Bengals on the Road in Finland
Check out this great tiger-striped F-35B from the “Fighting Bengals” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 224 on a highway near remote Tervo, Finland (pop. 1,385), earlier this year conducting hot-pit refueling FARP operations as part of during Exercise Ramstein Flag 2026.
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Keng Lee, from Wisconsin, a powerline mechanic with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 224, Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, salutes Maj. Danny Sorrells, from Georgia, an F-35B Lightning II pilot with VMFA-224, during exercise Ramstein Flag 2026 in Tervo, Finland, June 10, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Mya Seymour)
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jaheim Elrasul, from New York, an expeditionary fuels technician with Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 272, Marine Air Control Group 28, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, conducts forward arming and refueling point operations in a simulated chemical biological radiological and nuclear environment during exercise Ramstein Flag 2026 in Tervo, Finland, June 10, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Mya Seymour)
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Mya Seymour)
Two U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 224, Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, land during exercise Ramstein Flag 2026 in Tervo, Finland, June 10, 2026. The F-35 serves as a versatile asset in support of expeditionary and rapid deployment operations, displaying U.S. capabilities alongside NATO allies throughout RAFL26. RAFL26 is NATO’s premier multi-domain tactical exercise involving 19 nations and over 15 operational locations. The exercise provides realistic combat scenarios in complex environments and is designed to enhance the Alliance’s deterrence and collective defense. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Mya Seymour)
Two U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 224, Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, fly overhead during exercise Ramstein Flag 2026 in Tervo, Finland, June 10, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Mya Seymour)
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U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 224, Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, taxi an F-35B Lightning II down a flight line during exercise Ramstein Flag 2026 at Rovaniemi Air Base, Finland, June 5, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Perri Wood)
The squadron has a lot of experience on austere airfields.
Commissioned as Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 224 on 1 May 1942 at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa Hawaii, the squadron was saddled first with Brewster F2A Buffalos then graduated to F4F Wildcats and was thrown into combat just four months later when, on 2 September, it assisted with intercepting a 40 plane raid on Guadalcanal’s embattled Henderson Field.
Later upgrading to Corsairs, VMF-224 ended the war with a confirmed tally of 115.5 enemy aircraft, 60.5 over Guadalcanal and another 55 during the Okinawa campaign.
1944 photo of bomb-laden Marine F4U Corsairs of VMF-224 taxiing out for an airstrike from Majuro Airfield
The jet age brought the F2H-2 Banshee to the squadron, then a re-rate to the attack role with the A4D Skyhawk in 1956– the first Marine outfit to fly the Scooter.
After taking Heinemann’s Hot-Rod to Vietnam in 1965, operating out of Chu Lai, they came back in 1971 as Marine All Weather Attack Squadron 224 (VMA(AW)-224) flying A-6 Intruders with CAW-15 off USS Coral Sea.
Shifting gears to the two-seat F-18D in 1993 as the A-6 was being phased out (they had just dropped 2.3 million pounds of ordnance during 422 combat sorties in Desert Storm), the squadron shifted to the F-35B in 2025.
And they had a double-nuts (00) “color” bird then as well, complete with stripes.
Illuminated by the setting sun after landing at Al Asad, Iraq, Jan. 15, a tiger striped F/A-18D Hornet with Marine (All Weather) Fighter Attack Squadron 224 rests in the new hangar area prepared for the squadron by 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines. Photo by Cpl. Paul Leicht
Based at MCAS Beaufort, the Bengals these days fall under MAG-31 and 2nd MAW.
love those pics – long live LSOZI!!