What do the letters VMF stand for in VMF-124?

Marine squadrons were designated by letters and numbers that identified the squadron's role and organization, in a pre-war numbering scheme shared with the U.S. Navy. The first letter "V" stood for "Heavier-than-air,", as opposed to "Z" stood for Lighter-than-air, i.e. dirigibles, which figured into the scheme when it was designed in the inter-war period. The second letter "M" meant Marine Corps. No 2nd letter, by omission, meant Navy; thus VF-17 was a Navy Fighting Squadron. The third (and possible fourth) letters indicated the purpose of the squadron.

• "F" = Fighting
• "SB" = Scout Bombing
• "TB" = Torpedo Bombing
• "O" = Observation
• "J" = Transport & Photographic

Marine Fighting Squadrons were identified by "VMF," and night fighting squadrons by "VMF(N)"

This information is part of the larger article Fighting Squadrons of the USMC in WWII, found on the Acepilots.com website.