VMSB-231
| Marine Attack Squadron 231 | |
|---|---|
VMA-231 insignia
|
|
| Active |
|
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Type | VSTOL Squadron |
| Role |
Close air support Air interdiction Aerial reconnaissance |
| Part of |
Marine Aircraft Group 14 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing |
| Garrison/HQ | Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point |
| Nickname(s) | Ace of Spades |
| Tail Code | CG |
| Engagements | 'World War I Banana Wars * Battle of Ocotal World War II * Battle of Midway * Battle of Guadalcanal Operation Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
LtCol Charles W. Del Pizzo, III |
| Notable commanders |
Ross E. Rowell |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack |
AV-8A Harrier AV-8B Harrier II |
| Bomber |
SB2U Vindicator SBD Dauntless |
| Fighter |
Vought VE-7F Boeing O2B-1 Curtiss F8C-1 Vought O3U-6 Corsair SOC-3 Seagull F4U Corsair |
Marine Attack Squadron 231 (VMA-231) is a United States Marine Corps fixed wing attack squadron that consists of AV-8B Harrier (V/STOL) jets. The squadron, known as the "Ace of Spades", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina and fall under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW).
VMA-231 began as the 1st Division, Squadron 1 on February 8, 1919 — a unit that emerged from the Northern Bombing Group of Northern France in 1918. By the end of February, the newly activated squadron arrived in Santo Domingo for duty with the 2nd Brigade where it served until July 1924. During its deployment to Santo Domingo, the squadron was designated Marine Observation Squadron One (VO-1M) on 1 July 1922.
From Santo Domingo the squadron traveled to San Diego, California and became the first Marine squadron on the West Coast and was designated as the aviation asset to accompany Marine Expeditionary Forces. During the West Coast interlude, the late Major General Ross E. Rowell, then a Major and Commanding Officer concentrated on training in dive-bombing tactics. Such tactics were to prove invaluable to the squadron in Nicaragua, during July 1927, where the squadron had been ordered the previous February. Shortly after its redesignation on July 1, 1927 to VO-8M, the squadron participated in the Battle of Ocotal on 16 July when ten personnel of the squadron came to the rescue of the beleaguered Marine garrison at Ocotal and executed the first recorded dive bombing attack against an organized enemy, dispersing the insurgents and saving the garrison. Among the first Marine aviators ever to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross were Major Rowell and Lieutenant Hayne Boyden, to whom it was awarded for their participation in the Battle of Ocotal.
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