Attack Squadron TWELVE (ATKRON TWELVE or VA-12), also known as the "Flying Ubangis" or "Clinchers", was an

attack Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * '' Attack No. 1'', comic an ...

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

of the United States Navy active during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. From their home port at Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Florida, the squadron made more than thirty major overseas deployments aboard

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s, primarily flying A-4 Skyhawk and later the

A-7E Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

, including two combat tours in the Vietnam War.

History

The squadron was established on May 12, 1945, as Bomber-Fighter Squadron FOUR (VBF-4) and soon after was redesignated as part of the service-wide reorganization of aircraft squadrons as Fighter Squadron TWO (VF-2A) on 15 November 1946. Upon the Navy's return to its pre-1946 system of nomenclature, the squadron was again redesignated, this time as Fighter Squadron TWELVE (VF-12) on 2 August 1948. Fully embracing the attack role, the squadron was given its final designation Attack Squadron TWELVE (VA-12) on 1 August 1955. During WestPac in 1955, the squadron was part of the Navy's support of the evacuation of the Tachen Islands which were under bombardment by People's Republic of China forces. After returning from this cruise, the squadron re-equipped with the F7U Cutlass and its role was changed from air interception to ground attack with special weapons. In 1960, VA-12 was part of airwing of the USS ''Shangri-La'' when that carrier was deployed to counter Cuban infiltration into

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and Nicaragua. The next year, the squadron returned to the area aboard USS ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' to support the government of the Dominican Republic. In 1963 the squadron was deployed in detachments to the USS ''Essex'' and USS ''Intrepid'' for anti-submarine warfare exercises. In August of the next year, the squadron was again on board the ''Roosevelt'' when the carrier was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean in response to trouble between Greeks and Turks on the island of Cyprus. The squadron saw combat in Vietnam twice, in 1966 and 1970. Later in 1971, the unit relinquished the A-4 for the

A-7 Corsair The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

. 1973 and 1974 saw further trouble in the Mediterranean. 1973 saw the Yom Kippur War and 1974 the assassination of the American ambassador to Cyprus. During the 1970s the squadron's home base was at Cecil Field Naval Air Station near Jacksonville, Florida. In 1980, the Iranian hostage crisis saw the USS ''Dwight D. Eisenhower'' with the squadron on board. The ship remained at sea for 254 days continuously. Trouble in Lebanon flared in 1983, and the squadron supported the peacekeeping force in the country. On 1 October 1986, the squadron was disestablished, ending 31 years of service as an attack unit, and ten years prior to that as a fighter unit.

Aircraft

The squadron was assigned the following aircraft as of the dates shown: ; Grumman F6F Hellcat : F6F from 23 May 1945 and F6F-5P from May 1947 ; Vought F4U Corsair : F4U-1, F4U-1D, FG-1, and FG-1D from 23 May 1945 and F4U-4 from 30 September 1945 ;

Grumman F8F Bearcat The Grumman F8F Bearcat is an American single-engine carrier-based fighter aircraft introduced in late World War II. It served during the mid-20th century in the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the air forces of other n ...

: F8F-1 and F8F-1B from May 1947 ; McDonnell F2H Banshee : F2H-1 and F2H-2 from 1 September 1950 ; Vought F7U Cutlass : F7U-3 from December 1955 ; Douglas A-4 Skyhawk : A4D-1 from April 1957, A4D-2 from January 1958, A4D-2N (A-4C) from 8 January 1962, and A-4E from 8 March 1965 ;

Vought A-7 Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

: A-7E from 1 April 1971

Air wing assignment

The squadron was assigned to the following Air Wings as of the dates shown: * CVG-4: 12 May 1945 (tail code "T"), redesignated * CVAG-1: 15 November 1946 (tail code "T"), redesignated * CVG-1: 1 September 1948 (tail code "T") * CVG-10: 20 January 1958 (tail code "AK") * CVG-1: 5 December 1960 (tail code "AB"), redesignated * CVW-1: 20 December 1963 (tail code "AB") *

CVW-8 Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier Mission To conduct carrier air warfare operations and assist in the ...

: 25 August 1968 (tail code "AJ") *

CVW-7 Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. At the moment, CVW-7 is assigned to the USS George H. W. Bush. The tail code of aircraft assigned to CVW-7 is AG. Mis ...

: 1971 (tail code "AG")

Incidents and accidents

* 1945 October 6: The squadron's commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander John H. Lackey, died in the crash of his SNJ during a training flight.

Gallery

File:F4U-4s VBF-4 near Saipan 1946.JPG, F4Us from VBF-4 near Saipan, in 1946. File:Carrier Air Group 1 planes USN 1951-52.jpg, A VF-12 F2H-2 with CVG-1 planes, in 1952. File:Douglas A4D-2 Skyhawk of VA-12 aboard USS Forrestal (CVA-59), in 1959.jpg, A4D-2 of VA-12 launching from ''Forrestal'', in 1959. File:A-4C Skyhawks VA-12 USS FD Roosevelt.jpg, VA-12 A-4Cs on ''FDR'', in 1962–64. File:A-7E Corsair II VA-12.jpg, A VA-12 A-7E in the 1970s. File:A-7E Corsairs VA-12 low visbility 1980s.jpg, VA-12 A-7Es in 1980s low visibility paint scheme

References

A4Skyhawk.org: VA-12 HistoryHistory.navy.mil: VA-1 thru 23
{{US Navy navbox Attack squadrons of the United States Navy