Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13
military unit
Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13 (MALS-13) is an aviation logistics support unit of the United States Marine Corps. Known as the "Black Widows", it is currently based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, as part of Marine Aircraft Group 13 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Mission statement
Provide aviation ordnance, maintenance and logistics support, guidance and direction to Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) squadrons; as well as logistics support for navy funded equipment in the supporting Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS), Marine Air Control Squadron and Marine Aircraft Wing/mobile calibration complex.
Squadron organization
Aviation logistics Information Maintenance Support Department (ALIMSD)
Headquarters
Aviation Supply department
Aircraft Maintenance department
Avionics division
Aviation Ordnance Department
History
Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13 was commissioned on 1 March 1942 at San Diego, California as Headquarters and Service Squadron 13. The squadron saw frequent action in the Pacific theater during World War II before being decommissioned on 30 November 1945.
The squadron was reactivated 15 March 1951, at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California, as Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 13. During September 1966, the squadron deployed to Chu Lai Air Base, Republic of Vietnam and remained until October 1970. H&MS-13 used first the Grumman TF-9J Cougars and later Douglas TA-4F Skyhawks as fast forward air control aircraft in support of ground troops. The squadron was then relocated to El Toro, California, and assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing until 1 October 1987, when the squadron moved to MCAS Yuma.
On 5 October 1988, the Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron within the Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) was replaced by the creation of the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron (MALS).
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6764025. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1942, 1945, 1951 and 1966.
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This entry incorporates text from “Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.