USMC Helicopter Squadrons
$60.00
Only 2 items left in stock
Antique
Full Color
Bulk Patch Pricing
Leather
Minimum order: 10
10+ Antique: $55.00 each
10+ Full Color Hand Painted: $95.00 each
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Officially Licensed USMC VMFA(AW)-224 Bengals Leather Patches — From Guadalcanal to the F-35, the Bengals Have Never Stopped Fighting
The Bengals landed on Guadalcanal during a Japanese air raid and started shooting down enemy aircraft the same day. That's the kind of squadron this is.
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 224 (VMFA(AW)-224) — the 'Fighting Bengals' — is one of the most storied squadrons in United States Marine Corps aviation, with a combat record that spans from Guadalcanal to the Global War on Terror and now into the fifth-generation fighter era. Commissioned on May 1, 1942, at Naval Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, the Bengals flew F4F Wildcats as part of the legendary Cactus Air Force on Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, where they destroyed over 60 Japanese aircraft in less than two months under the command of Medal of Honor recipient Major Robert Galer. After Guadalcanal, the squadron flew F4U Corsairs in the Marshall Islands Campaign and at Okinawa, where they accounted for an additional 55 enemy aircraft. The Bengals entered the jet era with the F2H Banshee in 1951 and became the first Marine unit to field the A4D Skyhawk in 1956 before deploying to Vietnam, where they flew Skyhawk missions from the expeditionary airfield at Chu Lai. In 1966 they transitioned to the A-6 Intruder, deploying aboard USS Coral Sea to Yankee Station and participating in the historic mining of Hai Phong Harbor. The Bengals flew Desert Storm from Bahrain, expending over 2.3 million pounds of ordnance during 422 combat sorties, deployed to Aviano for Operations Deny Flight and Deliberate Force over Bosnia, deployed to Al Asad, Iraq, for Operation Iraqi Freedom flying 2,500 sorties and 7,000 hours, and deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, in 2021. In April 2025, the Bengals completed their final F/A-18 flight and began transitioning to the F-35B Lightning II. These leather patches carry over 80 years of Bengal heritage.
Perfect For: VMFA(AW)-224 Fighting Bengals Marines past and present, F/A-18D Hornet, A-6 Intruder, A-4 Skyhawk, and Corsair community veterans, MCAS Beaufort and MAG-31 personnel, and anyone who has served with the Bengals.
If you want to swap patches on/off gear, choose hook & loop (velcro). If you’re attaching permanently to uniforms or fabric, choose sew-on. If you want quick application on compatible fabric, choose iron-on / heat seal (when offered). Backing options are shown on the page and update based on the variant you select.
Size is shown on the product page and updates with the variant you select (example: 3"). If you’re mounting on a hat or small panel, choose smaller sizes; for plate carriers and display boards, larger sizes fit better.
If the product is officially licensed, it will say “Officially Licensed” in the title and/or in the product details. If it doesn’t, it’s still a legitimate product—just not part of a licensed program.
Yes. If you see a note like “bulk reruns available,” that means we can support group orders or reruns. If you don’t see it, contact us with the unit/squadron and quantity and we’ll confirm options.
Yes—custom solutions are available (patches, name tags, lanyards, apparel). Use the custom request page and include artwork, size, backing preference, and quantity.
