VMF-224 Scrap Book
Funafuti - Ellice Islands
 Squadron Notes
From VMF-224's monthly Diary - Funafuti, Ellice Islands - 1943

19 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.  Gunnery hop flown.  Four (4) aircraft engaged in radar calibration hop for 5th Defense Battalion.

20 November   Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.  Gunnery hop radar calibration hops were flown.  F4U-1, aircraft bureau #17574 crash landed in the lagoon off Funafuti Island when engine cut out.  The pilot, Lt. Edwin W. NEDBALEK was rescued uninjured. 

21 November   Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.  Nine (9) aircraft took off on scramble drill.  Two (2) aircraft were scrambled but no contact was made.  Five (5) aircraft were scrambled bu bogey was not contacted.

23 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.  Division tactics praticed.  Radar calibration hop flown.

24 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.  Gunnery and acrobatic hops were flown.  Two aircraft were scrambled.

25 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.  Gunnery and division tactics praticed.

26 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.  Gunnery, division tactics and combat tactics were praticed.  Radar calibration hop flown. 

27 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.  Gunnery hops and radar drills flown.
   
28 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.  Eleven (11) aircraft were scrambled.  Later four (4) aircraft were scrambled.  Navigation, gunnery and radar calibration hops were flown.

30 November  Operations secured.

D. D. Irwin
Major, U.S. Marine Corps
Commanding

Marine Fighting Squadron 224, Marine Aircraft Group 31
Fourth Marine Base Defense Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force
 Selected Items from Squadron Diary - November 1943

01 November  Division tactics pratice. Gunnery hops flown, firing on sleve.

02 November  Gunnery hops flown.  Division tactics praticed.  ZB homing drill.  Two (2) aircraft were scrambled bu bogey proved friendly.

03 November   Gunnery hops flown.  Six (6) aircraft engaged in inerception drill. 

04 November  Gunnery hops flown.  Six (6) aircraft engaged in inerception drill.  Two (2) aircraft flew radar calibration hop in cooperation with 5th Defense Battalion (Marine).

05 November  Gunnery hops flown.  Six (6) aircraft engaged in inerception drill.  Two (2) aircraft were scrambled bu bogey proved friendly.

06 November  Combat tactics and interception drills were flown. 

07 November  Gunnery hops and interception drills were flown.  
Captain William F. LUCAS, USMCR, and 1st Lt. William GAY, 
USMCR, were killed in mid-air collision of their F4U-1 aircraft, 
during a pratice gunnery hop.  Planes collided while apparently
 making simultaneous overhead runs on a banner towed by an 
F4U-1.  Both planes and pilots crashed into the sea forty-three
 (43) miles Northeast of Funafuti Airfield.  Neither of the pilots or
planes were recovered.  Plane bureau numbers: 17585 & 17546.

08 November  Division tactics praticed.

09 November  Gunnery hops and interception drills were flown.  Two (2) aircraft were scrambled but failed to contact bogey.

10 November  Operations secured.




11 November  Two (2) aircraft were scrambled but failed to contact bogey .  A four (4) plane alert cover was furnished over Funafuti Atoll at dawn and dusk - one hour patrols.  This alert cover will be furnished each day for the remainder of the month. 

12 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover flown.

13 November  At approximately 0030 (local) Funafuti Island was bombed by enemy aircraft estimated to be six (6) in number.  Captain Robert E. BARNWELL undertook interception but failed to make contact with enemy.  Anti-personnel bombs damaged three (3) F4U-1 aircraft of this squadron.  Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.

14 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover flown.  Two (2) aircraft were scrambled but the bogey proved to be friendly.  Eight (8) F4U-1 aircraft were ferried from Tufune Airfield Tutuila, Samoa, to Funafuti, via Wallis Island.

15 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover flurnished.  Interception drills held, and two (2) aircraft engaged in night night tracking drill.  One (1) F4U-1 aircraft was ferried from Tufune Airfield Tutuila, Samoa, to Funafuti, via Wallis Island.  This plane and those flown in on 14 November were transfered from VMF-321.

16 November  Dawn and dusk alert cover flown.  Two (2) aircraft engaged in interception drill. 

17 November  At about 0430 (local) Funafuti Island was bombed by enemy aircraft estimated to be between six (6) and nine (9) in number.  Captain J.W. MORRISON attempted interception but faile to make contact.  At 1355 (local) twelve (12) aircraft were scrambled but failed to contact bogey and landed at 1515 (local).  Two (2) aircraft flew radar calibration hop for 5th Defense Battalion.  Dawn and dusk alert cover furnished.
    
  18 November  Dawn and dusk alert hops flown.  Two (2) aircraft engaged in radar calibration hop for 5th Defense Battalion.  Five test hops flown.

