U.S. Marine Aviation in World War II: VMF 124 in the Solomons.

Marine Fighter Squadron VMF 124 was formed in 1942 to fly the new F4U Corsair in combat against the Japanese Zero to win air superiority in the Pacific air war. VMF 124 was highly successful in combat against the Japanese and attained decisive air superiority. The pilots of VMF 124 were, for the most part, very young and inexperienced with the Corsair. Their tactics and the superior performance and firepower of the Corsair spearheaded the critical Allied drive up through the Solomon Islands chain. This paper examines the combat history of VMF 124 during the Solomons campaign to identify factors for the squadrons success against the enemy and to identify lessons learned for consideration today. We base our doctrine, and to some degree, our strategy and tactics on the results of those who have gone before us. This paper looks at some winning warriors of World War II who turned the tide in a critical air war, and shows that they did it.