View source for VMA-133

{{Use American English|date=January 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= Marine Attack Squadron 133
| image= Vma133 insig.jpg
| image_size = 200
|caption= VMA-133 Insignia
|dates= 1 May 1943{{spaced ndash}}1 August 1945<br />15 April 1958{{spaced ndash}}30 September 1992
|country=
|allegiance= {{flag|United States of America}}
|branch= {{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_United_States_Marine_Corps.svg}} [[United States Marine Corps]]
|type= Fighter squadron
|role= [[Close air support]]<br />[[Air interdiction]]
|size=
|command_structure=
|current_commander=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname= Dragons<br />Flying Eggbeaters (WWII)<br />Golden Gaters (Vietnam Era)
|patron=
|motto=
|colors='''[[Tail Code|ME]]'''
|colors_label=Tail Code
|march=
|mascot=
|battles= '''[[World War II]]'''<br />[[Bougainville campaign (1943–45)]]<br />[[Philippines campaign (1944–45)]]
|aircraft_attack=[[Douglas A-4 Skyhawk]]
|aircraft_bomber= [[Grumman TBF Avenger]]
|anniversaries=
}}
'''Marine Attack Squadron 133''' (VMA-133) was a reserve [[A-4 Skyhawk]] fighter squadron in the [[United States Marine Corps]].   Originally known as '''VMSB-133''', the squadron saw combat during the [[World War II]] campaigns on [[Bougainville campaign (1943–45)|Bougainville]] and [[Philippines campaign (1944–45)|Philippines]].  Following the war they became part of the [[Marine Forces Reserve]].  The squadron, also known as the "Dragons", was part of [[Marine Aircraft Group 42]] of the [[4th Marine Aircraft Wing]] and was based out of [[Naval Air Station Alameda]], [[California]].  They were deactivated  in 1992 as part of the post [[Cold War]] drawdown of the [[Military of the United States|U.S. Military]].
==History==
===World War II===
Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 133 (VMSB-133) was activated on 1 May 1943, at [[Marine Corps Air Station El Toro]], [[California]].<ref name="Rottman, p.440">Rottman, p.440</ref>  After training over the summer they left for [[Hawaii]] and arrived at [[Marine Corps Air Station Ewa]] on 9 September 1943.<ref name="Sherrod, p.458">Sherrod, p.458</ref>  From Ewa, the squadron was split into two sections with one heading to [[Johnston Atoll]] and the other to [[Palmyra Atoll]] for six months of [[Anti-submarine warfare#World War II|anti-submarine patrols]].<ref name="Sherrod, p.458"/>  Following these tours they returned to MCAS Ewa only to leave again on 25 June 1944, heading to [[Torokina]] on the island of [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]].  During October and November 1944 the squadron carried out strikes against targets  on Bougainville and [[New Britain]].<ref name="Sherrod, p.458"/>
After two months of travelling, VMSB-133 arrived at [[Lingayen Gulf]] in the [[Philippines]] after the [[Invasion of Lingayen Gulf|invasion to recapture the area]].  They remained there until 21 April 1945, when they moved to [[Mindanao]] to provide [[close air support]] for the [[United States Army]]'s [[24th Infantry Regiment (United States)|24th]] and [[31st Infantry Regiment (United States)|31st Infantry Regiments]] as they cleared the island.    Through June and July 1945 they continued to attack targets in the vicinity of [[Sarangani Bay]] in preparation for a planned invasion.<ref name="Sherrod, p.458"/>
[[File:A-4Fs VMA-133 in flight near NAS Fallon 1982.JPEG|thumb|left|VMA-133 A-4Fs in flight near [[Naval Air Station Fallon|NAS Fallon]], 1982.]]
[[File:Mark 81 bombs.jpg|thumb|Crewmen loading Mk-81 bombs on to an [[A-4 Skyhawk|A-4F]] from VMA-133.]]
The squadron was deactivated on 1 August 1945, at [[Malabang, Lanao del Sur|Malabang]], [[Mindanao]].<ref name="Rottman, p.440"/>
===Reserve years===
On 15 April 1958 the squadron was reactivated as part of the [[Marine Forces Reserve|Marine Air Reserve]] and was based out of [[Naval Air Station Oakland]], [[California]].  In July 1961 they moved to [[Naval Air Station Alameda]], CA.  In 1962 they gained their final designation of '''Marine Attack Squadron 133''' as they began to transition to the [[Douglas A-4 Skyhawk]]. The squadron was a part of [[Marine Aircraft Group 42]] and the [[4th Marine Aircraft Wing]] however they were deactivated on 30 September 1992 as part of the post-[[Cold War]] drawdown of the [[Military of the United States|U.S. Military]].
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==Unit awards==
A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. The VMA-133 has been presented with the following awards:
{|  class=wikitable
! Streamer
! Award
! Year(s)
! Additional Info
|-
||[[File:Navy Unit Commendation streamer.svg|200px]]
||[[Navy Unit Commendation|Navy Unit Commendation Streamer]] with one [[Award star|Bronze Star]]
||<br/>
||World War II
|-
||[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]
||[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal|Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Streamer]] with [[Award star|Silver Star]]
||<br/>
||<br/>
|-
||[[File:Streamer WWII V.PNG|200px]]
||[[World War II Victory Medal|World War II Victory Streamer]]
||1941–1945
||[[Pacific War]]
|-
||[[File:Streamer PL.PNG|200px]]
||[[Philippine Liberation Medal|Philippine Liberation Medal Streamer]]
||1944–1945
||[[Philippines Campaign (1944–45)]]
|-
||[[File:Presidential_Unit_Citation_(Philippines)_Streamer.png|200px]]
||[[Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines)|Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Streamer]]
||1944–1945
||[[Philippines Campaign (1944–45)]]
|-
|}
==See also==
* [[United States Marine Corps Aviation]]
* [[List of decommissioned United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons]]
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==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==References==
;Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book
|title=U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle - Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939 - 1945.’’
|author=Rottman, Gordon L.
|year=2002
|publisher=Greenwood Press
|isbn=0-313-31906-5}}
*{{cite book
| last = Sherrod
| first = Robert
| year = 1952
| title = History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II
| url = https://archive.org/details/historyofmarinec00sher
| url-access = registration
| publisher = Combat Forces Press
| location = Washington, D.C.
}}
;Web
* [http://www.skyhawk.org/4e/vma133/vma133.htm VMA-133 Diamondbacks]
{{Refend}}
{{US Marine Corps navbox}}
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[[Category:Attack squadrons of the United States Marine Corps|133]]
[[Category:Inactive units of the United States Marine Corps]]