USMC F-4 Phantom II Squadron History Series, No. 02, VMFA-531 “Grey Ghosts,” 1962: 1982

By Lee DeHaven and Mike Wanamaker

This work covers the history of Marine Fighter/Attack Squadron 531, VMFA-531, while equipped with the F-4B and F-4N models of the F-4 Phantom II between the years 1962 and 1982. Marines who served with the “Grey Ghosts” share their experiences of what life was like with VMFA-531 during the F-4 Phantom II era. These experiences include being stationed at Da Nang Airbase in South Vietnam, aboard the USS Coral Sea, maintaining the F-4 Phantom II, and some shenanigans.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lee DeHaven
• Release date: May 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005314040

Lee DeHaven

Originally from Carson City and Yerington, Nevada, Lee DeHaven served in the USN between 1977 and 1980. In 1985, he embarked on a self-learning journey to research and write military aviation history focused on the F-4 Phantom II jet. Along the way he obtained multiple Associate degrees. After years of writing articles he moved up to his first book (in partnership with Rich Rentrop) published on DVD in 2007. Lessons learned, ever expanding networking with fellow historians, and the expansion of the interest has led to a multi-volume history of USMC F-4 squadron histories. If you would like more information about VMFA-314, or any other squadron, feel free to send an e-mail to Lee.

Book preview

U.S.M.C. F-4 Phantom II

Squadron History Series, No. 02

VMFA-531 Grey Ghosts

1962 – 1982

Copyright 2022 Lee DeHaven and Mike Wanamaker

Published by Lee DeHaven at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

Table of Contents

Pre-1962

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

Post-1982

Acknowledgements

Acronyms

Foreword

There have been dozens of published works covering the history of the McDonnell Aircraft F-4 Phantom II. Few among these works are in-depth histories about the U. S. Marine Corps aviation fighter squadrons. This work covers the history of Marine Fighter/Attack squadron 531, VMFA-531, while equipped with the F-4B and F-4N models of the F-4 Phantom II between the years 1962 and 1982. Every conceivable source has been sought to locate details, both big and small. Some will think this work as too detail oriented while others will be left wanting to know more. The advantage of publishing in the electronic format is that the reader can select how much detail he/she may wish to view. Our hope is that we have provided some part of the VMFA-531 Grey Ghost history for everyone.

United States Marine Corps seal

Dedication

This history of the VMFA-531 Grey Ghosts is dedicated to all of those men and women, be they pilots/RIOs, maintenance personnel or administrative personnel, who made the Grey Ghosts the squadron what it was. A special dedication goes to the families of the men who did not return from combat and to those families of the men who gave their lives at home. We salute you all.

Assignments

McDonnell Phantom II

(Jeff Kolln collection)

McDonnell Douglas Phantom II

(Mike Wanamaker collection)

McDonnell Phantom II

(Anthony Wong original)

Pre-1962

[The text in this section was provided by Mr. Paul D. Hosick, VMFA-531 historian. Used with permission.]

The genesis of VMFA-531 began as the Royal Air Force was thrust head-on into the field of night fighting to counter the Nazi night bombing raids. During the 1930s, the British had been developing airborne and ground radars with which to counter the imminent threat and were far more advanced in these fields than U.S. Navy/Marine aviation. Two Marine aviators who had served with the Navy’s Bureau Of Aeronautics, Captain E. Colston Dyer and Major Frank H. Schwable, were sent on around-the-world tours in 1941 to get a first hand look at British night fighter combat operations against the Germans, squadron training, gunnery and tactical doctrine and the types of aircraft suited for the night fighter mission. The formation of the Marine night fighter program as a countermeasure to the Japanese threat evolved as a direct result of the foresight and determination of these (among other) aviation pioneers. In 1942, the Navy Department had scheduled a massive procurement of some 27,500 airplanes over the next five years. As part of this program, the Marine Corps received authorization for eight 12-plane night fighter squadrons to be commissioned between 1 January and 30 June 1945. Ultimately, combat requirements dictated a change of priorities. Thus, the first Marine night fighter squadron, VMF(N)-531, was activated on 16 November 1942 at MCAS Cherry Point, NC. It was the first combat squadron commissioned under the Commanding General (CG), MCAS Cherry Point, with LTCOL Schwable commanding.

