[1] The Corps operates rotary-wing, tiltrotor, and fixed-wing aircraft mainly to provide transport and close air support to its ground forces.

Wartime expansion saw the Aviation Company split into the First Aeronautic Company which deployed to the Azores to hunt U-boats in January 1918[8] and the First Marine Air Squadron which deployed to France as the newly renamed 1st Marine Aviation Force in July 1918[7] and provided bomber and fighter support to the Navy's Day Wing, Northern Bombing Group.

[6] By the end of the war, several Marine Aviators had recorded air-to-air kills, and collectively they had dropped over fourteen tons of bombs.

[5] Their numbers included 282 officers and 2,180 enlisted men operating from 8 squadrons,[9] with Second Lieutenant Ralph Talbot being the first Marine Corps aviator to earn the Medal of Honor, for action against the Luftstreitkräfte air arm of Imperial Germany on 8 October 1918.

The end of World War I saw Congress authorize 1,020 men for Marine Corps aviation and the establishment of permanent air stations at Quantico, Parris Island and San Diego.

While other nations and services had tried variations of this technique, Marine Corps pilots were the first to embrace it and make it part of their tactical doctrine.

[11] Marine Corps aviation in Nicaragua developed the skill of air resupply of outposts dropping bundles from Fokker F.VII tri-motors.

[17] This shifted Marine doctrine to focus less on expeditionary duty and more on supporting amphibious warfare by seizing advance naval bases in the event of war.

[20] This organization would remain until June 1940 when Congress authorized the Marine Corps 1,167 aircraft as part of its 10,000 plane program for the Navy.

[21] " On 7 December 1941, the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Marine Corps air units consisted of 13 flying squadrons and 230 aircraft.

The great takeaways were the debilitating effects of not having air superiority, the vulnerability of targets such as transport shipping, and the vital importance of quickly acquiring expeditionary airfields during amphibious operations.

For the first two years of the war, the air arm spent most of its time protecting the fleet and land-based installations from attacks by enemy ships and aircraft.

This began to change after the Battle of Tarawa as the air support for ground troops flown by Navy pilots left much to be desired.

After the battle, General Holland Smith recommended, "Marine aviators, thoroughly schooled in the principles of direct air support," should do the job.

[34] The Korean and Vietnam wars saw the size of Marine Aviation rebound from its post-WWII lows, emerging as the force that exists today, consisting of four air wings, 20 aircraft groups and 78 flying squadrons.

[37] The Corps intends to procure 420[38] F-35B/Cs (353 F-35Bs and 67 F-35Cs) to replace all F/A-18 Hornets, AV-8B Harrier IIs and EA-6B Prowlers[39] in the fighter, attack, and electronic warfare[40] roles.

Threat informed, the Cunningham Group is responsible for synthesizing existing capabilities with emerging operational concepts and technologies in order to develop a coherent vision of Marine Corps Aviation that delivers relevant, reliable, survivable, and affordable combat power to the Fleet Marine Force commanders.

AXE enablers will ensure the MAGTF can perform the six functions of Marine Aviation within the competition continuum against a peer adversary.

ASB leverages emerging technologies and concepts to enable modernization of our training systems to ensure our Marines keep pace with the complexity of our aircraft.

Marine Assault Support aviation must thrive at sea and in forward, isolated, austere locations while fully integrating into the Naval Expeditionary and Joint Networks.

Marine TACAIR must thrive at sea and in forward, isolated, austere locations while fully integrating into the Naval Expeditionary and Joint Networks.

Marine unmanned aviation must thrive in forward, isolated, austere locations while fully integrating into the Naval Expeditionary and Joint Networks.

AWS-UAS ensures the MAGTF provides multi-sensor aerial, maritime and terrestrial looking early warning; provides identification, tracking, targeting and coordination for offensive air support and ground and ship based long range strike; as well as be inherently strike capable within the competition continuum against a peer adversary.

The Operational Support Airlift (OSA) mission is to rapidly deliver small payloads using fixed-wing aircraft in situations where helicopters have inadequate range, and ground transportation is unavailable, slow, subject to enemy attack, or otherwise impractical.

To reduce costs and increase efficiency, OSA support is provided by commercial off-the-shelf aircraft rather than relatively complex and maintenance-intensive tactical airlifters.

Upon successful completion of Primary Flight Training, they select which type of aircraft they would like to fly, in accordance with the needs of the Corps.

The AV-8B is a VTOL aircraft that can operate from amphibious assault ships, land air bases and short, expeditionary airfields.

Based on the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet, the Growler has been labeled a "national asset" and is frequently borrowed to assist in any American combat action, not just Marine operations.

OSA assets include several aircraft that transport VIPs and critical logistics: the UC-12F/W Huron, C-20G Gulfstream IV, UC-35D Citation Encore, and C-40A Clipper.

A single Marine Corps C-130J "Fat Albert," is used to support the U.S. Navy's flight demonstration team, the "Blue Angels".