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USMC MCAS
Yuma Az - History
From 1969 until 1987, the air station
served primarily as a training base for pilots assigned to Marine Corps Crew
Readiness Training Group-10 flying the F-4 Phantom, A-4 Skyhawk and AV-8A
Harrier.
Need pictures and information on
Marmon Herrington MB-1
MB-5 / MB-1
In 1968 Oshkosh began building the
U.S. Navy MB-5, an aircraft rescue and fire-fighting (ARFF) truck capable of
carrying 400 gallons of water. The water could expand to 5,000 gallons of
extinguishing foam when combined with a special concentrated form of the foam.
In 1971 the Navy ordered 73, MB-1s.
The MB-1 was an ARFF similar to the MB-5, but had a capacity of 1,000 gallons.
These were followed throughout the 1970s by a progression of larger crash-rescue
trucks.
VMFAT 101
Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101), the
Sharpshooters were commissioned at Marine Corps Air Station El
Toro, California on January 3, 1969, as part of Marine Combat
Crew Readiness Training Group 10, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. The
squadron trained naval aviators and naval flight officers in the
employment of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. VMFAT-101
flew its first training sortie February 20, 1969, and completed
its first class of fighter aircrew by August of that year.
During the summer of 1970, VMFAT-101 moved to Marine Corps Air
Station Yuma, Arizona In 1972 the Sharpshooters earned their
first Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Aviation Safety Award for
Excellence in aviation safety after compiling over 18,300 mishap
free flight hours.
In July 1974 VMFAT-101 absorbed the assets of VMFAT-201 from
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina and became
the largest fixed wing tactical jet squadron and the sole
remaining F-4 training squadron in the Marine Corps. The
Sharpshooters earned the 1976 CNO Aviation Safety Award, as well
as the Commanding General Fleet Marine Forces Pacific Aviation
Safety Award in 1978 and 1979 while it amassed over 30,000
mishap-free flight hours.
The Sharpshooters continued to train aircrews in the
venerable Phantom II and in 1983 earned the coveted Marine Corps
Aviation Association Robert M. Hanson Award as the finest
fighter squadron in Marine aviation. May 20, 1987, VMFAT-101
trained its last F-4 replacement aircrew; during July the
squadron flew its remaining 10 F-4 aircraft to Davis-Monthan Air
Force Base, Ariz., for permanent storage. During the 18 years
VMFAT-101 flew the Phantom, the Sharpshooters amassed over
125,000 flight hours training Marine and Navy aircrews for the
fleet.
Today the Marine Fighter Attack
Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101) is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet
training squadron. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar,
California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11) and
the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW).
Dane Radke
MCAS Yuma Sep 1968 to Jan 1972
I joined in Jan 68, at that time you
had to join for four years to get aviation guaranteed. All I wanted was
Crash Crew I went to Millington July 68 and then on to MCAS Yuma in Sep 68.
I got out in Jan 72 a Corporal and somehow I stayed in Yuma and never went to
Viet Nam.
About five of us wound up in jail
down in San Luis, Mexico a gunny (I can't remember his name I think he may have
been in Crash Crew at one time) that was a Mexican-American and could speak
Spanish he went down there and bailed us out of jail. Two Marines both
from Crash Crew started fighting each other in one of the bars. We got our
friend and all went out the door a big fat cop was standing outside and we went
to jail. The other Marines got away, they went out another door with no
cop outside. At the morning muster they told the Top that we were in jail.
I guess we weren't the first Marines that the gunny got out of jail and I'm sure
we weren't the last. Looking back on the whole thing we should have given
the cop twenty bucks, and that would have been the end of it.
I was a crew chief on an MB-1.
In 1971, I think we had two old MB-1's and had just gotten a new Oshkosh MB-1.
We also had 2 old MB-5's and had the Oshkosh MB-5 for a year or two at that
time. Did they still have the old Autocar runway foamer? Sometimes
in the summer when we made relief out on pad 1, we would run the hand lines out
the top hatch, and would kick in the hand lines at the last minute, and water
down the guys on pad, using just water. I loved our $50,000 squirt guns.
Those were the good old days, now I'm a truck driver for Safeway Seattle.
In fact I use to deliver milk to PSNS Bremerton, and Bangor Sub Base for
Safeway. I've been driving truck for 29 years with Ralph's in California,
Nalleys and Safeway up here. I also scuba dive and love it. Well Doc
you ask for it, hope you didn't mind the Sea Stories. I'm sure you have
some of your own that you'll share with me sometime. I would like to hear about
the wheels up story. Where you on pad or with the wheels watch when that
happened? With all those hours out on pad and inboard we sure heard a lot
of Sea Stories didn't we? Take care Doc. ....Dane
The MB-5 picture was taken at NAS Millington TN. At the Crash Fire and Rescue
School around Aug. 1968. I'm 5th from the right, back row. The picture with the
Cherry Picker in the background is at MCAS Yuma Dec 1969. I'm 13th from the
right, back row.
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