Marine Aircraft Group 41
military unit
Marine Aircraft Group 41 (MAG-41) is a United States Marine Corps reserve aviation unit based at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas that is currently composed of one F/A-18C squadron, one KC-130J squadron, one C-40 squadron, two Northrop F-5 aggressor squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, one Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron at MCAS Camp Pendleton, one MV-22B squadron based at MCAS Miramar, one aviation logistics squadron and two wing support squadrons with multiple detachments throughout the United States.
Mission
Train, man, equip, and sustain an expeditionary aviation combat element (ACE), Combined Forces Air Component Commander (CFACC) element, an aviation logistics squadron, a fighter-attack squadron, a fighter adversary squadron and an aerial refueler/assault support squadron in order to deploy/employ as a MAG/ACE, a special purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), or any combination of capabilities in support of MAGTF or Joint/Combined Warfare.
Subordinate units
Fixed Wing Squadrons
VMFA-112
VMGR-234
VMFT-401
VMFT-402
VMR-1
Tiltrotor Squadron
VMM-764
Helicopter Squadron
HMLA-775
Aviation Support Squadrons
Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 41
Marine Wing Support Squadron 471
Marine Wing Support Squadron 473
Site Supports
Site Support Pendleton (MAG-41 Det A)
Site Support Miramar (MAG-41 Det B)
Site Support Fort Worth
Site Support Minneapolis
Site Support Lemoore
Site Support Selfridge
Site Support Johnstown
History
World War II
Marine Base Defense Group 41 was first organized in the Fleet Marine Force on 1 January 1943, at MCAS El Toro, California. With need for support in the growing war in the Pacific, on 10 November 1944, it received the designation Marine Aircraft Group 41, with the mission "…to administer and supervise training and activities of attached squadrons for combat in the Pacific." Originally, there was only a headquarters, service and single fighter squadron in the group, but as the scope of Marine aviation in World War II grew, MAG-41 simultaneously expanded to include six tactical squadrons and a maintenance squadron, now Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 41.
Because of the shortage of aircraft carriers early in the war, land-based Marine air was used to neutralize by-passed enemy bases in the Central Pacific. As an ever-increasing number of escort carriers became available, it was decided Marine planes would be placed on board. In 1944, MAG-41 training to subordinate squadrons
included carrier duty and the further development of close air support for the Marines on the ground. MAG-41 was the first Marine aviation unit to receive and train with the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. By the end of the war, the group had trained nearly twenty fighter, dive bomber and torpedo squadrons for combat and held the distinction of having the largest squadron in Marine aviation history.
With the war over, MAG-41 officially deactivated in October 1945, but with the new doctrine of carrier-based aircraft being set, Marine aviation would go on to become an integral part of future amphibious operations.
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