History of Marine Corps Aviation

Expansion and Training

Boeing F4B, flown by Marines in late Thirties

The Thirties

This decade opened with an economic worldwide crisis, The Great Depression. The effect on Marine Aviation and its allocated portion of Marine Corps and Navy appropriated funds was debilitating. One of the first results was to end Marine Aviation's involvement with ballooning. At San Diego, two observation squadrons were consolidated into one and the same action was taken at Quantico with two fighter squadrons. The squadron at Guam, which had been there since the end of WWI, was returned to the U.S. and decommissioned. Marine Aviation units were all withdrawn from Nicaragua in 1932 and from Haiti in 1934. Thus, consolidation, contraction and postponement became the planning considerations most commonly encountered at the start of the decade immediately preceding Pearl Harbor. This cutback was not without its beneficial effects. It reinforced WWI ingenuity displayed by Cunningham and Geiger in "making do with what you've got" and in solving problems with imagination and initiative.

Fleet Marine Forces

Refinement and definition of the Marine Corps mission took place early in the decade. With the formation of the Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) replacing the East and West Coast Expeditionary Forces, the aviation components of the newly formed FMF became Aircraft One at Quantico, and Aircraft Two at San Diego. The Commandant was responsible for research and the development of doctrine, techniques and equipment for amphibious warfare, much of which was conducted at the Marine Corps schools in Quantico. What evolved from the Quantico research effort was the Tentative Landing Force Manual, published by the Navy Department in 1935. This manual laid out in detail all of the principal steps for conducting amphibious assault. The concepts were tested and improved in fleet exercises during the thirties, and the resulting doctrine guided Marines to their hard-won triumphs in the amphibious assaults of WWII. The manual, as a whole, gave recognition to Marine Aviation as an integral and vital element in the execution of the primary mission of the Marine Corps.

From the mid-twenties, Marine squadrons had qualified aboard fleet carriers from time to time as part of their mission, beginning with the converted collier USS Langley. Such operations were often uneven in that the West Coast squadrons gave them more emphasis than they received in Quantico. However, in 1931, two scouting squadrons in San Diego were assigned to operate as component units of Pacific Fleet carriers until 1934 when they rejoined Aircraft Two. Prior to the two scouting units' assignment to Aircraft Battle Force, Pacific Fleet, Marine squadrons were somewhat loosely controlled with respect to doctrine and training. From 1931 to 1934, the two squadrons operated under the Navy, affording valuable experience to about 60 percent of active duty Marine pilots. The benefits of this experience were soon transmitted to the training of all squadrons of the Fleet Marine Force on both the East and West Coasts.

The spread of this disciplined syllabus training with a clearly defined mission was a real milestone in the evolution of Marine Aviation. Air operations during the decade reflected the increasing capabilities and enhanced sense of purpose of Marine Aviation. While the races, spectaculars and air shows continued they gradually became secondary to fleet problems, amphibious exercises and development, and to annual qualification in aerial gunnery and bombing. The thirties saw increased participation by Marine Aviation in coordinated exercises which were laying the groundwork for refinement of an emerging concept of the air-ground team.

Expansion and Training

Of all the armed services, Marine Aviation experienced the greatest expansion during WW II. In 1936, there were 145 Marine pilots on active duty and by mid-1940 the number had only increased to 245. The war in Europe and in the Atlantic was in full swing in late 1939 and this increase of only 100 pilots in four years indicates the measured tempo of the national preparation, slightly more than one year before Pearl Harbor.

By the end of 1940, Marine Aviation pilot strength had risen to 425, well over double what it was in 1936, having been augmented by the Marine Corps Aviation Reserve. The reserve at this time was relatively small, tightly knit and, as always, intensely loyal and responsive. Before the end of the war against Japan, Marine Aviation had reached a total of over 10,000 pilots on active duty.

At the time of Pearl Harbor, Marine Aviation unit and plane strengths were 13 squadrons and 204 aircraft. By the end of the war, just less than four years later, the figures were 145 squadrons and approximately 3,000 aircraft. Total Marine Aviation personnel strength had risen from approximately 1,350 in 1939 to over 125,000 by V-J Day. To accomplish such a herculean task, a base complex was required in the continental U.S., larger than anything seen before by Marine Aviation. On the East Coast, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS), Cherry Point, N.C., replaced Quantico as the focal point of aviation training, and today remains the hub of aviation activity east of the Mississippi. Similarly, El Toro, Calif., replaced San Diego on the West Coast and today continues as the center of Marine air operations oriented to the Pacific. In both cases, the Marine air-ground team concept was a paramount factor in site selection, as the two centers are in close proximity to the major Marine ground bases on each coast, Camp Pendleton in California, and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

History of Marine Corps Aviation in WWII, by Robert Sherrod - the authoritative reference work on this topic

History of Marine Corps Aviation

Expansion and Training

The Thirties

Fleet Marine Forces

Expansion and Training

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