VMSB-342 | "Bats From Hell"

[walika]

VMSB-342 | Bats from Hell

Commissioned: 7.1.43 Cherry Point
Deactivated: 10.10.44 Newport
Nickname: Bats From Hell
Date of Insignia: 1944
Authorization: HQMC
Aircraft Employed: SBD-4/5, Grumman J2F-5 Duck, Vultee SNV-1 Valiant (BT-13As for the United States Navy)

Remarks: The significance of the VMSB-342 insignia is that it shows the journey of a bomb on the way to its target. The fiery red background represents the explosion of the bomb on impact. The bat wings on the bomb represent the speed necessary to get the bomb to it's target. The blue represents the flight of the bomb through the sky.

This squadron's late activation, limited utility and short life help explain why its insignia is exceedingly scarce.

Embroidered on ribbed cotton.

 

VMSB-342 was activated on 1 July 1943 at MCAS, Cherry Point, North Carolina. A component squadron of Marine Aircraft Group 34, it received its personnel complement and a handful of aircraft and commenced its training immediately following its activation.

According to aircraft return reports, on 1 August, VMSB-342 had a total of fifteen aircraft on hand. This total was composed of four SBD-4 Dauntlesses; nine of the newer SBD-5s; one Grumman J2F-1 Duck amphibian and a single example of the Vultee SNV-1, the Navy version of the Army Air Force's BT-13 "Vibrator" advanced trainer to serve as its hack and instrument trainer. The squadron continued its training at Cherry Point throughout the remainder of 1943 and into the early spring of 1944. In April, it was transferred from the main air station to nearby MCAAS, Atlantic Field, to ease the crowding at Cherry Point. After completion of the move, some of the squadron's aircrews were detached and temporarily assigned assigned to NAS, Boca Chica, near Miami, for additional training. VMSB-342 remained at Atlantic Field until mid-summer, when it was transferred to the field at Newport, Arkansas, in early August.

The latter half of 1944 was the low point of World War II for Marine aviation in terms of useful employment in any active campaigns. The Solomons Campaign had reached its successful culmination earlier in the year. The Japanese fortress of Rabaul had been beaten into submission in a furious aerial campaign that saw the enemy tacitly admit defeat and withdraw the remnants of his aircraft in February, leaving the garrison there to extract whatever it could in blood to slow the Allied advance.

The decision had been made to exclude the Marines from participation in the European Campaign, and the war in the Pacific was progressing so well with far lower than anticipated losses in aviation personnel that the Navy had made the decision to reduce the numbers of students undergoing aviation training.

The upshot of all this was that a significant number of well trained and combat experienced Marine squadrons were languishing in quiet rear areas throughout the Pacific Theater. The only active combat operations for the Marines during this period were in the Palaus, where the bloody-fighting for the miserable, hellish sun-baked ridges of Peleliu raged, but only a small number of aviators were engaged there. As a result of the lack of gainful employment for the squadrons already deployed to the Pacific, many of those in the United States that previously had been engaged in hurried preparations for deployment experienced a rapid slowing of their own operations. For many, this time in the doldrums would spell their doom.

As far as VMSB-342 was concerned, many of its personnel were transferred to other duties. The squadron remained at Newport until it was deactivated on 10 October 1944.

In light of the massive commitment of Marine aviation to the war in the Pacific, it is somewhat ironic that Newport, Arkansas was the westernmost point of deployment of VMSB-342 during its history.
 

SBD-4/5 Dauntless

 

Grumman J2F-5 Duck

 

Vultee SNV-1 Valiant

 

Crowder, Michael J. United States Navy & Marine Corps Aviation Squadron Lineage, Insignia and History. Vol 2. Schiffer Publishing. 2014. p 158.
Johnson, E. R. and Jones, Lloyd S. Unites States Marine Corps Aircraft Since 1913. McFarland. 2018. p 530.
Millstein, Jeff. U. S. Marine Corps Aviation Unit Insignia 1941-1946. p 79.
Rottman, Gordon L. U. S. Marine Corps Order of Battle. Greenwood Press. 2002. p 444.

VMSB-342

 

[Bill Scott]

Rick if your collection was put in book form it would fill a Library.As I have said before thank you for your time and energy showing us some of the Rarest and most beautiful insignia on planet earth.Scotty