In May 1912, an air-minded Marine lieutenant, Alfred A. Cunningham, reported for duty at the Naval Aviation Camp, Annapolis, Maryland. The following month Lieutenant Cunningham became the Marine Corps' first qualified aviator, having soloed after two hours and 40 minutes of flight instruction. Seen at left in an early Curtis seaplane, Cunningham went on to become the first Officer-in- Charge of Marine Corps Aviation.
The second Marine Corps aviator was Lieutenant Bernard L. Smith, seen at left receiving flight instruction from Lieutenant Cunningham. In January 1914, Smith and Lieutenant W. M. McIlvain (the third Marine aviator) took the Marine Corps Section of the Annapolis Aviation Camp to the Caribbean for exercises with the Navy's Advance Base Unit. Equipped with a flying boat, an amphibian, hangar tents and some spare parts, Smith's detachment gained valuable experience for later Marine air operations with the Fleet.
An N-9 float plane, seen at Pensacola, typified the aircraft operated by early Marine aviators. Captain Francis T. Evans (the fourth Marine aviator) amazed onlookers at Pensacola in 1917 when he successfully looped and spun an N-9, maneuvers up to then considered impossible with a seaplane.
The newly formed First Marine Aeronautical Company deployed to Ponta Delgada, Azores, for anti-submarine patrol operations in early 1918. With 18 seaplanes, it was the first fully trained and equipped American aviation unit to go overseas in World War I.
In 1918 the Marines took over the old Curtis Field near Miami, Florida, renaming it the Marine Flying Field. There new aviators were trained in preparation for deployment to France. At left, the aftermath of a practice landing on the field's soft, sandy airstrip.
In July 1918, personnel of the 1st Marine Aviation Force landed in France, although their deHavilland DH-4s did not start arriving until September 1918. In the meantime the eager pilots flew with the British and French. During the remaining two months of the war, the Force's four squadrons performed a variety of duties, which included bombing and food dropping missions.
Funds were limited in the post-war years, and the faithful DH-4s flew on through the 19208 and into the 1980s. Designed as a bomber, the DH-4 had a top speed of 124 m.p.h. and a payload of 1,200 pounds. The DH-4 was easily flamed—and nicknamed the "flying coffin"—because of the gas tank just aft of the engine exhaust stacks, between the pilot and observer-gunner.
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas C. Turner, who had been trained to fly by the Army, had a significant influence in Marine aviation during the 1920s. As well as being the second Officer-in-Charge of Marine Aviation, Turner is remembered for leading a record breaking over-water flight from Washington, D. C., to Santo Domingo in 1921.
During the 1920s Marine aviators participated in operations in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, Nicaragua, Guam, and China. These operations were a useful proving ground for Marine air-ground operations. Dive bombing, aerial resupply, medical evacuation, and the beginnings at close air support (including the use of colored cloth panels to mark friendly positions) were all employed.
During an operation against Nicaraguan rebels in January 1928, Lieutenant Christian F. Schilt landed his 02U-1 biplane in a village street ten consecutive times under heavy fire, delivering desperately needed ammunition, and evacuating 18 wounded Marines. For his skill and courage Schilt was awarded the Medal of Honor.
In what is generally considered to be the first organized dive bombing attack in actual combat, a flight of five Marine DH-4s attacked bandit forces surrounding Marines at Ocotal, Nicaragua, in July 1927. At left, a DH4 is seen during a similar attack on the rebels' mountain hideout a few months later.
The beginnings of Marine Corps transport aviation took place in the 1920s with craft like the Fokker tri-motor at left, being unloaded at Ocotal, Nicaragua. In many cases enlisted pilots flew the transports, some of them logging more than 1,000 hours of flight time per year during the Nicaraguan campaign.
In 1932 the natives of Nicaragua beheld a strange sight when a Pitcairn OP-1 autogyro was tested there by the Marines. Although the "turkey hen" proved impractical, in part due to a limited payload, it was a forerunner of the today's helicopters and of the VSTOL aircraft still under development.
Colonel Roy S. Geiger, Officer-in-Charge of Marine Aviation in 1931-1935, had an impact on Marine operations for more than 30 years. The fifth Marine to qualify as an aviator, Geiger had commanded a squadron of DH-4 bombers in France in 1918, and eventually directed an entire amphibious corps operation on Okinawa during World War II.
