World War II Marine Fighting Squadron 223 (VMF-223) was commissioned on 1 May 1942 at
Marine Corps Air Station Ewa,
Oahu, Hawaii. The "Bulldogs" first operational aircraft was the
Brewster F2A Buffalo. They left Hawaii for combat equipped with the
Grumman F4F Wildcat. VMF-223 became the first fighter squadron committed to combat during the
Battle of Guadalcanal when they landed at
Henderson Field on 20 August 1942. Upon arriving, the squadron became part of the
Cactus Air Force and for the next two months slugged it out with
Japanese pilots, based out of
Rabaul, for control of the skies over
Guadalcanal. VMF-223 departed the island on 13 October 1942 having accounted for 83 enemy aircraft shot down including that of Japanese ace
Junichi Sasai. The two leading aces in the squadron were the commanding officer, Major
John L. Smith, with nineteen confirmed shoot downs and
Marion E. Carl who was credited with sixteen. Smith was to be awarded the
Medal of Honor for heroism and Captain Carl would earn the first of his two
Navy Crosses for these actions. These victories would come at the cost of six pilots killed and six wounded, and only eight Wildcats still operational. After being equipped with the new
Vought F4U Corsair, the "Bulldogs" continued to fight in such places as the
Philippines and
Okinawa. Two
Presidential Unit Citations were awarded and affixed to the squadron's battle colors during the war. Following transfer from
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro to
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in 1948, VMA-223 became a
carrier squadron. The squadron deployed to the
Mediterranean Sea in 1949 aboard . The "Bulldogs" entered the Jet Age in July 1950, receiving their first jet aircraft, the
Grumman F9F Panther. In August 1957, the squadron was equipped with the
North American FJ-4B Fury. A relatively short time later in January 1961, the Fury was replaced by the
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.
Vietnam War during the Vietnam War In December 1965, the "Bulldogs" once again were called upon for combat duty in the Far East, this time at Chu Lai,
South Vietnam. Supporting allied ground forces, they flew more than 32,000 flight hours. In May 1967, the squadron flew a record 1,234 combat sorties, by far the greatest monthly total for any attack squadron operating in Vietnam. In February 1970, after nearly 5½ years in the Far East, the "Bulldogs" were reassigned to the
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and returned to
MCAS El Toro.
Post Vietnam & 1990s In May 1975, the squadron received the new A-4M Skyhawk aircraft. During July 1976, VMA-223 transferred from MCAS Yuma to
MCAS Iwakuni,
Japan. During August 1977, VMA-223 returned from Japan and joined the
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, stationed at
Cherry Point, North Carolina. During the late 1970s until transition in 1987 VMA-223 flew the A-4M Skyhawk. VMA-223 operated the last production A-4M aircraft painted in a special commemorative paint scheme with the flags of all nations who had operated the A-4 Skyhawk on the sides of the fuselage of the aircraft. In October 1987, VMA-223 transitioned to the
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. VMA-223 Harriers carry the distinctive 'rising sun' rudder pattern as an homage to the squadron's history in World War II. In 1989 the a portion of the squadron deployed aboard attached to
HMM-264 for a 6-month deployment. They visited Italy, Spain, Portugal, Monaco, France, Israel and other countries. Iraq in January 2006 March 1990 marked the second Sixth Fleet Deployment for the "Bulldogs" aboard in support of the 22 MEU. This detachment participated in
Operation Sharp Edge, flying armed combat air patrol missions in support of the non-combatant evacuation operations (NEO) over
Liberia. In January 1991, the "Bulldogs" deployed a six-plane detachment to
Naval Station Rota, Spain for operations in support of
Operation Desert Shield and
Operation Desert Storm. The Bulldogs briefly occupied the decks of the USS Nassau and the Iwo Jima. The detachment remained at Rota through February, training with Spanish Forces.
Global war on terror VMA-223 flew combat missions over
Afghanistan in the beginning phases of
Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001–2002. In January 2003, the squadron deployed on board as part of the
2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (2nd MEB). After arriving in the Northern
Persian Gulf it cross-decked to and began flying combat missions in support of the
2003 invasion of Iraq. During this time, the squadron surpassed 50,000 mishap-free flight hours. VMA-223 deployed to
Iraq late in the summer of 2005 in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. During a combat mission over Iraq on 10 February 2006 the squadron surpassed the 60,000 Class A mishap-free hours mark. This milestone is even more impressive considering the maintenance and safety issues associated with the
AV-8B aircraft. Starting in October 2011, to April 2012 VMA-223 was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Future plans and current aircraft flown As of May 29, 2025, VMA-223 is the last Marine Corps squadron that still operates the
AV-8B Harrier II, with plans to retire it by September 2026 and replace it with the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. ==Squadron aces==