VMA-324

Marine Attack Squadron 324 (VMA-324) was an attack squadron in the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed the "Devil Dogs," the squadron was based out of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina for most of its history however it spent its last three years at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. Originally commissioned during World War II as a fighter squadron, VMF-324 deployed to Midway Atoll during the later months of the war never participating in combat operations. Following a post-war decommissioning, the squadron was reactivated during the Korean War as an attack squadron. VMA-324 conducted regular training evolutions and world-wide deployments until it was decommissioned on August 29, 1974.

Marine Attack Squadron 324
VMA-324 Insignia
Active
  • Oct 1, 1943 – Oct 15, 1945
  • Mar 17, 1952 – Aug 29, 1974
CountryUnited States
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch United States Marine Corps
TypeAttack squadron
RoleClose air support
Air interdiction
Part ofInactive
Nickname(s)Vagabonds (WWII)
Devil Dogs (50s–70s)
Tail CodeDX
Aircraft flown
AttackDouglas A-1 Skyraider
A4A Skyhawk
FighterF4U Corsair (1943–45)

History

World War II

Marine Fighting Squadron 324 (VMF-324) was commissioned on October 1, 1943, at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina as part of Marine Aircraft Group 32 (MAG-32).[1] That same month the squadron was sent to Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Oak Grove along with VMF-321 and Air Warning Squadron 3 to begin their initial training.[2] The squadron moved up to Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Kinston in March 1944 as one of the first squadron's there after the field was opened.[3] VMF-324 departed for Marine Corps Air Depot Miramar on July 15, 1944.[4] During August 1944 detachments from the squadron rotated through Marine Corps Air Station Mojave for additional training in rockets and heavy bomb training.[5][6]

VMF-324 departed San Diego on August 30, 1944, sailing for Hawaii. The squadron arrived at Pearl Harbor in September 1944, and temporarily staged out of Marine Corps Air Station Ewa. The squadron did not stay long in Hawaii joining Marine Aircraft Group 23 at Midway Atoll on September 16, 1944.[4][5] The squadron remained on Midway conducting aerial patrols for the remainder of the war. During its time there, one pilot was killed, and three aircraft lost to accidents.[5] The squadron was decommissioned at MCAS Ewa on October 15, 1945.[1]

1950s through 1974
USS Lake Champlain with VMA-324 Skyraiders flying overhead.

On April 18, 1954, squadron pilots flew their F4U/G Corsairs from the USS Saipan's flight deck landing them at Tourane Air Base, to support the French Aéronavale fighting at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in the latest days of the First Indochina War. The aircraft were turned over to French forces.[7]

In the fall of 1957, VMA-324 flying from the USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) along with other Marine Corps aviation squadrons, took part in Operation Deep Water, a NATO naval exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea that simulated protecting the Dardanelles from a Soviet invasion.[8][9][10] The exercise was also the first time that a Marine Air-Ground Task Force had been used in a NATO exercise.[11]

On August 29, 1974, VMA-324 was decommissioned during a ceremony at MCAS Beaufort. Squadron personnel and equipment were redesignated as VMA-311. Men and equipment that were part of VMA-311 under Marine Aircraft Group 12 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan were absorbed into other units in the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.[12]

  • Unmarked Vought AU-1 Corsair fighters on the deck of the U.S. Navy light aircraft carrier USS Saipan (CVL-48) in the South China Sea, in 1954. The Corsairs were drawn from Marine Attack Squadron VMA-324 and flown from the Saipan to Da Nang and delivered to the French navy.
    Unmarked Vought AU-1 Corsair fighters on the deck of the U.S. Navy light aircraft carrier USS Saipan (CVL-48) in the South China Sea, in 1954. The Corsairs were drawn from Marine Attack Squadron VMA-324 and flown from the Saipan to Da Nang and delivered to the French navy.

See also

Notes
  1. Rottman 2002, pp. 443.
  2. Shettle 2001, pp. 119.
  3. Shettle 2001, pp. 101.
  4. Sherrod 1952, pp. 468.
  5. Tillman 2014, pp. 132.
  6. Shettle 2001, pp. 111.
  7. Whitlow 1977, pp. 71.
  8. Time Inc (1957-10-07). LIFE. Time Inc. p. 56.
  9. "USS Lake Champlain". GoNavy.jp. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  10. Ralph W. Donnelly; Gabrielle M. Nuefield; Carolyn A. Tyson (1971). A Chronology of the United States Marine Corps, 1947–1964 Volume III (PDF). Washington, DC: USMC Headquarters – Historical Division. p. 35. ISBN 978-1481987516. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  11. William K., Jones (1987). "A Brief History of the 6th Marines" (PDF). Washington, DC: USMC Headquarters – Historical Division: 130. Retrieved 2022-02-01. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. "Beaufort MCAS Greets New Squadron". The Beaufort Gazette. Beaufort, South Carolina. 1974-08-28.

References
Bibliography
  • Rottman, Gordon (2002). U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle – Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939 – 1945. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31906-5.
  • Sherrod, Robert (1952). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press. ISBN 0-89201-048-7. OCLC 1261876.
  • Shettle, M. L. (2001). United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing Co. ISBN 0-9643388-2-3.
  • Tillman, Barrett (2014). US Marine Corps Fighter Squadrons of World War II. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78200-410-3.
  • Whitlow, Robert (1977). U.S. Marines in Vietnam:The Advisory and Combat Assistance Era, 1954–1964. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. ISBN 1494285290.
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