In 1933, the Fleet Marine Force was formed, and the following year Marine squadrons began to operate from the aircraft carriers Lexington and Saratoga. At left, a Marine SU-2 leaves the deck of the Lexington, its tail wheel a contrast to the skid that had been employed on land based Marine aircraft.
In the early 1930s, the "original" F4B—a biplane built by Boeing—marked the beginning of a new era in Marine aviation. The colorful aircraft was highly maneuverable, could reach 234 m.p.h. in level flight, and featured the radial air-cooled engine that would become common on later naval fighters.
Although biplanes persisted through the late 1980s, such improvements as retractable landing gears came into general use in Marine Corps aviation. Pilots of aircraft like the F3F-2 at left were distinguished by their "Grumman wrist," developed from daily operation of the hand-cranked gear.
The attack on the Marine airfield at Ewa, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 resulted in the loss of every operational aircraft on the base. Shortly thereafter the Japanese attacks on Wake Island began, and for 16 days a small but valiant band of Marine aviators took part in the losing battle to hold the tiny atoll. The Marine F4Fs sank a light cruiser, the first enemy warship sinking credited to U. S. forces in World War II. Land-based Marine aircraft also participated in the decisive Battle of Midway in June 1942. At left, Vought SB2U-Ss leave Midway Island to join the battle. Below, the heavy cruiser Mikuma smolders off Midway, the wreckage of a Marine dive bomber on one of its turrets.
In August 1942, the long road back across the Pacific began, with the struggle for possession of Guadalcanal. Henderson Field, a rough Marine Corps airstrip completed after its capture from the Japanese, became a focal point of the campaign. Transport aircraft, often so heavily laden there was no room for a co-pilot, toiled is and out with supplies and wounded, while combat aircraft, like the F4F at left, waged a desperate battle overhead.
Operating from Henderson Field during the Guadalcanal campaign, Captain Joseph F. Foss downed 26 Japanese aircraft in a period of four months. Foss' victories (made in F4F Wildcats) were the first by an American to surpass the old U. S. record of 25, set in 1918 by Army Captain Eddie Rickenbacker.
Following Guadalcanal, Marine Corps aviators participated in campaigns in the Solomon, Gilbert, Marshall, Mariana, and Palau Island groups. The Douglas SBD dive bomber at left and the North American PBJs below (Marine versions of the B-25) are seen en route to Rabaul, the fabled Japanese naval stronghold bypassed by surface forces, and hit repeatedly by air strikes until the end of the war.
Major Gregory Boyington became the leading World War II Marine ace in January 1944, destroying his 28th Japanese aircraft before he himself was downed and captured. Most of Boyington's kills were made in the F4U Corsair, the aircraft that perhaps best symbolizes World War II Marine aviation. Known as "Whistling Death" by the Japanese, the 400-m.p.h. fighter helped bring Navy and Marine air superiority to the Pacific. It was also a versatile attack aircraft; at left a Marine F4U delivers a napalm strike a few hundred yards from its Peleliu airfield.
Marine air-ground teamwork played a significant part in the retaking of the Philippines in 1945. Operating in support of General MacArthur's Army units, aircraft like the SBDs at right struck with precision in close proximity to friendly lines, often allowing ground troops to take objectives without a single casualty. An air-ground doctrine formulated by Lieutenant Colonel Keith B. McCutcheon during the Philippine campaign became a basis for today's Marine close-air support operations.
Kamikaze attacks on the U. S. Fleet in late 1944 resulted in Marine fighter squadrons going aboard five CVs to augment fighter strength. At right, an F4U takes off from the USS Essex Marine aircraft were heavily committed in the last major Pacific campaign, at Okinawa. At war's end, Marine Corps aviation included 132 aircraft squadrons and 116,628 personnel.
Two developments destined to have an important influence on Marine aviation were introduced following World War II—the helicopter and the jet aircraft. To develop tactics for the vertical assault operations that the helicopter made possible, Marini Helicopter Experimental Squadron One (HM X-1) was formed in December 1947. In August 1947, a world speed record of 650.8 m.p.h. was set by Major Marion E. Carl in the Navy jet-propelled D-558-1 Sky streak.
