Official VMFA-542 Tigers Friday flight suit shoulder patch. First operational East Coast F-35B squadron — Tigers, MCAS Cherry Point. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 542 (VMFA-542), the "Tigers," is a USMC F-35B Lightning II strike fighter squadron based at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina under Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. The Tigers redesignated from VMA-542 (Marine Attack Squadron) to VMFA-542 on December 1, 2022 — becoming the first operational F-35B fleet squadron based on the East Coast and the first East Coast Marine attack squadron to transition off the AV-8B Harrier II onto the fifth-generation Lightning II. The squadron's lineage runs deep: established as Marine Night Fighter Squadron 542 (VMF(N)-542) on March 6, 1944 at MCAS Cherry Point, the Tigers flew F6F Hellcats in the Pacific (including the Battle of Okinawa in 1945), F7F Tigercats in Korea, F3D-2 Skyknights, F4D-1 Skyrays, and F-4B Phantom IIs in Vietnam from 1965 to 1970. The squadron was deactivated June 30, 1970 and reactivated January 12, 1972 as a Harrier squadron, transitioned to the AV-8B Harrier II in May 1986, and flew the Harrier through Operations Desert Shield/Storm, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and the Libya operations. Now flying the F-35B short-takeoff/vertical-landing Lightning II, the Tigers are at the leading edge of Marine fixed-wing strike fighter aviation. Friday flight-suit patches are how Marine pilots and aircrew run squadron pride into the work week — and this is the Tigers' Friday calling card. Perfect For: VMFA-542 Tigers active-duty and veteran personnel, F-35B Lightning II pilots and maintainers, MCAS Cherry Point Marines, MAG-14 and 2nd MAW personnel, AV-8B Harrier II heritage enthusiasts, F-4 Phantom and F6F Hellcat lineage historians, and Friday-patch flight suit collectors. VMFA-542 Tigers — Hellcats to F-35Bs, since 1944.
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