Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 1. VMFA- 1. 21), also known as the . The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 1. MAG- 1. 3) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW). Their tail code is VK and their radio call sign is . The Green Knights began combat operations flying the F4. F Wildcat and later the F4. U Corsair as charter members of the Cactus Air Force and throughout the Battle of Guadalcanal. The squadron also fought from the forward air bases of Espirito Santo, Turtle Bay, Bougainville, and Emirau. On September 1. 5, 1. Green Knights landed on Peleliu and fought there until July 2. They returned to the United States to be deactivated on September 9, 1. VMF- 1. 21 downed 2. Japanese aircraft. During this time they flew a variety of aircraft including the F4. U Corsair, F8. F Bearcat and A- 1 Skyraider. Korean War. After completion of training in the Skyraider, the squadron was transported aboard the carrier USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE- 8. Yokosuka, Japan to begin final preparations for a combat deployment to the Republic of Korea. In June 1. 95. 3 they also set a then Marine record for a single day's ordnance delivery when 1. AD- 2 Skyraiders dropped 1. Sui- ho Dam. Their mission was to conduct strike missions in support of infantry operations. The squadron dropped more bomb tonnage during the Korean War than any other Navy or Marine Corps squadron, devastating enemy airfields, supply dumps, bridges, and railroad yards. During the Korean War the Squadron insignia depicted Al Capp's . Returning to MCAS El Toro in 1. Active: June 24, 1941 - present: Country: United States: Allegiance: United States of America: Branch. Their tail code is VK and their radio call sign is 'Combat'. MILITARY CALLSIGN LIST AS OF APRIL 2009 Compiled by Ron ([email protected]) This list is the work of many people. I started in 1998 with a basic list that I pulled off of the web. That list had been compiled by Hugh. Unit Deployment Program with scheduled rotations to Japan and traded in its AD Skyraider aircraft and joined the jet age with the F9. F- 8. B. The Cougar equipped with the LABS system for loft bombing, was the first aircraft flown by the squadron capable of delivering nuclear weapons. In late 1. 95. 8, the Squadron traded the Cougars for brand new A- 4 Skyhawks.
Spending most of the next year at the likes of NAAS Fallon, MCAS Yuma, and NOTS China Lake, the . During November 1. In May 1. 96. 7 VMA- 1. Marine Attack Squadrons by delivering over 1. After six months of combat operations, the squadron rotated back to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan and Naha Air Base, Okinawa before returning to Chu Lai for another combat tour in September 1. During the first six months of that deployment, VMA- 1. In early 1. 96. 9, the squadron was reconstituted at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina and newly designated as VMA(AW)- 1. Grumman A- 6 Intruder. The Green Knights were now capable of acquiring and destroying surface targets in any weather, day or night, with a wide variety of air- to- ground ordnance. The squadron participated in a 1. MCAS Iwakuni Japan as a member of 1st MAW. While stationed in Japan, the squadron participated in training exercises at Cubi Point Philippines, and Team Sprit in Yechon, Korea. The Green Knights returned to El Toro in June of 1. Commanding Officer was Lt. In July 1. 98. 7, under the command of Lt. Col. Arriving on Gonzo Station in the North Arabian Sea, the squadron participated in Operation Earnest Will, the escorting of reflagged Kuwaiti tankers. In February 1. 98. Ranger for another West. PAC/Indian Ocean cruise under the command of Pete . Upon return to MCAS El Toro in August 1. VMA(AW)- 1. 21 was transferred back to Commander, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW). The Gulf War & the 1. Slightly over one year later, the squadron deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm. During the Desert Storm Air Campaign, the squadron flew 5. Navy or Marine Corps tactical jet squadron). Returning to MCAS El Toro following the cessation of hostilities, the Green Knights resumed the unit deployment rotation and relocated to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California during August 1. Navy (as NAS Miramar) to the Marine Corps pursuant to BRAC action that also closed MCAS El Toro. The Green Knights made three deployments to the Western Pacific before returning to combat over Iraq in March 2. During this 2. 00. Operation Southern Watch (OSW) while based at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, providing much- needed operational tempo (OPTEMPO) relief to active duty USAF, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. A- 1. 0 Thunderbolt II fighter squadrons that had been manning the OSW mission at Al Jaber since the end of the first Gulf War. Global War on Terror and beyond. The squadron flew more than 9. Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, returning to MCAS Miramar in October 2. Only 3 months after returning from Kyrgyzstan, the Green Knights deployed to Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait. From February to May 2. Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and returned to MCAS Miramar on May 1. In March 2. 00. 5, the squadron deployed as part of the Unit Deployment Program to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. The squadron returned to MCAS Miramar on September 1. In February 2. 00. Al Asad Air Base, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 0. The squadron deployed as part of the Unit Deployment Program to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan from September 2. March 2. 00. 9, March 2. September 2. 01. 0, and January 2. July 2. 01. 2. On August 1. F/A- 1. 8D from VMFA(AW)- 1. Pacific Ocean approximately 8. San Diego. Both pilot and WSO ejected safely. F- 3. 5B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter era. Jeff Scott took command of the Green Knights from Lt. Col. Michael Waterman, marking the end of the F/A- 1. D Hornet's tenure in VMFA(AW)- 1. This change of command officially moved the squadron from MAG- 1. MCAS Miramar to MAG- 1. MCAS Yuma. On 2. 0 November, VMFA(AW)- 1. VMFA- 1. 21, accepting delivery of the first three F- 3. B aircraft becoming the first operational F- 3. B squadron in the Marine Corps Operating Forces and the first operational F- 3. Joe Foss, VMF- 1. Medal of Honor recipient. VMA- 1. 21 AD- 2 Skyraider, Korea. Plaque located at Camp Mujuk, Korea that commemorates Lt. Col. Alfred Nelson Gordon, CO of VMA- 1. Korean War. VMA- 1. F9. F- 8 Cougar at MCAS El Toro, 1. An A- 4. E from VMA- 1. Chu Lai, March 1. A- 6 Intruder of VMA(AW)- 1. VMFA(AW)- 1. 21 Hornet damaged during the Gulf War in 1. A VMFA- 1. 21 F- 3. B at MCAS Yuma, in 2. See also. United States Marine Corps Aviation Squadron Lineage, Insignia & History - Volume One - The Fighter Squadrons. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, 2. ISBN 1- 5. 63. 11- 9. Doll, Thomas. Marine Fighting Squadron One- Twenty- One (VMF1. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publishing, Inc., 1. ISBN 0- 8. 97. 47- 3. Mersky, Peter B. Marine Corps Aviation . Annapolis, Maryland: The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1. ISBN 0- 9. 33. 85. Rottman, Gordon L. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle - Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2. ISBN 0- 3. 13- 3. Sherrod, Robert. History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D. C.: Combat Forces Press, 1. OCLC 1. 26. 18. 76.
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