Marine Corps attack aircraft, observation planes, and helicopters began combat operations from carriers and Asian land bases in August 1950, during the critical early days of the Korean War. A bomb-laden F9F Panther, seen at left taking off from an advance base in Korea, was one of a variety of Marine aircraft that saw action during the next three years.
With the massive Chinese Communist thrust into the war in late 1950, the 1st Marine Division became isolated in the North Korean mountains, 70 miles from the sea. Well-coordinated Marine, Navy, and Air Force, close air support operations helped the division to fight its way out, bringing its wounded and leaving in its wake more than 25,000 Communist casualties.
Major John F. Bolt, credited with six air victories in World War II, became the Marine Corps' first jet ace in Korea, downing six MIGs while on exchange duty with the Fifth Air Force.
Put to the test of combat for the first time in Korea, the helicopter emerged as one of the war's most significant weapons. In addition to reconnoitering front lines and transporting troops and supplies, the two Marine squadrons operating helicopters in Korea evacuated nearly 10,000 wounded personnel.
Aviation's advancing technology was reflected in the Marine Corps aircraft of the 19508. One tenacious holdover from the Korean War era was the popular Douglas AD Skyraider, which served in Marine squadrons from 1950 to 1959. The North American FJ-2 Fury, a version of the Air Force F-86, became the first Marine sweptwing jet with its introduction in 1954. The Douglas A4D Skyhawk, which began entering Marine squadrons in 1957, remains one of the Corps' first-line ground support aircraft today.
Marine Corps amphibious capabilities were extended in 1957, with the recommissioning of the former escort carrier U SS Thetis Bay as the Navy's first helicopter carrier. The largest Marine helicopter in the 19508 was the 31,000-pound Sikorsky HR2S-1 Mohave, seen at left.
In July 1957, Major John H. Glenn established a transcontinental speed record, piloting an F8U-1P Crusader from Los Alamitos, California, to Floyd Bennett Field, New York, in three hours, 23 minutes. Later, as a Project Mercury astronaut, Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth.
The need for an expeditionary airfield capable of handling high performance aircraft led in the late 1950s to the development of the Short Airfield for Tactical Support (SATS). Utilizing aluminum runway matting and a catapult and arresting gear, a 2,200-foot SA TS can be installed in as tittle as 72 hours. At left, an F4D Skyray is launched.
Transoceanic ranges were introduced to Marine fighters and attack aircraft in 1961, with use of the Lockheed KC-130 Hercules transport/refueler. In a 1965 flight that has since become routine, 18 F-8 Crusaders of VMF(AW-451) deployed from California to Japan, refueling six times en route. Representative of current Marine aircraft is the RF-4B Photo Phantom, at left, a reconnaissance version of the McDonnell fighter/attack aircraft. The RF-4B replaced the RF-8A Photo Crusader in 1965-1966.
The USS Okinawa (LPH-5), at left, is one of five new-construction amphibious assault ships now in the Fleet, along with three converted Essex-class carriers. Each of the Navy slaP8 is capable of delivering and supporting a reinforced Marine battalion in a vertical-assault amphibious operation. Boeing CH-46A Sea Knight helicopters, like the one seen below during maneuvers in Alaska, are being phased in as the Corps' primary medium helicopter. The turbine-powered CH-46A has a payload of 17 troops or 4,000 pounds and a cruising speed of 150 knots.
In the spring of 1962, a Marine helicopter squadron was committed to South Vietnam in support of that country's struggle against the Viet Cong guerrillas. The unit operated in the Mekong Delta through the summer, and then moved north to Da Nang, where the headquarters of Marine operations in Vietnam are now located.
In March of 1965 the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade moved ashore at Da Nang, marking the beginning of a step-up of U. S. operations in Vietnam. Marine aircraft, including the F.413 Phantom us at left, landed to support the ground elements' future operations.
In the summer of 1965, a Marine SATS airfield was constructed about 50 miles south of Da Nang. The field was named Chu Lai, and in August 1965 a combined land, sea, and air assault in the classic Navy-Marine tradition crushed the elite let Viet Cong Regiment 12 miles south of the airfield in the biggest U. S. victory in Vietnam up to that time.
In 1966, the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is ashore in Vietnam as part of the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force, and the struggle continues.