A VMFA-531 F-4N landing on the USS Coral Sea in 1980
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 531 (VMFA-531) was a United States Marine Corps fighter squadron consisting of F/A-18 Hornets. Known as the “Grey Ghosts”, the squadron participated in action during World War II and the Vietnam War. They were decommissioned on March 27th, 1992.
World War II
Marine Night Fighter Squadron 531 (VMF(N)-531) was activated on November 16th, 1942 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. On January 9th, 1943 the squadron became part of the Fleet Marine Force and on April 1st was absorbed by Marine Aircraft Group 53 (MAG-53). The squadron took delivery of its first non-trainer aircraft, the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura on February 15th. Due to the uniqueness of their night fight mission, VMF(N)-531 was placed under the direction of the Commandant of the Marine Corps until it was ready to deploy to combat.
A PV-1 of VMF(N)-531 in the Solomons, 1943
Responding to Japanese night attacks on Guadalcanal, MAG-53 was reassigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing on April 15th, 1943 and was quickly ordered to deploy to the South Pacific as soon as possible. VMF(N)-531 was the first combat squadron to leave MCAS Cherry Point. After layovers in Hawaii and Espiritu Santo, the squadron finally arrived at Renard Field on Banika in the Russell Islands on September 11th. Joining Marine Aircraft Group 21, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, the Grey Ghosts flew their first combat patrol on September 16th making them the first naval aviation night-fighter squadron to operate in the South Pacific. The squadron’s first kill was made by Captain Duane Jenkins, who happened upon a Betty bomber on the evening of November 13th, 1943.
VMF(N)-531 F7F-3N in 1950
The first kill aided by GCI did not come until 6th December. During their tour in the Pacific, the squadron operated out of fields in the Russell Islands, Vella Lavella and Bougainville. They accounted for 12 enemy planes shot down by 5 different crews, all at night, with a loss of 6 of their own aircraft and 17 crew members, none of them a result of enemy fire. The squadron returned to MCAS Cherry Point on September 1st, 1944 and was quickly deactivated only to be reactivated a short time later on October 13th at Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Kinston (MCAAF Kinston), North Carolina and reassigned to MAG-53, 9th Marine Aircraft Wing. A short time later the squadron moved to Marine Corps Air Station Eagle Mountain Lake near Fort Worth, Texas to operate as a training squadron for replacement pilots and ground control intercept operators being sent overseas.
Following the conclusion of World War II, the squadron was relocated back to MCAS Cherry Point and in March 1947 reassigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW).
VMF(AW)-531 F3D-2 SkyKnight in 1957
1950s
The Vietnam War
On April 10th, 1965, 15 F-4Bs from the squadron arrived at Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam becoming the first land-based Marine Corps jets during the Vietnam War. They immediately began flying bombing missions under radar guidance and standard close air support missions in support of Marines on the ground.
VMF(AW)-531 F4D-1 in 1960
The 1980s to 1992
On May 29th, 1984, 531 received its first F/A-18 Hornet, becoming the 3rd fleet squadron to receive the new fighter.
An F/A-18A of VMFA-531 in 1985
LtCol Keith J. Stalder was the commanding officer from December 1990 to the time the squadron was decommissioned March 21st, 1992.
McDonnell Douglas F-4N Phantom II 152323, VMFA-531 “Gray Ghosts” El Toro 1982.
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InFlight 200 Latest Model Announcements
InFlight have just announced their latest models and they are now available to pre-order at Flying Tigers today. I have shown just a few of these below.
Many of these models have extremely low worldwide production quantities, so please order early to avoid disappointment.
Don’t forget NO DEPOSIT necessary with Flying Tigers and if you order with your debit or credit card your payment is not taken until your model is available to dispatch.
Flying Tigers will also consolidate your orders to save on postage costs across all brands !
For all InFlight 200 Military aircraft models please click on the image of your choice to go straight to the model page or CLICK HERE to see them all.
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Hobbymaster Updated Photo Gallery.
Check out the latest photos from Hobbymaster that have now been added to the Flying Tigers website. Please click on the image of your choice to go straight to the model page.
That is all for this week.
Thank you for reading this week’s Newsletter.
Richard.
Flying Tigers.
