HARRIER SQUADRONS & TEST UNITS
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![VMA-231 Ace of Spades squadron patch]()
VMA-231
ACE OF SPADES
The Ace of Spades flew the Harrier from May 1973 to May 2025. Reactivated at MCAS Cherry Point as one of the first squadrons to fly the AV-8A, the Marine Corps’ oldest flying squadron spent 52 years in the jump jet.
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![VMA-223 Bulldogs squadron patch]()
VMA-223
BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs flew the AV-8B Harrier II from October 1987 to June 2026. On June 3, 2026, VMA-223 conducted the final Harrier operations in the Marine Corps.
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![VMA-513 Flying Nightmares squadron patch]()
VMA-513
FLYING NIGHTMARES
The Flying Nightmares flew the Harrier from April 1971 to July 2013. VMA-513 took delivery of its first three AV-8As at MCAS Beaufort on April 16, 1971, becoming the first Marine Corps squadron to fly the Harrier.
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![VMA-214 Black Sheep squadron patch]()
VMA-214
BLACK SHEEP
The Black Sheep flew the Harrier from June 1989 to March 2022. VMA-214 was the first operational AV-8B Night Attack squadron and the last Harrier squadron at MCAS Yuma.
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![VMA-542 Tigers squadron patch]()
VMA-542
TIGERS
The Tigers flew the Harrier from January 1972 to December 2022. Reactivated on January 12, 1972, VMA-542 was the second Marine squadron to fly the AV-8A and kept the jump jet for 50 years.
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![VMA-311 Tomcats squadron patch]()
VMA-311
TOMCATS
The Tomcats flew the AV-8B Harrier II from 1988 to October 2020 at MCAS Yuma. In January 1991 VMA-311 became the first Marine squadron to employ the AV-8B in combat.
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![VMA-211 Wake Island Avengers squadron patch]()
VMA-211
WAKE ISLAND AVENGERS
The Wake Island Avengers flew the Harrier from June 1990 to May 2016 at MCAS Yuma. VMA-211 flew the AV-8B Night Attack Harrier and was the first AV-8B squadron to transition to the F-35B.
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![VMA-331 Bumblebees squadron patch]()
VMA-331
BUMBLEBEES
The Bumblebees flew the Harrier from January 1985 to September 1992. Stood up at MCAS Cherry Point on January 30, 1985, VMA-331 was the Marine Corps’ first operational AV-8B Harrier II squadron.
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![VMAT-203 Hawks squadron patch]()
VMAT-203
HAWKS
The Hawks flew the Harrier from September 1974 to October 2021. VMAT-203 was the Marine Corps’ Harrier training squadron and the first Marine squadron to receive the AV-8B Harrier II.
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![VX-5 Vampires squadron patch]()
VX-5
VAMPIRES
The Vampires had an AV-8A on strength at China Lake by November 1979 and ran the AV-8B’s operational evaluation in 1984–85. The squadron merged into VX-9 in 1993–94.
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![VX-9 Vampires squadron patch]()
VX-9
VAMPIRES
The Vampires are the Navy’s operational test squadron at China Lake. VX-9 tested AV-8B weapons, sensors and software from the 1990s until the Harrier’s final updates in the 2020s.
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![VX-31 Dust Devils squadron patch]()
VX-31
DUST DEVILS
The Dust Devils and the test organizations before them flew the AV-8B over China Lake for about four decades, ending September 23, 2025. VX-31 flew the Harrier’s final developmental test flight and its last test-squadron sortie.
KICKSTARTER
Campaign Launch
Be the first to reserve a copy of the book
A definitive visual and narrative tribute to the AV-8 Harrier community. More than seventy interviews with the pilots, maintainers, and ordnance Marines who flew, fixed, and armed the jet. A photographic record made over more than three years, through the last sundown flight on June 3, 2026.
CALLSIGN will soon launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund the design and printing of the first edition of Harrier Legacy, a commemorative 136-page deluxe coffee-table softcover book. Every backer reserves a first-edition copy. Higher tiers add special editions, Harrier sundown archival prints, patches, and other exclusive rewards.
The first 48 hours will open with a limited early-bird price, and the waiting list gets notified first. When those special copies are gone, they're gone.
Join the waiting list and be first in line when the campaign opens.