Marine Transport Squadron 353

  March 1943 to February 1946

  United States of America

TYPE: US Navy unit

IATA/ICAO CODES: Nil

HEADQUARTERS: NAS San Diego, CA (1943), Samoa (1943), Funafuti, Ellice Islands (1943-1944), Apamama, Gilbert Islands (1944), Kwajalein, Marshall Islands (1944-1945), Saipan, Marianna Islands (1945-1946), MCAS Cherry Point, NC (1946).

FORMER NAME: Nil

SUBSEQUENT NAME: VMR-353

VMJ-353 was established at San Diego, CA on 16 March 1943. On 26 September 1943, an advance echelon was sent to Samoa. The remainder of the squadron arrived on 15 October 1943. Operations from Samoa began on 1 November 1943 as Samoan Combat Air Transport Service, which later became Transport Air Group (TAG). On 26 November 1943, while the last enemy defenders were being hunted down on the northern islands of Tarawa Atoll, a Marine transport plane piloted by Major Edmund L. Zonne, executive officer of VMJ-353, landed on the newly reconditioned Japanese airstrip on Betio. This was the first Marine aircraft to touch down on the freshly captured island [aircraft type?]. On 20 December 1943, the squadron arrived at Funafuti, Ellice Islands.

By 29 March 1944, the squadron was at Apamama Atoll, Gilbert Islands, where inter-island transportation was set up. The squadron was redesignated VMR-353 in July 1944, and in early September it moved to Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. On 19 February 1945, it moved again to Saipan, Marianna Islands. The squadron evacuated wounded from Iwo Jima and later from Okinawa where one of its planes was destroyed on Yontan by Japanese Giretsu commandos [aircraft type?]. The squadron continued operating from Saipan until the war ended.

On 15 February 1946, VMR-353 was disestablished at MCAS Cherry Point, NC.

1943 to April 1946*

• Curtiss R5C-1 Commando: 39493, 39497, 39550, 39558, 39564, 39565, 39566, 39568, 39569, 39570, 39572, 39573, 39574, 39575, 39577, 39578, 39579, 39580, 39581, 39582, 39587, 39588, 50704