Support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force commander by destroying surface targets and enemy aircraft, day or night under all weather conditions during expeditionary, joint or combined operations.

[1] As preparations for the invasion of Guadalcanal increased, the squadron operated a detachment at Turtle Bay Airfield on Espiritu Santo until the arrival of VMO-251 ensured that the island was provided with adequate aerial defense.

On June 27, 1942, a Wildcat of the squadron attacked a Royal Australian Air Force Catalina flying boat of No.

[3] The squadron acquired an enviable record by destroying 64½ enemy planes including that of Toshio Ohta, a Japanese ace.

Of this number, LtCol Harold "Indian Joe" Bauer, the squadron's first Commanding Officer, was credited with 11 kills and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor.

The squadron returned to the United States in November 1942 and remained on the West Coast until June 1943 when they sailed for Midway Atoll.

From 20 October through 27 November 1943 the squadron was based out of Barakoma Airfield and supported operations in the Treasury Islands, Choiseul and Bougainville.

VMF-212 remained in the vicinity of the Solomons and Bismarck Islands for the remainder of 1944 running fighter sweeps against the Japanese garrison on Rabaul and providing close air support for ground forces on Bougainville.

On 8 January 1945, VMF-212 landed on Samar and provided close air support for United States Army troops during the campaign to retake the Philippines.

At 09:40 on 24 January 1945, while taking off, 1Lt Karl Oerth of VMF-222 hit a lump in the runway, blew a tire and his Corsair careened wildly into his own squadron's revetment area, which was shared with VMF-212.

Many men attempted to rescue the pilot but while they were making this brave effort the plane exploded and set off all its .50 cal ammunition.

[4] In June 1945 the squadron arrived at Okinawa on the USS Hillsborough County (LST-827) and conducted operations from there until the end of the war.

[5] During the duration of World War II, VMF-212 was credited with shooting down 132½ enemy aircraft[6] A Corsair which came to grief on Approach to Quoin Hill Airfield on Efate, Vanuatu is now a great dive attraction.

They began a slow transition to white-and-gray paint schemes for their planes and sported a colorful flightline as the "blue birds" were phased out.

The squadron accepted the WD tail code in August and transitioned to the jet age in March, 1958, with the North American FJ-4B Fury.

This marked the first time that a single-seat aircraft had ever done so, and it stood in the record books until it was eclipsed by VMF(AW)-451 in 1961, when the Warlords flew their F8U Crusaders from El Toro to Japan.

David and Mary Lerps designed the Lancer insignia that was used for decades, featuring crossed lances over a cross-emblazened shield.

The Operations Officer, Major Harry E. Sexton, devised a way to carry 2,000-pound MK-84 bombs from an F-8 Crusader prior to being launched from an aircraft carrier.

Of interest, this incident was referred to in the motion picture, Top Gun as the date that the main character, Pete Mitchell's father was shot down.

Captain John W. Consolvo and his RIO, CWO3 James J. Castonguay were hit on May 7, after pulling off target near the northern Quang Tri Province.

[14] The Lancers lost another Phantom and its crew on June 4, when Captain Benjamin Lee Tebault and 1LT Mike Konow were hit while diving on a target.

The Marine Phantom units of Danang were ordered to Nam Phong, Thailand, but VMFA-212 was replaced by VMA(AW)-533 and the Lancers returned to Hawaii.

The squadron left MCAS Iwakuni on 14 September and after being refueled over Iwo Jima, began flying Combat Air Patrols over Guam in support of Operation Noble Eagle.

In May 2008, a team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command found the wreckage of an F4U Corsair (BuNo 55908) and the remains of 1stLt Allan S. Harrison III in the vicinity of Warangoi, Papua New Guinea.