) was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located west of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The base was hit during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and later served as the hub for all Mar ...

on June 1, 1944. After staging through

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

, Canton,

Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of la ...

and

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

, the squadron arrived at Green Island on July 14, 1944 for temporary duty with

Marine Aircraft Group 14 Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina that is currently composed of four AV-8B Harrier squadrons, one F-35C squadron, one UAV squadron, one ...

. One month later, the squadron had redeployed, and both echelons were operating at

Emirau Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language. Emira is part of what on ...

with Marine Aircraft Group 61. On 16 August 1945, VMB-433 departed Emirau for Titcomb Field at Malabang in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, arriving there just as the war ended. VMB-433 was decommissioned at

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...

, California on November 30, 1945 following the squadron's return to the United States. During the course of the war the squadron had 17 Marines killed in action and lost 3 aircraft, 1 to mechanical issues and 2 to combat.

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. VMB-433 was presented with the following awards:

Notes

References

;Bibliography * Carey, Alan C. ''Leatherneck Bombers:Marine Corps B-25/PBJ Mitchell Squadrons in World War II.'' Schiffer Publishing, 2002. * Rottman, Gordon L. ''U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle: Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939-1945.'' Greenwood Press, 2002. . * Sherrod, Robert. ''History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II''. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press, 1952. . ;Web
Marine Bombing Squadron Four Thirty-Three
{{US Marine Corps navbox Bombing433 Inactive units of the United States Marine Corps

History

Unit awards

See also

Notes

References