walika Posted April 2, 2018 Share #1 Posted April 2, 2018 VMF-513Date Commissioned: 8-1-44, changed to VMF(N) 8-1-47; VMF(AW) 7-26-58Insignia Design: Walt Disney StudiosDate of Insignia: 1944Authorization: HQMCAircraft: F4U- 1, F3A- 1, F4U-1D, F6F-3P Silk screened on canvas with embroidered edge. (PX style.) Design by Walt Disney Studios. The patch below was formerly in the Millstein collection. It appears in his book. After Project Danny was canceled, in September 1944 Maj Thomas 0. Bales took VMF-513 from Oak Grove, North Carolina, to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. In early December the squadron proceeded to Mojave, California, for carrier workups. Following a six-month training cycle, in early July 1945 Bales' crew sailed in Vella Gulf with MCVG-3 under Maj Royce Coln, formerly CO of VMSB-233 in the 1943 Solomons campaign. The squadron lost an aircraft on July 19 when lLt WR. Winn's Corsair went down at Barbers Point, but he was safely recovered. Vella Gulf arrived at Saipan before month-end.While in the Marianas M CVG-3 briefly flew strikes against Rota and Pagan. In August the ship got underway for Okinawa, spending only two days supporting the 3rd Marine Division before returning to Guam on VJ Day. Tom Bales remained the only skipper during the squadron's 19 months of wartime service.The squadron nickname "Flying Nightmares" was coined by the VMF(N)-513 Commanding Officer, LtCol James R. Anderson, USMC, in March 1951. At this time the squadron, with its 15 F7F "Tigercats" and 15 F4U-5N "Corsairs," were flying out of Pusan West and providing the sole night fighter air defense and interdiction support to all UN forces engaged with the numerically superior CHICOM enemy.During the summer of 1952, VMF(N)-513 received the F-3D "Skynight," the squadron's first jet aircraft. With the new jet fighter, VMF(N)-513 made aviation history with the first radar kill on an enemy jet aircraft at night and was credited with 10 confirmed night kills during the Korean Conflict. Sources Millstein, Jeff. U. S. Marine Corps Aviation Unit Insignia 1941-1946. Tillman, Barrett. U. S. Marine Corps Fighter Squadrons of World War II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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