VMFA-323

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Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323
VMFA-323 Insignia
Active	August 1, 1943
Country	United States
Branch	USMC
Type	Fighter/Attack
Role	Close air support Air interdiction Aerial reconnaissance
Part of	Marine Aircraft Group 11 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Garrison/HQ	Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Nickname	"Death Rattlers"
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War Vietnam War Operation Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323) is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and is attached to Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW) but deploys with Carrier Air Wing Nine. Their tail code is WS.

1 History
2 Miscellaneous Information
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

[edit] World War II

VMF-323 was commissioned August 1, 1943 at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. According to oral history, the squadron got its name from three fighter pilots who killed a 6-foot rattlesnake and hung its skin in the squadron's ready room. VMF-323 began training in F4U Corsairs almost immediately for combat in the Pacific theater of World War II. Much of the new squadron's training was done at fields in El Centro, California and Camp Pendleton, California. In July 1944, the Death Rattlers departed for the Pacific aboard the USS Long Island. For the next nine months, VMF-323 flew training missions from secure island bases in the South Pacific.

On April 9, 1945, the Death Rattlers flew into Kadena airfield in support of Operation Iceberg during the Battle of Okinawa. Combat operations commenced the following day. Between then and the Japanese surrender in August, the Death Rattlers racked up 124 Japanese planes shot down without a single loss. Twelve Death Rattlers became aces.

After the war, the Death Rattlers were based at MCAS El Toro, where they conducted training exercises. It was around this time that the squadron appeared in the 1949 movie Sands of Iwo Jima.

[edit] Korean War and Post-war

When the conflict with North Korea began in 1950, VMF-323 began combat operations from the USS Badoeng Strait, supporting ground forces in the Pusan area, the Inchon landing, the 1st Marine Division's breakout from the Chosin Reservoir and almost every other major campaign of the conflict.

The squadron was re-designated Marine Attack Squadron 323 (VMA-323) in June, 1952. The Death Rattlers left Korea in July 1953. Once back home, the squadron began flying the F9F Panther and then the F9F Cougar, a swept-wing version of the Panther. In 1956 the squadron adopted the FJ-4 Fury, with which it deployed to the western Pacific in 1957. That year, the Death Rattlers flew armed patrols over the Quemoy and Matsu islands to support Chinese nationalist forces.

Returning to El Toro in 1959, the squadron switched to the F8U Crusader and were assigned to the USS Lexington.

In 1964 the squadron returned to Cherry Point, where they received their present designation of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323). This same year, the Death Rattlers began flying the F-4 Phantom II. During the Dominican Crisis in 1965, the Death Rattlers provided air cover while American citizens were evacuated.

[edit] Vietnam War

As the United States grew closer to war in& after South Vietnam, the Death Rattlers deployed to Da Nang Air Base. Combat operations started the day after they arrived. The squadron remained in Vietnam until 1969, flying combat sorties from Da Nang and Chu Lai.

[edit] 1980's to Present

An F/A-18 Hornet from VMFA-323

On September 14, 1982, VMFA-323 transitioned to its current aircraft, the F/A-18 Hornet.

In 1994 and 1995, the Death Rattlers flew missions in support of Operation Southern Watch.

[edit] Global War on Terror

On May 2, 2005, two F/A-18C Hornet fighter jets from VMFA-323, BUNO 164721 and BUNO 164732, collided over south-central Iraq, during a sortie from the USS Carl Vinson, killing the two pilots.