Every war United States Marine Corps Aviation has fought
Marine pilots were credited with 2,355 Japanese aircraft for 573 of their own lost in air combat in the Second World War, a claim not checked against Japanese records; the Vietnam losses of 193 fixed-wing aircraft and 270 helicopters come from secondary compilations that differ. Casualties at Ocotal in 1927 are contested and come from American accounts only. The Marine role in the Red Sea in 2024 rests on squadron histories on Wikipedia and is provisional. In Operation Epic Fury against Iran no Marine aircraft loss was reported; the US Department of War announced a ceasefire on 7 April 2026, while Wikipedia records a two-week Pakistani-brokered ceasefire from 8 April that was later violated. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From the Northern Bombing Group in 1918 to Operation Epic Fury against Iran in 2026.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operation Epic Furythe 2026 Iran warUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 2026 | Iran | Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II, Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, Bell Boeing MV-22B Ospreyand 1 more | — | — | |
|
Marine F-35Cs flew combat missions from USS Abraham Lincoln and from land after VMFA-311 deployed from Miramar; F-35Bs went to sea aboard USS Boxer and USS Tripoli, and the 31st MEU arrived to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Marine aviation’s war with Iran began before the campaign: on 3 February 2026 an F-35C of VMFA-314 from USS Abraham Lincoln shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone over the Arabian Sea, about 500 miles from the Iranian coast. Central Command’s spokesman said the drone had been approaching the carrier “aggressively” and that it was downed in self-defence. When Operation Epic Fury opened on 28 February, VMFA-314 was flying with the Lincoln’s air wing. On 10 March VMFA-311 left Miramar with ten F-35Cs; they staged through RAF Lakenheath on 23–24 March, the first F-35Cs to land in England, and went on to the Central Command area. The War Zone reported F-35Bs aboard USS Boxer and USS Tripoli, and the 31st MEU, about 2,200 Marines, reached the region around 28 March for operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Outcome The US Department of War announced a ceasefire on 7 April 2026 after 38 days; Wikipedia records a two-week Pakistani-brokered ceasefire from 8 April that was later violated. In Afterburner Marines Take EABO Into Combat for the First Time in Epic Fury Wikipedia’s VMFA-314 article claims the squadron destroyed more than 60 Iranian surface combatants; the claim is uncited and is not repeated here. Ceasefire dates differ by one day between the US government (7 April) and Wikipedia (8 April).
|
||||||
| Red Sea operations against the HouthisProsperity Guardian, Poseidon Archer and Rough RiderUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 2023-2025 | Ansar Allah (the Houthi movement) | Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II | — | — | |
|
Marine F-35Cs of VMFA-314 flew with the Navy carrier air wing aboard USS Abraham Lincoln in 2024 and took part in strikes on Houthi military facilities in Yemen. VMFA-314 spent about four months with Carrier Air Wing Nine in 2024 supporting Naval Forces Central Command, ending with strikes on military facilities in Houthi-held Yemen, the first combat use of the F-35C. The Houthi campaign against shipping began in late 2023 and drew in carrier and amphibious groups through 2025. Outcome A ceasefire with the Houthis was announced on 6 May 2025 (see the USAF page of this site). The Marine role is documented only in squadron histories on Wikipedia, which do not cite official sources for the 2024 strikes; treat the detail as provisional.
|
||||||
| Operation Inherent Resolvethe war against the Islamic StateUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 2014-2021 | Islamic State | Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey, Lockheed Martin KC-130J, McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D Hornetand 1 more | — | — | |
|
A Kuwait-based crisis response task force with MV-22Bs, KC-130Js, F/A-18Ds and AV-8Bs supported the fight for Mosul and operations in Syria, reinforced the Baghdad embassy in 2019 and supported the Kabul evacuation in 2021. Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command existed from October 2013 to October 2021, rotating squadrons through an undisclosed base in Kuwait. Its aircraft supported Iraqi forces at Mosul and coalition operations in Syria; its Marines reinforced the US embassy in Baghdad against Iran-backed militiamen in 2019, and it played a part in the August 2021 evacuation of Kabul. Outcome The task force was disbanded in October 2021.
