Official VMFA-533 UDP 26.2 Patch Collection - Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 533 Hawks Unit Deployment Program Rotation 26.2 Official Embroidered Patch Collection.
In Hoc Signo Vinces. Hawks pride, Western Pacific readiness, and a rotation-specific identity stitched into every thread.
VMFA-533, the Hawks, trace their lineage to 1 October 1943, when Marine Night Fighter Squadron 533 was commissioned at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. The squadron distinguished itself in World War II by claiming the most aerial victories of any Marine night fighter squadron and producing the first night fighter ace, Captain Robert Baird. Decades of aircraft transitions followed, from the F6F Hellcat and A-6 Intruder to the F/A-18D Hornet, and most recently the F-35B Lightning II. The Hawks are based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, under Marine Aircraft Group 31 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. The Unit Deployment Program, which rotates Marine squadrons to the Western Pacific for approximately six-month periods, has been a defining rhythm of the Hawks mission cycle, with VMFA-533 holding the distinction of being the first all-weather attack squadron to participate in the UDP when it deployed to Iwakuni in 1980. UDP 26.2 represents one specific rotation in that long chain, a numbered moment in the squadron's forward-deployed story that this patch collection preserves with precision. Patches tied to individual UDP rotations carry a different weight than general squadron insignia because they mark a specific crew, a specific deployment window, and a specific place in the Hawks timeline.
Perfect For: VMFA-533 Hawks veterans and active-duty members, UDP 26.2 rotation alumni, Marine aviation collectors, F-35B and F/A-18D enthusiasts, MAG-31 and 2nd MAW supporters, MCAS Beaufort community members, shadow box builders, deployment keepsake displays, reunion gifts, and anyone preserving the rotation-by-rotation story of Marine Corps fixed-wing aviation in the Western Pacific. It also suits families and supporters who want a specific, researched piece rather than a generic squadron patch.
Hawks heritage, one rotation at a time, stitched for the crews who flew it.
