Marine Fighting Squadron 413 (VMF-413) was a fighter squadron of the

Marine Forces Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. It descended from bombing squadron VMB-413, which was the Marine Corps' first medium bomber squadron and had fought during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Best known as "Night Hecklers" and the "Shamrocks", the squadron fought in many areas of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. Following the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

, the squadron was deactivated on 30 November 1945. VMF-413 reactivated in the Marine Forces Reserve and was based out of

Naval Air Station Dallas A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, until its deactivation in January 1963.

History

The squadron was activated on 1 March 1943, as Marine Bombing Squadron 413 (VMB-413) 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 an ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

.Rottman ''USMC WWII OOB'', p. 444.3d MAW General Order 7-1943 Commissioning VMB-413 on 1 March 1943
/ref> On 1 December 1943, the squadron completed their training at MCAS Cherry PointShettle ''USMC Air Station of WWII'', p.29. and from there moved to the West Coast until finally leaving from

Naval Air Station North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

on 3 January 1944.Sherrod ''History of Marine Corps Aviation in WWII'', p. 470. They arrived at

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 ...

on 27 January 1944, and remained there until 7 March 1944, when they were sent to

Stirling Island Stirling Island (also Sterling Island) is the smaller island of the two main Treasury Islands, which form part of the Solomon Islands. Geography Stirling is about long and located some south of Shortland. The estimated terrain elevation above s ...

in the

Treasury Islands Treasury Islands () are a small group of islands a few kilometres to the south of Bougainville and from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the country of Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasurie ...

. While stationed there the squadron flew a few night-time heckling missions against the Japanese garrisons at Kahili, Bougainville and

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

until July 1944 when they moved back to Espiritu Santo. During that time the squadron lost five aircraft along with 32 crewmen.Mersky ''USMC Aviation'', p. 99. In July 1944, VMB-413 began operating from

Munda __NOTOC__ Munda may refer to: Places India * Munda, a village in Hanumangarh district, Rajasthan, India * Munda Majra, a former village in Haryana, India * Munda Pind, a village in Punjab, India Pakistan * Munda, a village near Bilyamin in Kur ...

from where they began to raid both Kahili and Choiseul on a regular basis until 18 October 1944 when they moved to

Emirau Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . Emira is part of what on many maps are charted as the St Matthias Islands, also known as the Mussau Islands, a small group to the northwest of the main islan ...

. From there they ran missions against Japanese forces in New Ireland and

New Britain New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...

until the

in August 1945. Following the end of the war, the squadron was reactivated in the reserves at

. During this time, they shared aircraft with

VMF-111 Marine Fighting Squadron 111 (VMF-111) was a Marine Forces Reserve, reserve fighter squadron in the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed the "Devil Dogs", the squadron was one of the first aviation squadrons in the Marine Corps and gained natio ...

and

VMF-112 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112 (VMFA-112) is a reserve United States Marine Corps McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet squadron. The squadron is based at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, NASJRB Fort Worth, Texas and falls under th ...

until they were deactivated in January 1963.

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-413 was presented with the following awards:

Notes

References

;Bibliography * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vmf-413 Fighting413 Inactive units of the United States Marine Corps

History

Unit awards

See also

Notes

References