|
||||||
| Operation Odyssey DawnLibyaUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 2011 | Libya (Gaddafi government) | McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey, Sikorsky CH-53Eand 1 more | — | 0 | |
|
AV-8Bs of the 26th MEU attacked Gaddafi’s forces near Benghazi, and Marine aircraft recovered the pilot of a crashed F-15E. On the night of 19–20 March 2011 Harriers from USS Kearsarge struck a large pro-Gaddafi convoy outside Benghazi. On 21 March an MV-22, with two AV-8Bs, two CH-53Es and a KC-130J of the 26th MEU, recovered the pilot of an Air Force F-15E that had come down near Benghazi; the escorting Harriers dropped two 500-pound bombs at the pilot’s request. The weapons officer was picked up by rebel forces. Outcome The operation was followed by NATO’s Operation Unified Protector.
|
||||||
| The Iraq WarOperation Iraqi FreedomUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 2003-2011 | Iraq (Ba’athist government) and Iraqi insurgents | McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, Bell AH-1W SuperCobraand 4 more | — | — | |
|
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing supported the Marine advance on Baghdad in 2003 and then the long counter-insurgency in Anbar province. 3rd MAW moved 435 aircraft and 15,451 people to the Gulf before the invasion and expended more than six million pounds of ordnance. VMFA-323 flew into Baghdad on the first night from USS Constellation; 60 AV-8Bs flew from ships and Kuwaiti bases. The insurgency that followed turned the wing into a helicopter and close-support force in Anbar, and in 2007 the MV-22 made its combat debut there from Al Asad. Outcome American combat forces left Iraq at the end of 2011.
|
||||||
| The war in AfghanistanOperation Enduring FreedomUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 2001-2021 | Taliban and al-Qaeda | Lockheed KC-130, Sikorsky CH-53E, McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier IIand 3 more | — | 8 | |
|
Put the first coalition ground force into southern Afghanistan in 2001, then supported Marine operations in Helmand from 2009, and flew the F-35’s first combat strike in 2018. On 25 November 2001 Task Force 58 under Brigadier General James Mattis seized Camp Rhino, a desert strip in southern Afghanistan, landed from the sea by helicopter and KC-130. From 2009 Marine aviation returned in strength to Helmand: MV-22s from November 2009 and armed KC-130J Harvest Hawks, which first fired in combat at Sangin on 4 November 2010. On 14 September 2012 Taliban fighters broke into Camp Bastion and destroyed six Harriers of VMA-211, killing the squadron commander, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Raible, and another Marine. On 27 September 2018 an F-35B from USS Essex struck a Taliban position, the first American F-35 combat mission. Outcome Marine aircraft supported the Kabul evacuation of August 2021, which ended the American presence. The number of attackers at Bastion is not given in the sources consulted and is not repeated in the loss figures. The loss count of 8 is aircraft destroyed or badly damaged in the Bastion raid only.
|
||||||
| Operation Allied ForceKosovo and SerbiaUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1999 | Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D Hornet, McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II | 193 | 0 | |
|
Two-seat F/A-18D Hornets flew strike missions from Hungary. VMFA(AW)-533 operated from Taszár in Hungary during NATO’s air war and stayed on after the ceasefire to watch the Serbian withdrawal from Kosovo. AV-8Bs also flew in the Balkans from amphibious ships. Outcome Yugoslavia accepted NATO’s terms in June 1999. Sortie total is for one squadron only.
|
||||||
| Bosnia: Deny Flight and the O’Grady rescueBosnia and HerzegovinaUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1993-1995 | Army of Republika Srpska | Sikorsky CH-53E, Bell AH-1W SuperCobra, McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II | — | 0 | |
|
A Marine force from USS Kearsarge rescued the downed Air Force pilot Captain Scott O’Grady; Harriers flew in the Balkans operations. O’Grady’s F-16 was shot down on 2 June 1995. Six days later, in the early morning of 8 June, the 24th MEU launched from USS Kearsarge: two CH-53s of HMH-464 carrying 51 Marines of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, escorted by two AH-1W Cobras and two AV-8B Harriers, picked him up and brought him back to the ship. Outcome O’Grady was recovered alive on 8 June 1995.
|
||||||
| SomaliaOperation Restore HopeUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1992-1993 | Somali militias | — | — | — | |
|
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing units took part in Operation Restore Hope. The wing history records participation but the sources consulted give no aircraft, sortie or loss figures. Outcome Marines were withdrawn in 1993–1994 after the UN operation. Detail could not be corroborated and has been kept to a minimum.
