World War II Marine Fighting Squadron 314 (
VMF-314) was commissioned on October 1, 1943, at
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point,
North Carolina. The squadron was originally given the nickname of, "Bob's Cats". The squadron was assigned to
Marine Aircraft Group 32 (MAG 32) flying the
F4U Corsair and began training immediately for combat in the
South Pacific. In February 1944, the squadron, along with
VMF-324, was among the first units aboard
Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Field Kinston. The squadron departed MCAAF Kinston for the
Pacific theater and arrived at
Marine Corps Air Station Ewa on June 18, 1944, and was reassigned to
Marine Aircraft Group 23, 3rd MAW. From there it deployed to
Midway Atoll. VMF-314 returned to MCAS Ewa in December 1944 and remained there until April 1945. In May 1945 the squadron moved to
Ie Shima to take part in the
Battle of Okinawa as part of
Marine Aircraft Group 22 (MAG-22). During the campaign, VMF-314 pilots were credited with 11 kills and the squadron was awarded the
Presidential Unit Citation. After the
surrender of Japan, VMF-314 moved to
Kyūshū,
Japan as part of the
occupation force. VMF-314 returned to
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in November 1945 and in March 1946 they arrived back at MCAS Cherry Point. For a short time, the squadron was reassigned to
Marine Aircraft Group 22 (MAG-22),
9th Marine Aircraft Wing but was later decommissioned on April 30, 1947.
Postwar years VMF-314 was recommissioned in 1952 at
MCAS Miami,
Florida and was assigned to
Marine Aircraft Group 31 (MAG-31), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing flying the latest version of the Corsair. That same year, the squadron transitioned to the new
F9F Panther. The next three years saw VMF-314 deployed twice, first to
Roosevelt Roads,
Puerto Rico, and then to
Naval Air Facility Atsugi,
Japan for an 18-month tour. VMF-314 earned the
Korean Service Medal for operations conducted between 11 September 1953 and 27 July 1954. In 1985, VMFA-314 transferred to
Carrier Air Wing 13 (CVW-13), and embarked on board for duty with the
U.S. Sixth Fleet in the
Mediterranean Sea. They participated in Freedom of Navigation operations in the vicinity of
Libya and took part in combat operations in support of
Operation El Dorado Canyon in the
Gulf of Sidra and in Libya.
Persian Gulf War and the 1990s In the summer of 1990, while preparing to return to the Western Pacific, the squadron were rapidly deployed to the
Persian Gulf and were the first Marine F/A-18 squadron to arrive in
Bahrain for
Operation Desert Shield as part of Marine Air Group 70. For nearly six months the "Black Knights" maintained 24-hour-a-day Combat Air Patrols over the Persian Gulf. On 16 January 1991, Operation Desert Shield shifted to
Operation Desert Storm. The squadron flew over 1,500 hours and 814 combat sorties, more sorties than any other
Navy or Marine Corps squadron. Missions flown during the war included Escort, SEAD, Mig Sweep, and Strike. They returned from the Middle East in March 1991 without the loss of a single squadron member or aircraft. In August 1992, VMFA-314 transferred to
Carrier Air Wing 11 and in 1993 deployed to the
Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf on board USS
Abraham Lincoln. During the deployment the squadron participated in
Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the
U.N. "no-fly-zone" in southern
Iraq, and in
Operation Continue Hope, providing
close air support to the
13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) and
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU) off the coast of
Somalia. The squadron returned from cruise in December 1993 and was reassigned to
Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11). In June 1994, VMFA-314 was one of the first MAG-11 squadrons to move from MCAS El Toro to
MCAS Miramar. In February 1996, the squadron received new lot 18 F/A-18C aircraft. In 1997, VMFA-314 transferred to
Carrier Air Wing 9 and deployed on an "Around the World" cruise on board . During the deployment, the squadron again participated in Operation Southern Watch. In January 2000, the squadron deployed aboard , with Carrier Air Wing Nine, for a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch. While in the Gulf, the "Black Knights" flew contingency operations under combat conditions in support of U.N. Resolutions, delivering accurate air-to-ground ordnance under hostile fire.
Global war on terrorism VMFA-314 was called upon to deploy U.S. Marines and aircraft on board USS
John C. Stennis in support of
Operation Noble Eagle. The
September 11 attacks of 2001 caused the planned deployment on board
John C. Stennis to be accelerated by two months. Following a shortened at-sea period for FleetEx, VMFA-314 deployed on 12 November 2001 in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom. The squadron began flying combat sorties on 18 December 2001 and delivered over 69,000 pounds of ordnance in support of U.S. forces on the ground in
Afghanistan. Midway into a six-month deployment, VMFA-314 was extended in theater an extra five weeks resulting in a monumental 265 deployed days over a year’s period including a 98-day straight at-sea period. The squadron deployed to the
Iraq War in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2009. They were based at
Al Asad Airbase and returned in September 2009. The Black Knights were the first U.S. Marine Squadron to conduct offensive operations against ISIS in support of Operation Inherent Resolve 2014.
F-35C Transition On 21 June 2019, the squadron retired the F/A-18A++ and began training on the F-35C. VMFA-314 was the first Marine Corps squadron to transition to the F-35C receiving its first aircraft on 21 January 2020. On 3 January 2022, VMFA-314 departed
Naval Base San Diego onboard the as part of
Carrier Air Wing Nine. VMFA-314 was the first Marine Corps F-35C squadron to deploy on an aircraft carrier. During their 2024 deployment as part of Carrier Air Wing 9 (CVW-9) aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), VMFA-314 left MCAS Miramar for stationing in the South China Sea as part of their WESTPAC deployment. Shortly after their departure, Carrier Strike Group 3 (CSG-3) was redirected to C5F within Central Command (CENTCOM) by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. For 4 continuous months, VMFA-314 participated in numerous missions supporting NAVCENT and CENTCOM operations, ultimately culminating in a series of strikes targeting military facilities deep within Houthi-controlled Yemen. These deep strikes marked the first combat employment of the F-35C Lightning II, affectionately known as the ‘Panther’. The Marines and their Panthers employed 72,000 lbs of ordnance in 24hrs, once again solidifying the Black Knights’ legacy at the leading edge of Marine Corps Aviation. On 3 February 2026, an F-35C from VMFA-314 shot down an
Iranian Shahed-139 drone in the
Arabian Sea. In late Feb 2026, as part of CVW-9, VMFA-314 and their F-35Cs operating off the USS Abraham Lincoln, undertook combat sorties within Operation Epic Fury against Iran. ==Awards==