The first aircraft possessed by VMF(N)-531 were two North American SNJ-4 Texans, assigned when the squadron was activated. They were later augmented by Brewster SB2A-4 Buccaneers. These aircraft were reclaimed Dutch dive bombers initially ordered for defense of the Netherlands East Indies, which were flown until the twin-engine Lockheed PV-l Ventura became operational as a night fighter. The Ventura, an older aircraft, was essentially the only twin-engine available during these austere times for the first night fighter squadron. Major modifications were required before the first Ventura was delivered on 15 February 1943.

Before commissioning, the pilots had flown in Cherry Point Air Station SNJs, SNCs and an R4D. The first executive officer, Major John D. Harshberger, was bitten early by the night fighter bug. Three other officers and 46 enlisted men were attached for duty. Initially, the squadron borrowed engineering, clerical, and radio personnel from other outfits. Its quarters were a corner of an unheated, unlighted hanger. VMF(N)-531’s first Ground Control Intercept (GCI) controller, 1LT W. D. Felder, USMCR, reported aboard on 18 December 1942. On 29 December, 11 officers and men reported for installation of the first fixed GCI station. By 9 January 1943, the squadron came under the Fleet Marine Force and on 1 April upon commissioning of Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 53, the squadron was absorbed in Group 53. Due to the uniqueness of VMF(N)-531, HQMC instructed that the squadron would be considered a Fleet Marine Force (FMF) organization directly under the Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps, until ready for tactical deployment. Concurrent with the forming of VMF(N)-531, the Marine Corps, realizing its shortcomings in night fighter tactics, sent a cadre of five officer (pilots), five enlisted men (to be trained as Airborne Intercept Officers), four enlisted technicians, and four ground officers to England to receive training with the Royal Air Force. LTCOL Schwable had earlier spent 3 1/2 months in England, working and living with the RAF and attending the Fighter Director School at Stanmore. The RAF, by the use of trial and error, found a twin-engine, two-place aircraft, the Bristol Beaufighter, to be the answer to the night fighter. This was sustained by its success in stopping the mass night raids of the Luftwaffe. Meanwhile VMF(N)-531 set up their first GCI station at Cherry Point.

MAG-53 reported to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3 MAW), FMF, on 15 April 1943. In response to Japanese night air attacks on Guadalcanal, the first Marine night fighter squadron, VMF(N)-531, deployed to the South Pacific via the West Coast in the summer of 1943, the first combat squadron to leave Cherry Point.

By July, the Squadron was at MCAS El Centro, California (at the CO’s insistence). In August, the first contingent of squadron aircraft launched from the Hawaiian Islands for Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands, arriving on 25 August, and then on to the Russell Islands, arriving in Banika on 11 September. Air patrols began on 16 September (as a member of MAG-21, 1 MAW), thus VMF(N)-531 became the first Naval Aviation night fighter squadron in the South Pacific and the first of any of the U.S. services to participate in combat as a radar-equipped night fighter squadron. Of note, the night fighters were never popularized as were the day fighters or the employment of close air support, which at the time was unique to the Marine Corps. Aside from the obvious security restrictions, Marines in the Pacific simply did not know that the night fighters existed.

By 18 October 1943, the squadron was working together with its own GCI personnel (a unit responsible for a large portion of the fighter direction at night in the Central Solomon Islands area) located at Liapari Point on Vella Lavella. LTCOL Schwable was instrumental in insisting the GCI unit was taken. The squadron operated from fields in the Russell Islands, Vella Lavella, and Bougainville, participating in the New Georgia, Bougainville, Bismark Archipelago, and Northern Solomons Campaigns while pioneering Marine GCI and night fighter tactics. The squadron also covered the landing at Treasury Island and Choiseul.