|
||||||
| The Gulf WarDesert Shield and Desert StormUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1990-1991 | Iraq | McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II, McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A/C/D Hornet, Grumman A-6E Intruderand 5 more | 18,000 | 5 | |
|
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing deployed more than 40 squadrons and flew close air support and interdiction for the Marine advance into Kuwait. On 1 February 1991 Wikipedia’s table counts 78 Marine Hornets, 84 Harriers, 20 A-6Es, 12 EA-6Bs, 19 OV-10s and 75 Cobras in theatre. VMFA-314 was the first Marine Hornet squadron to arrive and flew 814 sorties, more than any other Navy or Marine squadron according to its history, without loss. All five Harrier losses were to Iraqi surface-to-air missiles. Outcome Kuwait was liberated on 28 February 1991. The losses figure counts AV-8Bs only.
|
||||||
| Operation El Dorado Canyonthe Libya raidUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1986 | Libya | McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Hornet | — | 0 | |
|
Wikipedia lists the Marine Corps among the services that carried out the strikes, alongside Air Force F-111s and Navy aircraft from USS America and USS Coral Sea. The article names Hornets firing HARM anti-radar missiles from Coral Sea but does not identify the squadrons by service. Outcome The raid of 15 April 1986 struck targets in Tripoli and Benghazi. Which Marine squadrons took part could not be confirmed in the sources consulted; the aircraft type is given as the one the Marine squadrons flew at the time.
|
||||||
| Operation Urgent FuryGrenadaUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1983 | Grenada (People’s Revolutionary Government) and Cuba | Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight, Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, Bell AH-1T SeaCobra | — | 2 | |
|
Marine helicopters landed 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines at Pearls Airport and lifted students out of Grand Anse. CH-46s and CH-53s landed Marines south of Pearls Airport at 0530 on 25 October 1983; the next day CH-46s carried an assault on the Grand Anse campus and CH-53s took out the students. Outcome The island was secured within days.
|
||||||
| Operation Eagle ClawDesert OneUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1980 | Iran | Sikorsky RH-53D Sea Stallion | — | — | |
|
Marine pilots flew most of the Navy RH-53D helicopters in the attempt to rescue the hostages held in Tehran. The helicopter element was led by Marine Lieutenant Colonel Edward Seiffert; of 16 pilots, 12 were Marines, three Navy and one Air Force. Mechanical failures left too few helicopters at Desert One, and during the withdrawal Major James Schaefer’s helicopter collided with a C-130 tanker. The failure led to the creation of the Special Operations Command. Outcome The mission was aborted and the hostages were released on 20 January 1981.
|
||||||
| The Vietnam WarUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1962-1975 | North Vietnam and Viet Cong | Sikorsky UH-34, Boeing Vertol CH-46, Sikorsky CH-53and 5 more | — | 463 | |
|
Flew helicopter assault and close air support for the Marines in I Corps, and the 1975 evacuation of Saigon. HMM-362’s helicopters went to the Mekong Delta in April 1962. From 1965 jets flew from Chu Lai and Da Nang. Helicopter losses were the heavy price of the war; Marine helicopters also flew the last lift out of the Saigon embassy in April 1975. Outcome The Marines left in 1973; Marine helicopters evacuated the Saigon embassy in April 1975. Loss figures come from secondary compilations and differ between sources.
|
||||||
| The Korean WarUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1950-1953 | North Korea and China | Vought F4U Corsair, Grumman F9F Panther, Sikorsky HO3S-1 | 127,496 | — | |
|
1st Marine Aircraft Wing flew close air support for the 1st Marine Division from the Pusan Perimeter through Inchon and the Chosin Reservoir, and pioneered helicopter combat transport. VMO-6 flew the first Marine helicopter combat missions in August 1950, HMR-161 became the first helicopter transport squadron in January 1951, and Marine helicopters carried out more than 9,800 wounded. VMF-311 was the first land-based Marine jet squadron in combat, from December 1950, and took part in the attack on the Sui-ho dam in June 1952. Outcome The armistice of 27 July 1953.
