VMF-113

Marine Fighter Squadron 113 (VMF-113) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps during World War II and in the Marine Forces Reserve until 1965. Known as the "Whistling Devils", the squadron participated in aerial combat over the Marshall Islands in 1944 and took part in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. They were deactivated on April 30, 1947 following the end of World War II but were reactivated in the Reserves a few years later only to be deactivated for the last time in 1965.

World War II
VMF-113 was activated on January 1, 1943 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro as part of Marine Base Defense Air Group 41. They were shortly given their full complement of 24 F4U Corsairs. After training for most of 1943, the squadron set sail from San Diego on September 28, 1943 headed for Hawaii. Upon their arrival the aircraft were sent to Marine Corps Air Station Ewa for their final round of training.

In January 1944, the squadron learned they would be participating in the reduction of the remaining Japanese garrisons in the Marshall Islands. They soon set sail for Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands and then quickly moved to Kwajalein and finally began operating from Engebi on February 27, 1944 as part of the 4th Base Defense Air Wing. While there they were also responsible for attacking Japanese positions in the western Caroline Islands.

On March 26, 1944, while escorting 4 B-25 bombers on a raid over Ponape, the squadron recorded their first enemy kills when they down 8 Japanese aircraft. In April of that year they were tasked with providing air support for the landings at Ujeland. Since the assault was unopposed the squadron quickly returned to striking Japanese targets in the Marshall Islands for the remainder of 1944.



On May 6, 1945, VMF-113 landed on Ie Shima as part of Marine Aircraft Group 22 (MAG-22) to support operations during  the Battle of Okinawa. The next day the squadron saw its first action since early 1944 when a mass kamikaze raid came after the US fleet assembled for the invasion of the island. The squadron moved to Okinawa in July 1945 and remained there for the remainder of the war. The squadron accounted for 20 enemy aircraft shot down during the course of their involvement in World War II.

After the war, the squadron was moved to Omura on the southern Japanese Island of Kyūshū on September 20, 1945 and stayed there until late November when they sailed for the United States. They arrived in San Diego on December 5 and were soon based out of MCAS El Toro. The squadron was deactivated on April 30, 1947.

Reserve years
VMF-113 was reactivated sometime after the war and was stationed at Naval Air Station Olathe, Kansas along with VMF-215. In 1958 they transitioned to the F9F Cougar and later to the F4D Skyray. During this time, due to an aircraft shortage in the reserves, the squadron used the same aircraft as VMF-215 and two other U.S. Navy reserve squadrons. In 1964, the squadron was redesignated VMF(AW)-113 after its aircraft were upgraded however this did not last long as they quickly transitioned to the daytime only F8 Crusader in October 1965 and again became VMF-113. The squadron was deactivated on October 22, 1965 and is still in an inactive status.

Awards

 * US Navy Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon.png Presidential Unit Citation    May 25 – July 14, 1945