The first enemy plane ever destroyed by a night fighter in the Naval service, a Betty bomber, was shot down on 31 October 1943 by a VF(N)-75 (U.S. Navy) Vought F4U Corsair under the direction of a VMF(N)-531 GCI controller located at Pakoi Bay on Vella Lavella. On 13 November 1943, Captain D. R. Jenkins with a crew of SSgt T. J. Glennon and SSgt C.H. Stout got the first VMF(N)-531 night kill, a Mitsubishi G4M Betty Navy Type 1 attack bomber, while under the control of Horse Base, a task force about 50 miles southwest of Torokina Point in the Northern Solomons. The first kill by a Marine GCI/night-fighter team was scored by VMF(N)-531. On 6 December, 1943 LTCOL John D. Iron John Harshberger (Harsh John Iron-Berger to some), the Grey Ghosts’ first Executive Officer and second Commanding Officer, downed a single-engine, twin-float plane (possibly a Mitsubishi F1M, Pete) off Motupina Point on Bougainville. Harshberger became legendary in the annals of Marine Aviation as a fearless, innovative, and dynamic officer, a leader of the highest caliber. The squadron went on to compile an enviable record of twelve enemy planes shot down by five different pilots and crews, all at night. All of the kills occurred at altitudes from 7,000 to 15,000 feet. VMF(N)-531 GCI controllers accounted for a total of ten enemy aircraft losses. The Japanese quickly became wary of risking their planes in area protected by the GCI/night-fighter teams.

VMF(N)-531 lost six PV-1 aircraft and seventeen pilots/crew members although none as the result of enemy fire. Among the casualties were Capt Jenkins, SSgt Glennon, and SSgt Stout.

The squadron completed its South Pacific tour based on Green Island (northwest of Bougainville) working with patrols of PT boats, LCIs and PGMs. Despite some communications problems, it was proven that properly controlled night fighter cover could substantially aid small surface craft and shore installations with the assurance that enemy aircraft will not interfere. Lessons learned by VMF(N)-531 in night interceptions were passed on to replacement pilots and to other squadrons being trained in the U.S. These lessons formed the basis for highly successful night interception later in the war.

In night fighting, Marine aviators were thrown into pioneering of the most daring sort, but despite tribulations that often seemed insurmountable, they eventually delivered a record unique in WWII.

Probably the most important contribution VMF(N)-531 made to the developments that led to later successful operations against the Japanese was to prove the desirability of landing GCI equipment on D-Day, in order to provide efficient ground control for night fighters during the troops’ first few critical nights ashore. By 1 September 1944, the squadron had returned to Cherry Point and was deactivated on 3 September only to be reactivated on 13 October at MCAAF Kinston, NC and reassigned to MAG-53, 9 MAW.

On September 29, MAG-53, including VMF(N)-531, moved to MCAS Eagle Mountain Lake, TX (near Ft. Worth) where the squadron operated as a training squadron with some of the original officers and men. Problems faced at Cherry Point with the simultaneous training of day fighter, bombers, and night fighters disappeared.

Eagle Mountain Lake was off-airways, MAG-53 was the only occupant, and the air station operated the mess hall, officer and enlisted clubs, Post Exchange and other facilities to accommodate night operations. Quickly, two GCI units about 60 miles apart were in operation.

To more expeditiously train pilots, VMF(N)-531 was supplied pilots and aircraft to fly solely as bogeys. SBD-5s were initially supplied (received 13 Jan 1945) and later replaced by SB2C-4E aircraft. The first night fighters (F7F-2Ns) started arriving 17 Jan 1945. The bogey pilots were mostly veterans not due to return overseas in the near future. However, a surprising number requested and received transfer to the night fighter program. Although new two-seat F7F-3N Tigercat night fighters were developed to replace the old Venturas, and were made to order, they were not produced in time for use against the Japanese. However, new aircraft, including F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair night fighters, which Marines flew later, took their operating techniques from the persistent PVs.

By June 1945, the squadron was operating with two F7F-1Ns, fifteen F7F-2Ns, two F7F-3Ns, and twelve SBD-6s. In July the SBD-6s were replaced by SB2C-4Es and by September 1945, all Tigercats assigned were F7F-3Ns with the new and better SCR-720 Radar. When the war with Japan ended, VMF(N)-531 was in full operation, training replacement pilots and airborne intercept operators for overseas assignment. In February 1946, the squadron (along with MAG-53) was relocated to Cherry Point and 531 became a paper shell without aircraft and only cadre personnel. In March, the Grey Ghosts were reassigned to the 2nd MAW (2 MAW).