|
||||||
| The Second World Warthe Pacific warUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1941-1945 | Japan | Brewster F2A Buffalo, Grumman F4F Wildcat, Vought SB2U Vindicatorand 2 more | — | 573 | |
|
From Wake, Midway and Guadalcanal to the Solomons, the Philippines and Okinawa: fighters, dive-bombers and close air support for the island campaigns. The war began with losses: seven of VMF-211’s twelve Wildcats at Wake were destroyed on the ground on 8 December 1941, and at Midway only ten of VMF-221’s 25 pilots came back. Guadalcanal changed that. The Cactus Air Force, from 20 August 1942, held Henderson Field under constant attack and claimed 268 Japanese aircraft between 3 September and 4 November. Marine pilots produced 120 aces and 11 Medals of Honor. Gregory Boyington of VMF-214 was credited with 26 victories in his Medal of Honor citation and 28 after the war, a total that counts six Flying Tigers claims for which the AVG had credited him with two. Outcome Japan surrendered on 2 September 1945; Marine aviation had grown to five wings and 145 flying squadrons. Victory claims were not checked against Japanese records in the sources consulted.
|
||||||
| The Banana WarsHaiti, the Dominican Republic and NicaraguaUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1919-1933 | Haitian Cacos and Sandinista forces (Augusto César Sandino) | Airco/Dayton-Wright DH-4, Fokker F.VII | — | — | |
|
Supported Marine occupations and counter-insurgency, developing dive-bombing and air resupply. Marine squadrons flew in Haiti and the Dominican Republic from 1919; Cunningham commanded the first air squadron in Santo Domingo in 1920. On 16 July 1927 five DH-4s under Major Ross Rowell attacked Sandinista forces besieging Ocotal for about 45 minutes, diving from 1,000 to 300 feet, and broke the attack. Trimotor transports carried supplies to remote garrisons. Outcome The Marines left Nicaragua in 1933. Casualty figures for Ocotal are contested and come from American accounts; no Sandinista figures were found.
|
||||||
| The First World WarUnited States Marine Corps Aviation | 1917-1918 | Germany | — | — | — | |
|
A seaplane company flew anti-submarine patrols from the Azores and the 1st Marine Aviation Force bombed for the Northern Bombing Group in Flanders. The 1st Marine Aviation Force landed at Brest on 30 July 1918 under Cunningham. It flew 43 raids with British squadrons and 14 of its own, and was credited with eight enemy aircraft. Second Lieutenant Ralph Talbot became the first Marine aviator awarded the Medal of Honor for his action on 8 October 1918. Outcome Armistice of 11 November 1918; Marine aviation then had 282 officers and 2,180 enlisted men in eight squadrons. The aircraft types flown in France were not itemised in the sources consulted. |
||||||
Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- The Aviationist: U.S. F-35C Shoots Down Iranian Drone Heading for USS Lincoln (3 February 2026)VMFA-314 F-35C from USS Abraham Lincoln shot down a Shahed-139 over the Arabian Sea; CENTCOM statement by Capt. Tim Hawkins.
- The Aviationist: End of an Era — U.S. Marine Corps Celebrates AV-8B Harrier II Sundown (3 June 2026)Sundown ceremony at MCAS Cherry Point on 3 June 2026; VMA-223 back from its last deployment on 20 May 2026; deactivation expected in September 2026.
- Air & Space Forces Magazine: WORLD — Epic FuryClose to 300 Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps fighters in the campaign; listed American losses.
- U.S. Department of War: Epic Fury Quelled for Now, Objectives Accomplished, U.S. Forces Remain Ready38-day duration and ceasefire of 7 April 2026 (as used on the USAF page of this site).
- The War Zone: Land-Based Marine Corps F-35Cs Are Now Moving Towards The Middle East (24 March 2026)VMFA-311’s ten F-35Cs via RAF Lakenheath; Marine F-35Cs in combat from USS Abraham Lincoln; F-35Bs aboard USS Boxer and USS Tripoli; the 31st MEU.
- Air & Space Forces Magazine: Desert OneRH-53D crews: 16 pilots, 12 of them Marines, under Lt. Col. Edward Seiffert; five airmen and three Marines killed.
- Air Force Historical Support Division: 1980 — Operation Eagle ClawForces committed and the abort at Desert One (as used on the USAF page of this site).
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the United States Marine Corps Aviation.