U. S. MARINE CORPS AVIATION IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR: ITS EFFECTIVENESS IN SUPPORT OF THE PACIFIC FLEET

Abstract

This dissertation investigated the effectiveness of US Marine Corps aviation in support of the US Pacific Fleet in the Second World War. The historical investigation used one fighting squadron, VMF-221, as a case study. This squadron participated in three actions that revealed aspects of marine aviation’s effectiveness in support of the fleet. The squadron’s experience in 1942 demonstrated that rapid wartime expansion and the concurrent requirement to defend advanced island bases left marine aviation unready to face the Japanese Combined Fleet at the Battle of Midway. In 1943, the squadron fought effectively, but the Solomons campaign tested the fleet’s ability to keep aircraft flying from remote airstrips in harsh, tropical climates at the end of a long transoceanic supply chain. Aboard an aircraft carrier in 1945, the squadron benefited from the carrier’s mobility and self-contained logistics, but the experience demonstrated the vulnerability of aircraft carriers and their air groups to suicide attacks.