Article - MCAS Yuma - 2011

Marine Corps Air Station - Yuma, AZ, 2011

Harriers in the Wild Wild West – MCAS Yuma

In December 2010 the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy Joint Harrier Force was retired somewhat prematurely, in a freezing cold field in Lincolnshire December 14th 2010, I stood and watched the 16 ship formation say its farewell. Two months later a group of us were invited aboard MCAS Yuma, Arizona, the contrast couldn't be much different...

Our day was spent visiting Marine Aircraft Group 13 (MAG-13) – A compliment of no less than four AV-8B Harrier II Squadrons, VMA-211 “Wake Island Avengers” (not aboard MCAS Yuma during our visit) VMA-214 “The Black Sheep” VMA-311 “The Tomcats” & VMA-513 “Flying Nightmares”. Also aboard MCAS Yuma, VMFT-403 “Snipers” with their F-5N Tiger II aircraft used in the adversary roll. The home Search and Rescue unit with their Red and White HH-1N Hueys. Visiting the base for their winter training stop over from MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, was VMAT-203 “Hawks” with a mix of AV-8B and TAV-8B Harrier II aircraft. Royal Canadian Air Force 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron were also at Yuma completing the final stage of Exercise Desert Gander with their CH-146 Griffons.

MCAS Yuma, a brief History

With the outbreak of World War two many civilian airfields were transformed in to military training bases to facilitate the great need for trained pilots of all types, one such field was Yuma. In late 1942 Yuma Army Air Field was activated for the training of pilots. In 1954 it transferred to the Air Force and was still a home for training, but now for more specialised weapons training, utilising the vast ranges available to the military in the area. In 1956 the Air Force re-named the station Vincent Air Force Base after Brigadier General Clinton D. “Casey” Vincent a top fighter leader from the China-Burma theatre. On the 20th of July 1962 the base was handed over to the United States Marine Corps and became known as MCAS Yuma (Vincent Field). Through the 60s' to the early 1980s' Yuma was home to the mighty F-4 Phantom II before passing the baton to the AV-8A/C Harriers. In the late 80s' the AV-8A/C Harriers were replaced by the next generation of Rolls Royce Pegasus powered Harriers, the much improved AV-8B Harrier II. In 2011 MCAS Yuma shares its runways with a civilian airport, 2 main runways, one at 4054m (13300 feet) and one at 2812m (9241 Feet) with an elevation of 66m (216 feet) above sea level. The military ranges around the Air Station make MCAS Yuma a very busy place.

Harrier Town USA – MAG-13

All but one of the four Harrier II squadrons were visited during our day, VMA-211 “Wake Island Avengers” were away on deployment in theatre.

Our first stop was Marine Attack Squadron 311 VMA-311 “Tomcats”. On arrival with the squadron we were quickly briefed and taken out to the main runway where the last RAF Harrier pilot would give us our very own private showing of the VSTOL capabilities of the Harrier. Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Douglas McKay a Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI), 16 months in to the pilot exchange programme (PEP) with VMA-311 was out on an early morning flight test and gave four very happy photographers something to really write home about. The aircraft flown was the VMA-311 commanders jet with special markings, Flt Lt. McKay demonstrated a number of STOL (Short Take Off & Landing) and VTOL (Vertical Take Off & Landing) techniques. He also taxied the jet around us from our viewing point just feet from the edge of the runway. After giving the happiest four men in the world the photographic opportunities of a life time, Flt Lt. McKay returned the jet to the sun barns on the ramps of MCAS Yuma. Later during the day we were able to thank him for the opportunities given to us, we all felt incredibly honoured to witness the last RAF Harrier pilot in his “office”

Our next squadron was VMA-513 “Flying Nightmares” We were escorted through the maintenance hangars and shown an AV-8B Harrier II stripped down for heavy maintenance and being serviced prior to returning to the flight line. Once out of the hangar and on to the sun barn covered ramps we were once again amongst the Harriers. Two of the squadrons jets were practising “Hot pitting” the art of refuelling whilst still running, ready to rejoin the fight. We were invited to get up close and personal during this operation, to try and capture the moment. One of the jets was the commanders specially painted aircraft.

