http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #367 OCTOBER 2018 // 51
duty airmen within VMFA-112 is Maj Michael
Reid. He said: “We fly quite a lot – every active
pilot within this squadron flies around 150
to 200 or more hours a year and that’s more
than an active fleet squadron pilot achieves.”
The F/A-18’s normal flying configuration
consists of two wing-mounted fuel tanks and
an AIM-9M or -X Sidewinder on each wingtip.
Beside the 20mm gun, the aircraft can be loaded
with a fourth-generation advanced targeting pod
and a variety of bombs such as the GBU-10,
-12, -16, -24, -31 and -38. To practise dropping
ordnance, the unit uses ranges near Sheppard
Air Force Base and Dyess AFB in Texas.
A distinguished history
Just four months after the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941), Marine
Fighter Squadron (VMF) 112 was activated in
San Diego, California. Its first aircraft type was
the Brewster F2A Buffalo, which was used for
training. It then moved on to the much more
capable Grumman F4F Wildcat. Originally
known as the ‘Wolfpack’, VMF-112 deployed
to Nouméa, New Caledonia, in October 1942.
After returning to the US, VMF-112
transitioned to the newer Vought F4U Corsair
in January 1943, and shortly after returned to
the South Pacific to fight in the Guadalcanal
air and ground war. During one sortie against
the Japanese, the unit’s Capt Archie Donahue
destroyed four Japanese Zero fighters in a
single mission. He already had one kill and
so became the squadron’s first Corsair ace.
In the late summer of 1943, VMF-112 returned
to the US for a second time so it could
reorganise and have a period of rest at Marine
Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, California,
where it also qualified for carrier operations.
The last ‘Wolfpack’ assignment of the war came
in November 1944. Its Corsairs served aboard
the USS Bennington as part of a large carrier
group that attacked the Japanese islands of
Esprit de Corps
50-55 VMFA112 AFM Oct2018.indd 51 9/10/2018 9:55:08 AM
