VMF-224
Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224 (VMFA(AW)-224) was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) F/A-18 Hornet squadron. Also known as the "Fighting Bengals", the squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 31 (MAG-31) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW). The Bengals were the only Marine F/A-18D Hornet Squadron operating out of MCAS Beaufort and are scheduled to transition to the F-35B Lightning II in 2025. Mission Support the Marine Air–Ground Task Force commander by providing supporting arms coordination, conducting multi-sensor imagery, and destroying surface targets and enemy aircraft day or night; under all weather conditions during expeditionary, joint, or combined operations. History World War II Marine Fighter Squadron 224 (VMF-224) was commissioned on 1 May 1942 at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa Hawaii. During this time the squadron flew both Brewster F2A Buffalos and Grumman ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marine Aircraft Group 31
Marine Aircraft Group 31 (MAG-31) is a United States Marine Corps aviation group based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina that is currently composed of two F/A-18C Hornet squadrons, one F/A-18A++ Hornet squadron, two F/A-18D Hornet squadrons, one F-35B Lightning II training squadron, one F-35C Lightning II squadron, and an aviation logistics squadron. It falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Mission Provide air support to Marine Air Ground Task Force commanders. Subordinate units F/A-18 Hornet Squadrons * VMFA(AW)-224 "Bengals" * VMFA-312 "Checkerboards" F-35B Lightning II Training Squadron * VMFAT-501 "Warlords" * VMFA-533 "Hawks" Aviation Logistics Squadron * MALS-31 "Stingers" History Marine Aircraft Group 31 was commissioned at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, on 1 February 1943 under the command of Major Ralph K. Rottet. In September 1943, MAG-31 left the United States for Samoa where its squadrons w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brewster F2A Buffalo
The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modifications for aircraft carriers. The Buffalo won a competition against the Grumman F4F Wildcat in 1939 to become the U.S. Navy's first monoplane fighter aircraft. Although superior to the Grumman F3F biplane it replaced, and the early F4Fs,Wheeler 1992, p. 58. the Buffalo was largely obsolete when the United States entered the war, being unstable and overweight, especially when compared to the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Several nations, including Finland, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands, ordered the Buffalo. The Finns were the most successful with their Buffalos, flying them in combat against early Soviet fighters with excellent results.Ethell 1995, p. 212. During the Continuation War of 1941–1944, the B-239s (de-navalized F2A-1s) op ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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McDonnell F2H Banshee
The McDonnell F2H Banshee (company designation McDonnell Model 24) is a single-seat carrier-based jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Aircraft. It was an early jet fighter operated by United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, as well as being the only jet-powered fighter to ever be deployed by the Royal Canadian Navy.Mesko 2002, p. 48. The aircraft's name is derived from the banshee of Irish mythology. The Banshee was developed during the mid to late 1940s. It was a derivative of the earlier FH Phantom, although the resulting aircraft would be considerably larger, more heavily armed, and furnished with far more powerful engines in the form of a pair of Westinghouse J34 turbojets. The Banshee incorporated several recent innovations, including a pressurized cockpit, "kneeling" nose landing gear and an ejection seat, which the Phantom lacked, as well as a large number of improvements to other aircraft systems. On 11 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vought F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Vought, Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts were given to Goodyear Aerospace, Goodyear, whose Corsairs were designated FG, and Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, Brewster, designated F3A. The Corsair was designed and principally operated as a carrier-based aircraft, and entered service in large numbers with the U.S. Navy and Marines in World War II. It quickly became one of the most capable carrier-based fighter-bombers of the war. Some Japanese pilots regarded it as the most formidable American fighter and U.S. naval aviators achieved an 11:1 kill ratio. Early problems with carrier landings and logistics led to it being eclipsed as the dominant carrier-based fighter by the Grumman F6F Hellcat, powered by the same Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, Double Wasp engine first f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Close Air Support
Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of all forces involved. CAS may be conducted using aerial bombs, glide bombs, missiles, rockets, autocannons, machine guns, and even directed-energy weapons such as lasers.''Close Air Support''. United States Department of Defense, 2014. The requirement for detailed integration because of proximity, fires or movement is the determining factor. CAS may need to be conducted during shaping operations with special forces if the mission requires detailed integration with the fire and movement of those forces. A closely related subset of air interdiction, battlefield air interdiction, denotes interdiction against units with near-term effects on friendly units, but which does not ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grumman F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based A carrier-based aircraft (also known as carrier-capable aircraft, carrier-borne aircraft, carrier aircraft or aeronaval aircraft) is a naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. Carrier-based aircraft must be able to launch ... 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 Atlantic, the Wildcat was the only effective fighter available to the United States Navy and Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during the early part of the Second World War. The disappointing Brewster Buffalo was withdrawn in favor of the Wildcat and replaced as aircraft became available. With a top speed of , the Wildcat was outperformed by the faster [], more maneuverable, and longer-ranged Mitsubishi A6M Zero. US Navy pilots, including John Thach, John "Jimmy" Thach, a pioneer of fighter t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kalaeloa Airport
Kalaeloa Airport , also called John Rodgers Field (the original name of Honolulu International Airport) and formerly Naval Air Station Barbers Point, is a joint civil-military regional airport of the State of Hawaii established on July 1, 1999, to replace the Ford Island NALF facilities which closed on June 30 of the same year. Located on the site of the developing unincorporated town of Kalaeloa and nestled between the Honolulu communities of Ewa Beach, Kapolei and Campbell Industrial Park in West Oahu, most flights to Kalaeloa Airport originate from commuter airports on the other Hawaiian islands. While Kalaeloa Airport is primarily a commuter facility used by unscheduled air taxis, general aviation and transient and locally based military aircraft, the airport saw first-ever scheduled airline service begin on July 1, 2014, with Mokulele Airlines operating flights to Kahului Airport on Maui. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state in the tropics. Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that comprise almost the entire Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian archipelago (the exception, which is outside the state, is Midway Atoll). Spanning , the state is Physical geography, physiographically and Ethnology, ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania. Hawaii's ocean coastline is consequently the List of U.S. states and territories by coastline, fourth-longest in the U.S., at about . The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niihau, Niihau, Kauai, Kauai, Oahu, Oahu, Molokai, Molokai, Lanai, Lānai, Kahoʻolawe, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii (island), Hawaii, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 Marine aviation units heading into combat in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The base was closed in 1952 because its runways were too short for jet aircraft, and expansion was impossible due to the proximity of Naval Air Station Barbers Point. Ewa has been abandoned since 1952; however, two of its runways are still visible from the air and many of the revetments still remain in good condition. History It was founded as an airship base for the United States Navy in 1925, but no airships ever landed there. The USS Shenandoah crashed in Ohio in 1925, the USS Akron was destroyed in 1933 and the USS Macon in 1935, leading to the cancellation of the airship program. The base's upgrade to an air station began in September 1940, an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marine Air–ground Task Force
In the United States Marine Corps, a Marine air–ground task force (MAGTF, pronounced MAG-TAF) is the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air–ground, combined arms task organization of Marine Corps forces under a single commander that is structured to accomplish a specific mission. The MAGTF was formalized by the publishing of Marine Corps Order 3120.3 in December 1963, "The Marine Corps in the National Defense, MCDP 1-0". It stated: A Marine air–ground task force with separate air ground headquarters is normally formed for combat operations and training exercises in which substantial combat forces of both Marine aviation and Marine ground units are included in the task organization of participating Marine forces. Since World War II, in many crises the United States Marine Corps has deployed projection forces, with the ability to move ashore with sufficient sustainability for prolonged operations. MAGTFs hav ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the west and south across the Savannah River. Along with North Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast of the United States, East Coast. South Carolina is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 11th-smallest and List of U.S. states and territories by population, 23rd-most populous U.S. state with a recorded population of 5,118,425 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. In , its GDP was $213.45 billion. South Carolina is composed of List of counties in South Carolina, 46 counties. The capital is Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia with a population of 136,632 in 2020; while its List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city is Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system, designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop Corporation, Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations, and formerly by the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels. The F/A-18 was designed to be a highly versatile aircraft due to its avionics, glass cockpit, cockpit displays, and excellent aerodynamic characteristics, with the ability to carry a wide variety of weapons. The aircraft can perform escort fighter, fighter escort, fleet air defense, suppression of en ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |