Marine Night Fighter Squadron 544 (VMF(N)-544) was a night fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 activated during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. They flew the F6F-5N Hellcat

F6F Hellcat

The Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy service. Although the F6F resembled the Wildcat, it was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as the "Wildcat's big...

 and although they trained for over a year they never made it into combat. The squadron was deactivated April 20, 1946, and remains inactive until today.

History

Marine Night Fighter Squadron 544 (VMF(N)-544) was activated on May 1, 1944 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, USA, in the eastern part of the state...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. They immediately began training for aerial combat at night and in poor weather and low visibility. The squadron moved to Marine Corps Air Station El Centro on November 3, 1944, where they continued their training for two more months.

In February 1945, VMF(N)-544 again moved, this time to Marine Corps Air Station Eagle Mountain near Fort Worth, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. While there, they trained with the veteran night aviators from VMF(N)-531 who had just returned from combat in the South Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. VMF(N)-544 never saw combat action as the war with Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 ended before they were due to rotate.

The squadron was deactivated on April 20, 1946, and has remained inactive since.

See also

• United States Marine Corps Aviation
  United States Marine Corps Aviation
  United States Marine Corps Aviation is the air component of the United States Marine Corps. Marine aviation has a very different mission and operation than its ground counterpart, and thus, has many of its own histories, traditions, terms, and procedures....
  
  
• List of United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons