From biplanes to strike fighters: US Marines VMFA-232 ‘Red Devils’ mark 100 years of combat aviation
August 22, 2025
For a century, the Red Devils have carried the fire and thunder of Marine aviation on their wings.
From the open-cockpit biplanes of the 1920s to supersonic fighters dropping precision ordnance in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232), the United States Marine Corps’ oldest active fighter squadron, has spent 100 years adapting to war’s shifting frontiers.
It hasn’t just witnessed history unfold; it has shaped it from the sky.
As the calendar turns to 1 September 2025, the Red Devils will officially mark 100 years since their founding.
This milestone was celebrated in advance at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar with a commemorative ceremony on 15 August, attended by more than 600 guests, including former squadron members and their families.
“Wearing the Red Devil patch means we carry the responsibility to continue this legacy,” said Lt. Col. Steven T. Suetos, commanding officer of VMFA-232. “One thing that distinguishes our squadron is our identity, which has been so strong for many years.”
It is a legacy forged in war and resilience, and one that continues, combat-ready, into the next century.
VMFA-232 Red Devils have an origin in canvas and wood
VMFA-232 traces its roots to 1 September 1925, when the unit was commissioned as Division 1, Fighting Plane Squadron 3M (VF-3M) at Naval Air Station San Diego.
Its first skipper, Second Lieutenant Clayton C. Jerome, took to the skies in a Vought VE-7SF single-seat biplane with a shining “Red Devil” insignia on the aft fuselage. Led briefly by 2nd Lt. Jerome and then by 1st Lt. William J. Wallace, the squadron initially operated VE-7SF Bluebirds (top speed 150 mph).
By 1926, they were transitioning to the Boeing FB-1, and the following year embarked aboard the transport ship USS Henderson for deployment to China, supporting the 3rd Marine Brigade under Brigadier General Smedley D. Butler amid civil unrest in Shanghai and Tientsin.
Reconnaissance, mapping and air support missions there reflected the expeditionary ethos that would define the unit for decades. During their time in China, the squadron was redesignated to VF-10M (1927) and then VF-6M (1928).
By 1929, equipped with the Boeing FB-5 Hawk, the squadron formally adopted its enduring moniker: the Red Devils — a bright-red flying devil on a white diamond bordered in black — soon to be carried into global war.
Success in the Pacific for the Red Devils
Between 1929 and 1936, the Red Devils operated four different aircraft types: FB-1, FB-5, F6C-4 Hawk and F4B-4, reflecting the rapid evolution of Marine Corps aviation in the interwar years. Redesignated Marine Bombing Squadron 2 in 1937, they flew the Great Lakes BG-1 before transitioning in late 1940 to the Douglas SBD-1 Dauntless.
As Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 232 (VMSB-232), they deployed in 1941 to MCAS Ewa, Oahu. On the morning of 7 December 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor; within 25 minutes, nine aircraft were destroyed, ten heavily damaged, and only one was left operational.
In August 1942, flying SBD-3 Dauntless dive-bombers from USS Long Island, the Red Devils became the first Marine squadron to strike Japanese forces and the first to land at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. By the time they departed on 13 October, only the commanding officer remained from the original fifteen pilots.
Redesignated Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron 232 (VMTB-232) in 1943, they transitioned to Grumman TBF-1 Avengers, attacking shipping, airfields and installations across the Pacific until war’s end. The cost was high – 49 Marines and 17 aircraft lost – but the unit earned two Presidential Unit Citations.
On 16 November 1945, the squadron returned to San Diego and was temporarily decommissioned.
The Red Devils enter the jet age
Reactivated on 3 June 1948 as VMF-232 in the Marine Corps Reserve at NAS New York (Floyd Bennett Field), the squadron re-entered service.
In March 1953, the Red Devils received their first jets, the Grumman F9F-2 Panther; after technical issues, they switched in August to the F9F-5 with an additional 500 lb of thrust.
Next came the North American FJ-2 Fury, a swept-wing, carrier-capable fighter that entered Marine Corps service in 1954. The transition to the FJ-2 and later FJ-4 Fury marked intense tactical evolution.
“Granted, the [North American] FJ-2 [Fury] was only in the Marine Corps inventory for a few years, but it was actually the first aircraft flown by Marine squadrons that would exceed Mach 1. We were the first supersonic Marines. On our fourth and final familiarisation flight in the FJ-2, we flew through Mach 1 and when we landed were given our ‘mach busters’ lapel pin by the North American technical representatives.” – Cono R. Borrelli, VMFA-232 pilot, 1954–55 (USMC history by Maj. William J. Sambito)
In early 1962, the squadron transitioned from the FJ-4 to the Chance Vought F8U-2N Crusader (later redesignated F-8D). While both the Fury and the Crusader were single-engine, swept-wing fighters, the F-8D’s 16,000-lb-thrust engine with afterburner far exceeded the Fury’s 7,800 lb.
On 1 March 1965, VMF-232 became Marine All-Weather Fighter Squadron 232 (VMF(AW)-232). The Red Devils were soon deployed to Da Nang, flying thousands of sorties, and later moving to Nam Phong, Thailand, in support of Operations Linebacker I and II. The squadron lost multiple aircraft and aircrew.
Redesignated Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232) on 8 September 1967, the rejuvenated squadron began receiving McDonnell F-4J Phantom IIs and immediately trained for Vietnam. On 1 September 1973, the squadron’s third combat tour in Southeast Asia ended; the Red Devils were the last Marine unit to withdraw from Vietnam.
Transitioning to the F/A-18 Hornet in 1989, VMFA-232 deployed to Bahrain during Operation Desert Storm (1990–91), flying 740 combat missions in just six weeks.
In the decades that followed, the Red Devils remained forward-deployed, supporting operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Arabian Gulf, including as the first Marine F/A-18 squadron to land in Afghanistan in 2010 during Operation Enduring Freedom. On that deployment, the squadron flew more than 1,100 combat hours and delivered over 240,000 lb of precision ordnance.
Their performance has earned numerous accolades, including multiple Navy Unit Commendations and the Robert M. Hanson Marine Fighter Attack Squadron of the Year Award.
A century later, VMFA-232 Red Devils are a totally modern squadron
Now based at MCAS Miramar as part of Marine Aircraft Group 11, the Red Devils remain at the leading edge of Marine air combat power. Still flying the F/A-18C Hornet, the squadron is scheduled to transition to the F-35C Lightning II, the carrier-capable fifth-generation stealth fighter, by fiscal year 2030.
The squadron is currently preparing for its next deployment to Japan under the Unit Deployment Programme.
“For the Marines who wear the red patch today, the legacy is not just something they inherit, it’s something they continue. This legacy isn’t just about the past,” said Lt. Col. Suetos at the centennial ceremony. “It’s about what we continue to be.”
A hundred years ago, the Red Devils flew canvas-covered biplanes. Today, they fly supersonic, radar-evading multi-role fighters across oceans and warzones. Their story is one of transformation, but never of departure from purpose.
From the wood-and-fabric VE-7 to the stealthy F-35C, VMFA-232 has carried the Red Devil insignia across a century of conflict. The legacy endures, not preserved in museums, but alive in combat power.
