WWII USMC VMB-413 UNIT HISTORY FLYING NIGHTMARES

WWII US Marine Corps Unit History for the VMB-413, the Flying Nightmares. This is a 1st edition that is named to the interior†John Skopic who was in the engineering section and is photographed several times in the book. The unit history†was published in 1946 and was privately†published. Book is in excellent condition and has several autographs to the reverse pages. Excellent.†History: The squadron was activated on March 1, 1943, as Marine Bombing Squadron 413 (VMB-413) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. On December 1, 1943, the squadron completed their training at MCAS Cherry Point and from there moved to the West Coast until finally leaving from Naval Air Station North Island on January 3, 1944. They arrived at Espiritu Santo on January 27, 1944, and remained there until March 7, 1944, when they were sent to Stirling Island in the Treasury Islands. While stationed there the squadron flew a few night-time heckling missions against the Japanese garrisons at Kahili, Bougainville and Rabaul until July 1944 when they moved back to Espiritu Santo. During that time the squadron lost five aircraft along with 32 crewmen. In July 1944, VMB-413 began operating from Munda from where they began to raid both Kahili and Choiseul on a regular basis until October 18, 1944 when they moved to Emirau. From there they ran missions against Japanese forces in New Ireland and New Britain until the surrender of Japan in August 1945.