Marine Fighting Squadron 511 (VMF-511) was a fighter squadron of the

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

and

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

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 ...

and 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 ...

which flew aircraft types such as the

F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second ...

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 ...

, and the

F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Vought. It was the last American fighter that had guns as the primar ...

. They were originally activated during World War II and fought during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

and the

Battle of Balikpapan (1945) The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of Borneo campaign (1945), Operation Oboe, the campaign to liberate Japanese occupation of British Borneo, Japanese-held British and Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Dutch Borneo. T ...

. They specialized in

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 ...

and during the course of the war were credited with only one plane shot down. 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 11 March 1946. They were reactivated in the Marine Forces Reserve and were based out of Naval Air Station Willow Grove,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The squadron's tailcode was originally ''7W'', then in 1970 it became ''5W'', and then in 1972 it changed to ''MK''.

History

World War II

Marine Fighting Squadron 511 (VMF-511) was commissioned on 1 January 1944, at

Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Field Oak Grove 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 current power * Marine debris * Marine energy * Marine habitats * Mari ...

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 ...

. The squadron was a part of

Marine Aircraft Group 51 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 current power * Marine debris * Marine energy * Marine habitats * Mari ...

(MAG-51) and its original mission was to take part in Operation Crossbow (Project Danny), an ill-conceived plan to have Marine squadrons aboard

escort carriers The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

hunt down

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

launch sites in eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. After that operation was canceled, the new mission for MAG-51 and VMF-511 was to train for deployment aboard

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

carriers in the

Pacific 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 the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. The squadron moved to

Marine Corps Air Station Mojave The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of . It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spa ...

, California, on 10 September 1944, and began carrier qualification training. It was equipped with a mixed bag of eight F6F-5N Hellcat night fighters, two F6F-5P photo reconnaissance Hellcats and eight F4U-1D Corsairs. This mix of aircraft gave the squadron both a night fighting capability and photo reconnaissance capability on top of its ability to provide close air support. On 28 October 1944, the squadron was re-designated VMF(CVS)-511 to reflect its special training and participation in the escort carrier program. Upon completion of this training it was assigned to

Marine Carrier Air Group 1 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 current power * Marine debris * Marine energy * Marine habitats * Mari ...

(MCVG-1) where it was partnered with

VMTB-233 Marine Attack Squadron 233 (VMA-233) was an A-4 Skyhawk attack squadron in the United States Marine Corps. The squadron, also known as the "Flying Deadheads", were part of the Marine Forces Reserve and were based at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Vir ...

on USS ''Block Island'' (CVE-106). The squadron left the West Coast on 20 March 1945. On 10 May 1945, the squadron saw its first combat during the

when it attacked Japanese mortar positions. For the next month it provided

for Marines and soldiers on the ground during the battle. The squadron was also a part of the effort to reduce

Shuri Castle is a Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' castle in Shuri, Okinawa, Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was ...

and interdict small water craft. During this time the squadron lost its commanding officer, Major Robert Maze, when his F4U Corsair was hit by

flak Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

from

Ishigaki Island , also known as ''Ishigakijima'', is a Japanese island south-west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group, behind Iriomote Island. It is located approximately south-west of Okinawa Hontō. It is within t ...

and crashed into the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

. In mid-June, the USS ''Block Island'' was relieved from duty off the coast of Okinawa and ordered to

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. From there, it supported the early stages of the Australian 7th Division's invasion of Balikpapan. 511 returned to Leyte on 4 July 1945, and did not see combat for the rest of the war. Still aboard the USS ''Block Island'' when WWII ended, VMF(CVS)-511's final missions were flown in support of the Japanese surrender of

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

. Following the

, the squadron returned to

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 194 ...

, California and was eventually decommissioned 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 ...

, California on 10 March 1946.

Reserve Years

On 15 April 1958, the Marine Corps reactivated the squadron as the Marine Air Reserve Training Detachment Willow Grove at Naval Air Station Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. At first, the squadron shared its

aircraft with Naval Air Reserve squadrons VF-931 and VF-932. In 1970, the reserves were reorganized and VMF-511 became an independent squadron with its own aircraft. The squadron was finally deactivated on 31 August 1972, as part of the post-

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

draw down of forces.

Notable former members

* Edward J. Wallof, recipient of the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

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 the awarded unit citations on their uniforms. VMF-511 was presented with the following awards:

Notes

References

;Bibliography * * * * * * * * {{US Marine Corps navbox Fighting511 Inactive units of the United States Marine Corps Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1972