Marine All-Weather Fighter Squadron 114 (VMF(AW)-114) was a squadron of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

that was originally commissioned 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 ...

. Nicknamed the "Death Dealers", the squadron saw the most action during the war providing

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 ...

during the

Battle of Peleliu The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the United States Armed Forces, US military, was fought between the United States and Empire of Japan, Japan during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of World War II, from 15 Septe ...

. The squadron remained on active duty until being decommissioned in 1963.

History

World War II

Marine Fighting Squadron 114 was commissioned on 1 July 1943, at

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located next to the community of El Toro and was then adjacent to the city of Irvine. Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps Av ...

. The squadron remained on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

until 16 October 1943, when it then transferred to

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 ...

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 sta ...

. In Hawaii, squadron pilots continued their training until moving to

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housi ...

on 18 December 1943. VMF-114 returned to Ewa in February 1944 and in March they moved first to

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 ...

and the Green Island. While there, they flew strike missions against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese garrisons that had been bypassed in the

Bismarck Islands The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about . History The first inhabitants of the archipelag ...

. The first major combat that VMF-114 took part in was the

. The squadron arrived on

Peleliu Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. ...

on 17 September 1944, and provided most of the

(CAS) for Marine Corps forces during the course of the battle. The squadron also provided the preparatory bombing and CAS for the

3rd Battalion, 5th Marines 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5, nicknamed Dark Horse) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and consists of approximately 1,000 Marines and Fleet Marine ...

when the battalion assaulted Ngesebus during the battle. The terrain on the island, earlier judged unsuitable for anything but the costliest and most difficult advances, was made passable with the aid of preparatory fire-scouring by

napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium ...

bombs from 114. MajGen

William H. Rupertus William Henry Rupertus (November 14, 1889 – March 25, 1945) was a major general in the United States Marine Corps, who commanded the famed 1st Marine Division in the Pacific in World War II and also authored the USMC Rifleman's Creed. Persona ...

, the Commanding General of the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...

on Peleliu would say following the battle that the air support provided during the campaign was, "executed in a manner leaving little to be desired." Following the battle, they remained based on the island again assuming the role of attacking bypassed Japanese garrisons in the vicinity of the western

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the cen ...

. The squadron remained in the area until they ceased combat operations on 1 June 1945.

Post-war years

Following the war, VMF-114 escaped the post-war drawdown of forces and were transferred to

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 ...

in February 1946. On 16 April 1946, 24 planes from VMF-114 departed

Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ham ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, onboard the USS Salerno Bay sailing for the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. During this short deployment the squadron provided

during the simulated amphibious landings conducted by the 1st Marine Brigade at

Culebra, Puerto Rico Isla Culebra (, ''Snake Island'') is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Vieques, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of ...

. In August 1947, the squadron was redesignated Marine Night Fighter Squadron 114 (VMF(N)-114) after they were reequipped with the nightfighter version of the

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 Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...

. Within a few years, the squadron transitioned to the

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 ...

and on 1 June 1953, they were again redesignated VMF-114. On 7 January 1953, the squadron deployed to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

as part of Carrier Air Group 10 (CVG-10) on board the . They returned from this deployment on 3 July 1953. The squadron transitioned to the F9F-8 Cougar, in 1955, and then to the

F4D Skyray The Douglas F4D Skyray (later redesignated F-6 Skyray) is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based supersonic Fighter aircraft, fighter/Interceptor aircraft, interceptor designed and produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was th ...

, on 1 May 1957. The squadron was redesignated a Fixed-Wing Marine All Weather Fighter Squadron, (VMF(AW)-114) at that time. From 13 February 1959 – 1 September 1959, the squadron was deployed as part of Carrier Air Group 1 (CVG-1) on board the for a cruise in the Mediterranean. The squadron lost two pilots on this tour. Major Robert W. Minick was killed in a landing accident aboard the carrier, on 15 January 1959. 1Lt. William Denima died on 24 July 1959, when he inadvertently shut off his engine and impacted the ocean surface while attempting an airstart. Upon their return they went back to the normal deployment rotation, including a stint at Naval Air Station Roosevelt Roads. In January 1961, the squadron was transferred to

Naval Air Facility Atsugi is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato, Kanagawa, Yamato and Ayase, Kanagawa, Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean, and once housed ...

, where they served until the squadron was decommissioned on 1 July 1963.

Awards

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...

15 September 1944 – 31 January 1945

Notes

References