Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 244 (VMSB-244) was a

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

squadron in 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 ...

. The squadron, also known as the “Bombing Banshees”, fought in

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 ...

in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

as part of the

1st Marine Aircraft Wing The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan. Activ ...

. They were deactivated shortly after the end of the war.

History

Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 244 was organized and commissioned as VMSB-242 at

Midway Atoll Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

on March 1, 1942. While at Midway they were responsible for defensive patrolling, escort missions, and tactical flight training. They remained on Midway until 11 April 1942 when they sailed aboard the headed for

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 ...

. They remained at

Naval Air Station Barbers Point Naval Air Station Barbers Point , on O'ahu, also called John Rodgers Field (the original name of Honolulu International Airport), is a former United States Navy airfield closed in 1999, and renamed Kalaeloa Airport. Parts of the former air station ...

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

until 20 April when the entire squadron again set sail this time for the west coast of the United States. The squadron arrived 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. ...

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 ...

on June 14, 1942 and became part of

Marine Aircraft Group 24 Marine Aircraft Group 24 (MAG-24) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay. MAG-24 is subordinate to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and the III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF). Mission Pro ...

. On 14 September 1942 the squadron was redesignated as VMSB-244. In October of that year they changed out their

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/div ...

dive bombers for the new Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver. During the early part of January 1943, the squadron was assigned to overseas duty and left San Diego on 7 January 1943 for Midway Atoll. After staging through

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 ...

, Hawaii for a little more than a month VMSB-244 disembarked at Midway on 20 March 1943 where they maintained the same duties as a year earlier. On 18 August 1943 the squadron departed Midway for the Hawaiian Islands where it was then split; both echelons arrived in

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 ...

in October where a brief training program and simulated attacks against shipping and airfields soon make them ready for combat. During this training period the squadron insignia and appropriate nickname, the "Bombing Banshees" was originated. Banshee was the USAAF's name for the SBD Dauntless and the title of an ancient Scottish and Irish spirit whose wailing foretold the coming of terror, death and destruction. In May 1945, as the campaign on Mindanao wound down, the squadron replaced its Douglas SBD Dauntless aircraft with the

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver is a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few survi ...

and shortly thereafter VMSB-244 became the only squadron of MAG-24 to remain active.

Notes

References

;Books * * * ;Web *
VMSB-244 Bombing Banshees

SBD SBD may refer to: * Douglas SBD Dauntless, a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber * San Bernardino International Airport, airport identifier code SBD * Savings Bank of Danbury, a bank headquartered in Connecticut * Schottky bar ...

Inactive units of the United States Marine Corps {{USMC-stub

History

See also

Notes

References