Following the war, the squadron operated out of NAS Atsugi, Japan. On 26 July 1958, VMF-513 received the F4D Skyray aircraft. In October 1962, VMF(AW)-513 was relocated from NAS Atsugi Japan to MCAS El Toro, California. The outfit was effectively disbanded in Japan and reformed in El Toro under a new CO, who organized new pilots and maintenance Marines to operate the now "old" F-4D Skyrays while the Flying Nightmares awaited delivery of the brand new F-4 Phantom II. This occurred in early 1963 and most of the Nightmare pilots did their transition training at nearby NAS Miramar, at the Navy's replacement squadron.