Marine Fighting Squadron 512 (VMF-512) was a fighter 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 ...

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 ...

. The squadron was

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

based during the last year of the war and supported combat operations 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 ...

. Following the end of World War II they were deactivated on 10 March 1946 and remain in an inactive status today.

History

World War II

VMF-512 was commissioned 15 February 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 ...

. During its first few months the squadron was a part of Project Danny which was a plan for Marine Corps

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 ...

fighter aircraft to attack German

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 ...

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in northern France. The operation was canceled before departing for the

European Theatre of World War II The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

. Shortly thereafter the squadron was transferred along with the rest 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) 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 California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on 5 September 1944. Training quickly resumed at MCAS Mojave and on 5 November 1944 the squadron was re-designated as Marine Fighting Squadron (Carrier Squadron) (VMF(CVS)-512) denoting that the squadron was now

Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

based. On 8 December 1944, VMF-512 was transferred to Marine Air Support Group 48 (MASG-48) 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 194 ...

, California where it continued training until it went aboard the in March 1945 for a shakedown cruise and carrier-landing practice. For their initial cruise VMF-512 was paired with VMTB-143 to form ''Marine Carrier Group 2'' (MCVG-2). After their training cruise the squadron departed

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on 12 April 1945 for exercises in Hawaiian waters. The USS Gilbert Islands arrived off the coast of

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, Japan on 21 May. During the

VMF-512 aircraft blasted and strafed concrete dugouts, troop concentrations, ammunition and fuel dumps on Okinawa from 24 to 31 May. In the following days they helped neutralize outlying Japanese airfields and installations, including the

Sakishima Islands The (or 先島群島, ''Sakishima-guntō'') (Okinawan language, Okinawan: ''Sachishima'', Miyakoan language, Miyako: ''Saksїzїma'', Yaeyama language, Yaeyama: ''Sakїzїma'', Yonaguni language, Yonaguni: ''Satichima'') are an archipelago loca ...

with repeated bomb and rocket attacks. Later in June, the USS Gilbert Islands departed for

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. Soon thereafter they sailed to support operations in

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. During the Battle of Balikpapan VMF-512 provided

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 ...

for the Australian 7th Division. The squadron remained carrier based and at the end of World War II was operating at sea near

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. As part of the post-war drawdown of forces, VMF-512 was decommissioned on 10 March 1946.

Citations

References

Sources

: * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vmf-512 Fighting512 Inactive units of the United States Marine Corps

History

World War II

See also

Citations

References

Sources