![]() ![]() The squadrons last name change came on Jwhen they became Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 333 (VMFA-333) as they transitioned to the F-4 Phantom II. ![]() On 1 February 1966, The squadron was again redesignated as Marine All Weather Fighter Squadron 333 (VMF(AW)-333) when they received new all-weather versions of the F-8 Crusader. Hornets from VMFA-333 during Operation Desert Shield, 1992. Vietnam War A VMFA-333 F-4S at MCAS Cherry Point in 1979. Trip Tree returned to MCAS Beaufort in December of that year after the crisis was resolved. During the crisis, VMF-333 was joined by Marine Attack Squadron 331 and assumed tactical command over the Puerto Rico Air National Guard's F-86 aircraft as a combined Puerto Rico Air Defense Command. The squadron was already in position when the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted in October 1962 and the aircraft numbers at Gitmo were reinforced should the need have arisen to strike targets in Cuba. The rest of the reinforced squadron (parts of Marine Air Base Squadron 32 and Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 32 were attached) at Roosevelt Roads engaged in advanced tactics, gunnery and missile training while living in a tent city that served as a deployment test site. Of the 22 aircraft in the squadron 4 were initially stationed at Gitmo as armed Hot Pad Alert aircraft. On 14 August 1962, the squadron performed a non-stop air refuelled deployment to Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico and Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Three years later VMF-333 became the first Marine Corps squadron to receive the F-8 Crusader. Three F-8Cs of VMF-333 on the USS Forrestal, 1960. At this time the squadron also relocated to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. The Squadron was redesignated Marine Fighter Squadron 333 ( VMF-333) on 28 January 1957 and again transitioned airframes, this time to the FJ Fury. The Hellcats were quickly replaced with Corsairs and they were in turn replaced with A-1 Skyraiders. They were reactivated on 1 August 1952 as Marine Attack Squadron 333 ( VMA-333) and located at Marine Corps Air Station Miami and equipped with the Grumman F6F Hellcat. They were deactivated on 1 November 1945. The squadron reverted to VMSB-333 on 20 December 1944 and was transferred back to Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, Hawaii for the remainder of the war. They were redesignated Marine Fighter Bomber Squadron 333 (VMBF-333) on 14 October 1944 and transitioned to the F4U Corsair. The squadron was transferred to Midway Island in July 1944 and began flying anti-submarine patrols in their SBD Dauntless bombers. In April 1944, a portion of the squadron was sent to NAS Key West, Florida for anti-submarine training and upon their return departed for San Diego, and three weeks after that, Hawaii. Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 333 (VMSB-333) was activated 1 August 1943 as at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. They were decommissioned on 31 March 1992. Known as the "Fighting Shamrocks" and “Trip Trey”, the squadron participated in action during World War II, the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm The squadron’s aircraft were easily recognizable by the row of three shamrocks painted on the vertical stabilizers of their aircraft. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 333 (VMFA-333) was a United States Marine Corps fighter squadron consisting of F/A-18 Hornets. ![]()
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