  Continued ...........             
Marine Fighting Squadron 224
Marine Aircraft Group 13
23 December 1943

MAJOR:

IRWIN, Darrell D.                    Duluth, MN

CAPTAIN:

BARNWELL, Robert E. Jr,      Spartanburg, SC
HOPPER, Frank E.                 Jacksonville, FL
IRISH, Harold C.                      Laona, WI
LESLIE, Dale M.                     Madison, FL 
MORRISON, Jack W.              Peterson, Iowa
NELSON, Patrick H.                Columbia, SC
TUCKER, Edwin A.                 Lancaster, CA

FIRST LIEUTENANT:

AGNEW, Edward R. Jr.           Everett, WA
ATTEBERY, Walter N.            Portland, OR
BOSHART, William O.             Wayland, IA
BRUCE, Ronald L.                  Woodland, CA
BURNAM, Thomas J.              El Paso, TX 
DAVIES, Joseph E.                 Durango, CO
DAUGHERTY, Johnnie L.       Sulphur, LA 
DE GROOT, Philip J.              Oakland, CA
DEMPSEY, Van A.                  Belvedere, IL
GRAHAM, Clark B.                  Portland, OR
HIRSHBERG, Edward J.          East McKeesport, PA
HITCHINGS, Frank W.            St. Louis, MO
IRWIN, Roy J.                         Kansas City, MO
JENSEN, Fred S.                    Harrington Park, NJ
JOHNSON, Earl W.                 State College, PA
LAWLER, Walter J.                 Ellicottvile. NY
LINDQUIST, Nicholas R.         Buzzards Bay, MA
MIRATI, Albert H.                    Ojai, CA
MONTAGNE, John L.              Jefferson, SD
NALLE, Richard T.                  Philadelphia, PA
NEDBALER, Edwin W.            Bryan, TX
NELSON, Kenneth B.              Harvey, IL
NEWKIRK, George L.             Omaha, NE
PHILIPPI, Roy J.                      Blalock, OR
PRESCOTT, Frank H. Jr.        Hinsdale, IL
PRYOR, Frank L. Jr.               Houston, TX
SPINNER, John E.                   Forge Village, MA

SECOND LIEUTENANT:

BOAZ, Joe A.                         Ranger, TX
ENSMAN, Raymond T.           Seattle, WA
JOHNSON, "F" "L"                  Los Angeles, CA
KNAPP, George C.                 San Diego, CA
LOWE, James N.                    Pittsburg, PA
WORD, Thomas N.                San Diego, CA

WARRANT OFFICER:

DILL, William W.                      San Diego, CA

LIEUTENANT (MC) (FS):

CONSTABLE, William P.         St. Louis, MO

In the fall of 1943, as the tide turned in the South Pacific theater, the American offensive began inching its way up to the Central Pacific.  On Armistice Day, General Merritt set up Fourth Wing Headquarters at Funafuti in final preparation for the Central Pacific thrust. The Fourth Wing then comprised two Air Groups: MAG 13 with VMF-111 and 441 and VMSB-151 and 241; and MAG 31 with VMF-224, 311, 321; scout bomber squadrons 331 and 341, and the transport unit VMJ-353. 

Text from the book "Devilbirds, The Story of USMC Aviation in WWll" page148.
 
Lucas
Gay
Funafuti ....... 

"We had some bad moments, such as the time we were ferrying our planes from Pago Pago to Funafuti - the R4D that we were flying "wing" on (at 110 knots) made a sudden turn into 4 of our guys (I believe Capt. Irish was leading that division) and they "spun out" recovering at about 500 feet - nobody hurt, but you can bet the R4D pilot "caught it" at our midway stop.  There were also some funny incidents, such as the time "Porkey" Bruce galloped his Corsair down the runway at Funafuti while trying to land "wheels first"  - about the third bounce he cleared the tower and decided it might be time to "wave off."

VMF-224 pilot, Thomas J. Burnam 

"Our move to Funafuti brought the first Corsair (F4U) squadron to the central pacific.  In our eyes, Funafuti was famous for canned salmon and Australian mutton.  Yuk!  Fresh beef and "cracking" eggs arrived in time to launch us off to Roi-Namur."

VMF-224 pilot, George C. Knapp

 "On Funafuti we had foxholes that were covered with metal Marsten Matting, used on some runways, and on top of that we piled sandbags leaving an entrance that sloped down on one side into the covered portion.  During one of the air raids the first fellow that entered slipped and fell flat -- that didn't slow anybody down, we just ran over him into the covered area.  At the fox hole by the Cobb they had a small hole in the top as an entrance.  During the same raid, the first man entered OK but Thomas "T.N." Word was a bit chubby and he got stuck.  The man inside finally pulled on his legs while those outside pounded on him finally forcing him in.  T.N. ended up with some bruised and scraped ribs."

VMF-224 pilot, Philip J. De Groot 
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