VMA-311 Tomcats 2018 Tan Patch - With Hook and Loop A 4 inch patch with hook & loop VMA-311 Tomcats 2018 Tan. Marine Attack Squadron (VMA)-311 was initially commissioned a fighter squadron on Dec. 1, 1942, at Cherry Point, N.C., flying the SNJ Texan trainers. In April 1943, they received the new Vought F4U-1 Corsair and entered the Pacific Theater where they served with distinction until the end of World War II. On Oct. 6, 1943, the squadron catapulted from the deck of the USS Nassau to Samoa Naval Air Station, in one of the earliest catapult operations of the F4U. Two days later, VMF-311 flew to Wallis Island and remained there until January 1944. During America's "Island Hopping" campaign across the Pacific, the squadron's mission was to isolate Japanese forces on the bypassed islands, deny their escape and prevent their use of airstrips. The squadron continued strafing and bombing missions until moving to Okinawa in March 1945, and was the first Marine squadron to use fighter aircraft for dive bombing missions. The squadron, now flying the F4U-1C (a modification which include four 20mm cannons and pylons for 5-inch rockets), downed its first aircraft on April 7, 1945. Combat air patrols were the predominant mission until the war ended. After the war, VMF-311 moved to Yokosuka, Japan, as part of the occupational forces. The nickname "Hell's Belles" was adopted by the squadron during World War II but was seldom used. In April 1948, '311 received the first jet aircraft to be introduced to Marine aviation, the F-80A Shooting Star, followed in September by the F9F2 Panther. It was during this time that the squadron acquired the letters "WL" as its tail designator, or "William Love" in the phonetic alphabet used at the time. The evidence suggests that it was this nickname which inspired the heart on the squadron insignia. Korea With the outbreak of war in Korea, the squadron moved to Pusan, where it flew the first Marine