Marine Fighting Squadron 216 (VMF-216) was a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

fighter squadron of the

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 ...

that was based out of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Known as the “Bulldogs”, VMF-216 participated in numerous combat engagements in the Pacific Theater 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 ...

to include the Battle of Guam and the Battle of Iwo Jima. The squadron was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war but was reactivated in 1946 as part of the Marine Air Reserve. The squadron remained in the Reserve until being decommissioned on December 21, 1972.

History

World War II

Marine Fighting Squadron 216 was formed 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 ...

in January 1943 but was not officially commissioned until September 16, 1943 with Major Rivers J. Morrell, Jr. in command. Initially training in

FM-1 Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atlant ...

s, the squadron transitioned to the

Vought Vought was the name of several related American aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace (part of Ling-Temco-Vought), Vought Aircraft Companies, and Vought Ai ...

F4U-1 Corsair and operated roughly 18 of these aircraft at any one time. VMF-216 was the first squadron to land at the recently opened

Torokina Airfield Torokina Airfield, also known as Cape Torokina Airfield, is a former World War II airfield located at Cape Torokina, Bougainville. History World War II The 3rd Marine Division landed on Bougainville on 1 November 1943 at the start of the Bou ...

on December 10, 1943. By this time VMF-216 had at least partially transitioned to the F4U-1A Corsair, featuring a bubble canopy. On August 4, 1944, VMF-216 joined VMF(N)-534,

VMF-217 Marine Attack Squadron 217 (VMA-217) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps that was activated and fought during World War II. Known as “Max’s Wild Hares”, they fought in many areas of the Pacific War including the Batt ...

, and VMF-225 on

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

following the

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

of the island by United States forces. Following this, they were based on the Essex Class

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

USS Wasp (CV-18) USS ''Wasp'' (CV/CVA/CVS-18) was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the ninth US Navy ship to bear the name, was originally named ''Oriskany'', but was renamed while under construction in honor of the ...

starting in early February 1945. Flying from the ''Wasp'' on February 16, 1945 as part of

Task Force 58 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet), was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through the end of the war in August 1945. The task ...

, VMF-216 took part in fighter sweeps against military airfields in the vicinity of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Led by their commanding officer, Maj George E. Dooley, VMF-216 Corsairs strafed and bombed airfields at

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

and

Tateyama Tateyama may refer to: People with the surname * Midori Tateyama, Japanese writer * Shohei Tateyama (born 1981), Japanese baseball player * Yoshinori Tateyama (born 1975), Japanese baseball player * Homarefuji Yoshiyuki (born 1985), Japanese su ...

. Following the carrier raids on Tokyo, the squadron provided

close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...

for Marine assault forces during the Battle of Iwo Jima. The squadron remained aboard until ''Wasp'' retired to the

west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

for overhaul of battle damage. On March 13, 1945, VMF-216 was relieved and began transit back to the United States via

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. The squadron was decommissioned on March 10, 1946 at

Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara (MCAS Santa Barbara) was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located in Goleta, California north of Los Angeles during World War II. It was also known as the Goleta Air Station in the 1940s. ...

Reserve Years

VMF-216 was reactivated on July 1, 1946 at

Naval Air Station Seattle Naval Station Puget Sound is a former United States Navy, United States Naval station located on Sand Point (peninsula), Sand Point in Seattle, Washington. Today, the land is occupied by Magnuson Park. History After World War I, a movement was b ...

. The squadron was mobilized for a year during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

beginning on October 22, 1951. In 1958 it moved to

Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, Washington, Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington (state), Washington. The main p ...

and continued training until finally being decommissioned on December 21, 1972.

Citations

References

;Bibliography * * * * ;Web
Memorial website for VMF-216 pilot killed during the war

History of VMF-216

External links