We continued down to the next ramp full of Harriers, to one of the most famous squadrons in the USMC, VMA-214 “The Black Sheep”. During World War II the squadrons most famous pilot, Colonel Gregory “Pappy” Boyington became an Ace with 26 “kills” in his Vought F4U Corsair. He ended the war as a POW and was only released after Japans surrender, on his return to the USA he was awarded the Medal of Honour.

One of the jets we were able to photograph going out on a training mission was specially painted jet bearing the name “Maj Gregory Pappy Boyington” under the canopy, a nice and very welcome touch of nostalgia. Our visit finished with a a look around the crew “ready room” filled with memorabilia and references to the squadrons history in Asia and its present day also. A place for the members of the squadron to relax and unwind, but also be mindful of the past.

Snipers – VMFT-401

Also based onboard MCAS Yuma are the F-5N Tiger II aircraft of VMFT-410 “Snipers” an Adversary squadron, activated in March 1986, the squadron serves as an “Aggressor” unit, a squadron designed to look and feel like an enemy, to train Marine Corps aviators in dog fighting, air to air combat. All the aircraft are painted in a camouflage scheme to represent an “Eastern Block” enemy, the Red Stars on the tale to complete the look. All the pilots are Marine Corps “Topgun” graduates/instructors or Weapons and Tactics Instructors (WTI) to give students the best possible feel of what it would be like to go head to head with the enemy in a controlled environment. We were fortunate enough to be able to witness one of the launches from the ramps, watching the ground crews prepping the jets and the pilots taxiing out for their mission.

MCAS Yuma – Search and Rescue

Three HH-1N Hueys, painted in a high visibility red and white scheme are employed for Search and Rescue (SAR) at Yuma, not just for military use, but, for civilian emergencies too. Two aircraft and one full crew are on call 24/7, the area they cover is approximately within a 100 mile radius of Yuma. Not only are the crews there for medical emergencies, but also they have been involved in firefighting too. During our visit we were given a brief of the mission goals and the capability of the team. During 2010 the crew flew twenty seven missions and in the brief amount of time in 2011, four missions had been flown.

East Coast visitors

VMAT-203 “Hawks” Harrier II aircraft from MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, escaped the East Coast winter conditions and headed West to Yuma to take part in a two month detachment to continue training. Lt C Daniels kindly hosted us and allowed us to walk the line of AV-8B and TAV-8B Harriers, answering our questions and explaining the role of this training squadron. We were afforded a great insight in to what makes the Harrier force tick and allowed some superb access to these amazing aircraft.

Exercise Desert Gander

Three CH-146 Griffons of Royal Canadian Air Force 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, from Edmonton, Canada, were using the ranges to the north of Yuma for Exercise Desert Gander, training to land ground troops in desert conditions. The aircraft and their crews were sharing the ramp space at MCAS Yuma. They provided us with the final operational photographs to a visit none of us would forget in a hurry.

Airpark

Just inside the main entrance to MCAS Yuma is the airpark, a memorial to the aircraft and all those that helped keep them in the air and helped keep MAG-13 going strong. An A-4L Skyhawk, F-4B Phantom II, AV-8A Harrier, F-5E TigerII and a HH-1NHuey all stand guard keeping memories alive , preserving for future generations.

Semper Fi.

We would like to thank all of the USMC personnel involved in todays visit, without their help and support none of this would be possible. Special thanks to Cpl Malter our excellent public affairs guide throughout the day who went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure we all got the images we wanted, the British and the United States embassies in the UK and USA.

A very special mention of thanks must also go to the director of public affairs, Capt. Staci Reidinger for making it all happen.

Author and Photography by Stuart Skelton