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Corps Knowledge

Uncategorized  //  November 19th, 2011  //  By Marine Corps News

  1. What aviation squadron is the oldest active Marine squadron?

    1. Black Sheep, Attack Squadron 214
    2. Ace of Spades, Attack Squadron 231
    3. Cowboys, Fighter Attack Squadron 112
    4. Vengeance, Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469

  2. What was the first aircraft used in the Corps?

    1. Curtiss C-3 (Model F)
    2. Vickers Fighting Biplane 5, ‘Gunbus’
    3. Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit
    4. Curtiss Robin J-1

  3. Which aircraft is not used by the Corps?

    1. Bell AH-1W SuperCobra
    2. Lockheed Martin KC-130J/T Hercules
    3. Boeing CH-47 Chinook
    4. Boeing F/A-18 Hornet

  4. Who was the first Marine Aviator?

    1. Lt. Col. Alfred A. Cunningham
    2. Col. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington
    3. Capt. Joseph Foss
    4. Orville Wright

  5. What is the Marine Corps Aviation birthday?

    1. May 22, 1941
    2. May 22, 1912
    3. Aug. 13, 1918
    4. Feb. 29, 1924

  6. What battle was fought solely with aircraft?

    1. Guadalcanal
    2. Khe Sanh
    3. Fallujah
    4. Midway

  7. What operation was the first to use vertical envelopment (helicopter assault) by the Corps?

    1. Operation Summit
    2. Operation Desert Storm
    3. Operation Just Cause
    4. Operation Geronimo

  8. In what battle was pilot Capt. Joseph Foss awarded the Medal of Honor?

    1. Midway
    2. Belleau Wood
    3. Guadalcanal
    4. Gettysburg

  9. Who is the most decorated Marine aviator?

    1. First Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham
    2. Amelia Earhart
    3. Capt. John L. Smith
    4. Col. Kenneth L. Reusser

  10. In what year did Lt. Col. Sarah Deal Burrow become the first female aviator?

    1. 1937
    2. 1918
    3. 1995
    4. 2010

 

Lt. Col. Harold W. Bauer

Lt. Col. Harold W. Bauer

Noteworthy Marine

In 1942, Bauer played a significant role in two air battles against the imperial Japanese on Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. On both accounts, the enemy outnumbered Bauer and his men two to one. During the battles, Bauer was credited for downing 11 Japanese aircraft. Bauer led 26 planes more than 600 miles in an over-water ferry flight to the island of Guadalcanal. While circling to land, he noticed the USS McFarland was under attack by a squadron of enemy aircraft. Alone and low on fuel, Bauer turned his plane toward the enemy and engaged. During the fight he downed four Japanese planes before he ran out of fuel and was forced to ditch his plane. Later he was spotted in his life raft by American pilots, but could not be found during an attempted rescue. Bauer received the Medal of Honor for his fighting spirit and impressive record of combat achievement.

Battle for Henderson Field

Back in the Day

During World War II on October 24-26, 1942, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, led by Lt. Col. Chesty Puller, faced-off with the Imperial Japanese Sendai Division. This division was the invasion force that was aiming to take back the allied air base of Henderson Field on the island of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, that the Marines had taken the prior August. Alone on the southern perimeter during the initial attack, 1/7 bore the brunt of the assault and held of the enemy with fortified positions, coordinated artillery and machine gun fire. The Army’s 164th Infantry moved to reinforce the southern perimeter during the attack, fighting alongside Marines throughout the battle until the enemy was defeated, saving the strategic airfield from capture.

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  • clloydm

    VMGR-252 is the oldest CONTINUALLY active squadron in the USMC.

  • Myron Hyatt

    I was in Korea and on the K3 Air base and we had Panther jets which Ted Williams flew

  • Russelllscott

    I saw a show on the History Channel and I thought they said that HMX 1 was the oldest aviation unit in the MC. Maybe it is the oldest rotary wing unit?

  • Frank Scoggins

    VMA-231 is the defacto oldest Squadron in the Corps. VMA-231 began as 1st Division, Squadron 1, on 8 February 1919, a unit that emerged from the Northern Bombing Group of Northern France in 1918. By the end of February, the newly activated squadron arrived in Santo Domingo for duty with the Second Brigade where, under various redesignations, it served until July 1924.From Santo Domingo the squadron traveled to San Diego, California as aviation outfit to accompany a Marine Expeditionary Force. During the West Coast interlude, the late Major General Ross E. ROWELL, then a Major and Commanding Officer of VO-1M, and later VO-SM, concentrated on training in dive-bombing tactics. Such tactics were to prove invaluable to the squadron in Nicaragua, during July 1927, where the squadron had been ordered the previous February. On 16 July 1927, at the famous Battle of Octal, ten personnel of VO-8M came to the rescue of the beleaguered Marine garrison at Ocotal and executed the first recorded dive bombing attack against an organized enemy, dispersing the insurgents and saving the garrison. Among the first Marine Aviators ever to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross were Major ROWELL and Lieutenant Hayne BOYDEN, to whom it was awarded for their participation in the battle of Ocotal.
    For ten years the squadron carried the designation VO-8M before being redesignated VMS-2, which it retained until July 1941, when it became VMSB-231. Whatever its designation, it has always been identified by the Ace of Spades which has appeared on countless aircraft types from Curtiss Jennys and DH-4B Liberty planes in 1920, to Dauntlesses and Corsairs flown in the Marshalls in 1944 as dive bombers.

    Semper Fi

  • SgtDoc

    H&MS-13, H&MS-24, VMFA-122, VMCJ-1 and HMH-463, MarineAirWing all the WAY. 70-74

  • Mec181

    If you retire watch out for the Uniformed Services Former spouse Protection Act, 50% goes to your ex forever!!!!!!!!!

  • Dou3f

    Who was the only Marine fighter crew flying in a Marine aircraft supported by Marines to shoot down a mig aircraft during the Vietnam War? And what squadron were they with?

  • rainez

    SEMPER FIE MARINES!

  • http://marines.dodlive.mil Marine Corps Production

    Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have made that change in the test.

  • http://marines.dodlive.mil Marine Corps Production

    Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have made that change in the test.

  • Jordan

    Man i gotta study if im enlisting soon haha

  • Jordan

    Man i gotta study if im enlisting soon haha

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dave-Gravel/1501518875 Dave Gravel

    Death from above, Yeah Baby, 1stMAW.   VMA-331 and HMS-11, Da Nang.  Semper Fi Marines!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/boone.rountree Boone Rountree

    I just wanted to point out that the Blacksheep Squadron is VMA-214 not VMA-241. According to a quick Google search VMA-241 is a decommissioned squadron known as the Sons of Satan. Considering this is supposed to be a test of Marine Aviation knowledge by the official magazine of the Marine Corps this is quite an oversight.

  • http://www.facebook.com/boone.rountree Boone Rountree

    I just wanted to point out that the Blacksheep Squadron is VMA-214 not VMA-241. According to a quick Google search VMA-241 is a decommissioned squadron known as the Sons of Satan. Considering this is supposed to be a test of Marine Aviation knowledge by the official magazine of the Marine Corps this is quite an oversight.

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