Checkerboard Fury: 110,743 rounds on Deployment
From the February 1959 issue of Navy Aviation News comes this article about the month-long deployment of the “Checkerboards” of Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 312 to Cuba.
Sent “down south” during the height of the Cuban Revolution, their 24 FJ-2 Furies flew 1,300 flight hours of diplomacy and fired over 110,743 rounds in air-to-air target quals from their Colt Mk 12 cannons– that’s a lot of 20 Mike Mike!
VMF-312 hung up their FJ-2/3s for the F8U-1 Crusader in 1959, then became VMFA-312 when they moved to the monstrous F-4B Phantom in 1966, which they took to Vietnam.
In 1987, they became F-18C/Ds drivers, which they took to Bosnia and Iraq.
A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 312 flies loaded with six AIM-120D advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and two AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles over the Pacific Ocean Oct. 27, 2022. (U.S. Marine Corps courtesy photo by Capt. Ryan Fronczek).
Currently, they are set to transition to the STOVL F-35B.
Word is, they are still a whizz with the 20mm. Some things never change.
VMF-312 Insignia, circa 1943