Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 244 was organized and commissioned as VMSB-242 at
Midway Atoll on 1 March 1942. While at Midway they were responsible for defensive patrolling, escort missions, and tactical flight training. They remained on Midway until 11 April 1942 when they sailed aboard the headed for
Hawaii. They remained at
Naval Air Station Barbers Point,
Oahu until 20 April when the entire squadron again set sail this time for the west coast of the United States. The squadron arrived at
Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara,
California on 14 June 1942 and became part of
Marine Aircraft Group 24. On 14 September 1942 the squadron was redesignated as
VMSB-244. In October of that year they changed out their
Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers for the new
Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver. During the early part of January 1943, the squadron was assigned to overseas duty and left San Diego on 7 January 1943 for Midway Atoll. After staging through
Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, Hawaii for a little more than a month VMSB-244 disembarked at Midway on 20 March 1943 where they maintained the same duties as a year earlier. On 18 August 1943 the squadron departed Midway for the Hawaiian Islands where it was then split; both echelons arrived in
Espiritu Santo in October where a brief training program and simulated attacks against shipping and airfields soon make them ready for combat. During this training period the squadron insignia and appropriate nickname, the "Bombing Banshees" was originated. Banshee was the USAAF's name for the SBD Dauntless and the title of an ancient Scottish and Irish spirit whose wailing foretold the coming of terror, death and destruction. In May 1945, as the
campaign on Mindanao wound down, the squadron replaced its Douglas SBD Dauntless aircraft with the
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver and shortly thereafter VMSB-244 became the only squadron of MAG-24 to remain active. ==See also==