Officially Licensed HMH-461 Iron Horse Leather Patches

Officially Licensed HMH-461 Iron Horse Leather Patches — From Corsairs to King Stallions, the Iron Horses Have Been Lifting the Marine Corps for Eighty Years

When the mission is too heavy, too far, or too dangerous for anything else, the Iron Horses answer the call.

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461 (HMH-461) — the 'Iron Horses' — is one of the most storied heavy-lift helicopter squadrons in the United States Marine Corps, with a lineage that began during World War II and stretches through every major conflict since. Originally founded on March 15, 1944, as Marine Fighting Squadron 461 (VMF-461), the unit was commissioned at Marine Corps Air Station El Centro, California, flying the F4U Corsair as part of Marine Base Defense Group 43. After the war, the squadron evolved through multiple redesignations before becoming a heavy helicopter squadron, transitioning from the CH-37 to the CH-53A in 1966, the CH-53D in 1970, and the CH-53E Super Stallion in 1987. With the Super Stallion, HMH-461 made Marine Corps aviation history multiple times — becoming the first Marine helicopter unit to aerial refuel using night vision goggles, the first to externally lift a Riverine Assault Craft, the first to load a CH-53E into a C-17 Globemaster, and the first to lift two HMMWVs simultaneously. The Iron Horses deployed aboard USS Iwo Jima to the Persian Gulf for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, launched aircraft into Somalia for Operation Eastern Exit in 1991, supported contingency operations in Haiti, conducted noncombatant evacuations in Congo-Brazzaville and Sierra Leone, and became the first Marine Corps helicopter unit deployed to Djibouti, Africa, in support of Combined Joint Task Force — Horn of Africa during the Global War on Terror. In 2005, HMH-461 received 18 hours' notice to deploy for Hurricane Katrina relief operations and became the parent squadron for the disaster response task force. The squadron deployed to Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, in 2013, moving more than 4.3 million pounds of cargo, 23,800 passengers, and completing over 130 tactical raids and assaults, earning the Keith B. McCutcheon Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron of the Year Award in both 2012 and 2014. In January 2022, HMH-461 became the first operational unit in the Marine Corps to replace the CH-53E Super Stallion with the next-generation CH-53K King Stallion. Based at MCAS New River, North Carolina, under Marine Aircraft Group 29 and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, the Iron Horses continue to lead Marine heavy-lift aviation into a new era. This leather patch carries the weight of a squadron that has been lifting everything the Marine Corps needs, wherever it needs to go.

Perfect For: HMH-461 Iron Horse Marines past and present, CH-53E Super Stallion and CH-53K King Stallion crew members, MAG-29 and 2nd MAW personnel, MCAS New River Marines, and anyone who has served with one of the Marine Corps' most decorated heavy-lift squadrons.