Leyte (CV 32) - Naval Cruise Book

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Officers VMF 225 mmmm mmi®i Men VMF 225 Men VMF 225

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T ESS than a month after the outbreak of hostilities be- ■ - tween the United States and the Empire of Japan, Marine Fighting Squadron 225 was set down on paper to begin its career of carrying the war to the enemy. It was originally commissioned on 1 January 1943 as a fighter squadron attached to Marine Air West Coast. The Squadron, ready for combat, shipped overseas to Espirito Santos i n October, 1943, stopping at Hawaii en route. Moving to the island of Guam, in the Mariannas, Two and a Quarter pilots and men gave their striking power in support of the capture of the Mariannas. In July, 1945, MarFightRon 225 was reorganized to perform the duties of a carrier squadron. In this status it has gained top recognition and has become a squadron well known in carrier circles. While operating off the U.S.S. SIBONEY (CVE-112) in 1947, the squadron set what it believes to be a record of operating intervals for CVE operations. The intervals were: thirteen (13) second fly- away, twenty-five (25) seconds catapult, and twenty-two (22) second landing interval. In July, 1948, under the command of Maj. C. M. Kunz, the squadron departed the United States for the Mediter- ranean Area which later proved to be the first of three cruises to run consecutively for the next nineteen months in that area covering 50,000 miles of ocean. The travelers of Two and a Quarter have made three crossings of the Atlantic aboard the U.S.S. SIBONEY, U.S.S. MIDWAY, and the U.S.S. LEYTE. This depicts the large and small of it amongst the carriers from the jeep, U.S.S. SIBONEY, and the battle carrier, U.S.S. MIDWAY. Mai. W. R. Bartosh became the commanding Officer in May, 1949. During the next three months, the squadron placed first in the competitive exercises of high-altitude gunnery, dive-bombing, and rockets with eleven other fighter squadrons of ComAirLant. The five-months cruise, which the squadron completed on 26 January 1950, was an appropriate anti-climax for a squadron which has performed aboard carriers in the pres- ence of high-ranking dignitaries abroad and in the United States.

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MARINE Fighter Squadron 461 was commissioned at El Centro, California, on 15 March 1944, with Major William R. Lear as Commanding Officer. The squadron remained at El Centro under Marine Base Defense Aircraft Group Forty-Three as a training squadron giving to her many young Marine fighter pilots the final polish for overseas duty and combat. The squadron moved to Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, Santa Ana, California, in January, 1945, and joined Marine Aircraft Group 46 continuing its training mission. On 25 February 1946, the U.S.S. PALAU (CVE-122) took her shakedown cruise with Marine Fighter Squadron 461 on board. This started the squadron on her long career as a carrier-based squadron. March 16, 1946, saw the U.S.S. PALAU depart San Diego for Norfolk, Va., with VMF-461. April 4, 1946, the squadron flew from Norfolk to Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, N. C. for temporary aviation duty with Ma- rine Aircraft Group Eleven remaining attached to the U.S.S. PALAU. The squadron, aboard the U.S.S. PALAU, made a three- weeks ' cruise to Quantanamo Bay in May, 1947, and a five- weeks ' cruise to Monrovia, Liberia, Africa, in July and August, 1947, stopping at Recife, Brazil, and Dakar, French West Africa. February and March, 1948, the squadron participated in the Second Task Fleet exercises at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, without the Scow Palau by flying down and operating land-bases. Again aboard the U.S.S. PALAU in August, 1948, a five- weeks ' cruise was made to Guantanamo Bay and a three- weeks ' operation in November, 1948, in the Second Task Fleet exercises to the sub-Arctic. Aboard the U.S.S. Midway on 2 January 1949, the squadron sailed for a two-months ' cruise in the Mediter- ranean Sea to be followed throughout the months of March through June bv many weekends aboard the U.S.S. MID- WAY and FDR for carrier demonstrations. July 1, 1949, VMF-461 was permanently assigned as a unit of Marine Aircraft Group Eleven with which it de- parted on its present cruise. Marine Fighter Squadron 461 has been under the able leadership of Maj. Orvin H. Ramlo since 29 April 1949.