In November 1946, the squadron again became a full-time operating entity with the assignment of twelve F7F-3Ns and qualified aircrew and personnel. In May of 1947, VMF(N)-531 came directly under command of AIRFMFLANT and began operating as a composite single and multi-engine squadron with twelve Tigercats augmented by six F6F-SN Hellcats, with the Hellcats committed to carrier duty.

Transferred back to the 2 MAW in October 1947, the squadron continued to operate out of Cherry Point with training flights of a routine nature. In June 1948 the squadron was assigned to MAG-41 and on 14 October 1948 the Grey Ghosts were redesignated as Marine All Weather Fighter Squadron-531; VMF(AW)-531. In September 1949, the squadron was reassigned to MAG-24. Several SNB aircraft were also available for training and instrument checkout flights. VMF(AW)-531, at this time, appeared to many to be a training squadron rather than a tactical squadron in training, relative to the rapid turnover in personnel.

When the Korean conflict erupted aircrews trained by VMF(AW)-531 were ready and went into action to help clear the skies of the enemy, flying the Douglas F3D Skyknight, the first jet aircraft assigned to the squadron (early 1952). The squadron trained aircrews gained two more firsts by scoring the first jet night kill and the first self-contained radar kill in the history of Marine Aviation. Operations continued at Cherry Point, with the dual mission of training pilots and airborne intercept operators for the Korean replacement drafts, and FMF commitments.

A VMF(N)-531Douglas F3D-2 Skyknight, BuNo 124653, circa in 1955. (USMC photo A48757)

Following the Korean conflict, The Grey Ghosts remained at Cherry Point as part of MAG-24. On 2 March 1953, Captain W. L. Hall and W. I. Barbanes enjoyed a first for the squadron when they made the initial carrier landings with the F3D-2 on the USS Roosevelt.

Beginning in Feb 1958, the Douglas F4D Skyray, an all-weather single seat, delta wing, jet interceptor, began replacing the slower F3Ds. By April 1959, the squadron was considered fully combat ready and deployed to MAG-11 at NAS Atsugi, Japan, for a routine tour of overseas duty. The tour included deployments to NAS Cubi Point, Philippines and Ping Tung, Taiwan. Operations with the Ford, a difficult and demanding aircraft, including carrier qualification, night and all-weather fighter alert out of Atsugi and Ping Tung, and some operations out of a 2,000-foot SATS airstrip. In July 1960, the Grey Ghosts returned to MAG-24 at MCAS Cherry Point. Following a year of normal training operations the squadron again deployed to NAS Atsugi, from July 1961 until July 1962, as a member of MAG-11.

VMF(AW)-531 F4D-1 Skyray,circa 1960. (USMC photo A182350)

F4D-1 Skyrays (Fords) of VMF(AW)-531. (USMC photo)

1962

VMF(AW)-314, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro, California, and VMF(AW)-531, MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, were selected to be the first Marine all-weather, fighter-attack [VMF(AW)] squadrons to make the transition from the Douglas F4D-1 Skyray to the Phantom II on their respective coasts. Sorting out which squadron was ‘first’ has been something of an intra-service good-natured rivalry between the two squadrons. The Marine Corps Historical Center (MCHC) does not have Command Chronology reports for individual squadrons transitioning to the Phantom II during the 1962 and 1963 period, thus, drafting these histories involves culling bits-and-pieces from related Phantom II history sources.

F-4B 3-View. (Courtesy McDonnell Douglas Corporation)

F-4B Cut-Away. (Courtesy McDonnell Douglas Corporation)

On the East Coast, VMF(AW)-531 released their Douglas F4D-1 Skyrays and checked in on 19 March with VF-101 Detachment Alpha, Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Virginia, for transition training. Typically, a squadron in transition during these first few years did not begin