The ''Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons'' (''DANAS'') is a multivolume work published by Naval Historical Center of the

U.S. Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April ...

Naval History & Heritage Command The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...

. It covers

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

in much the same way as the ''

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' (''DANFS'') is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy. When the writing project was developed the parameters for this series were designed to ...

'' (''DANFS'') covers commissioned vessels. Two volumes have been published to date: Volume 1, covering the history of attack and strike fighter squadrons, and Volume 2, covering the history of patrol squadrons. Other volumes are forthcoming. The squadron histories are quite detailed, typically including sections on lineage, insignia and nickname, chronology of significant events, home port assignments, commanding officers, aircraft assigned, major overseas deployments, airwing assignments, and unit awards received. ''DANAS'' volumes are available online and as PDF files on CD-ROM.

Publication data

Volume 1 (1995) includes about 140 histories and other data covering every squadron in the attack (VA, VAH, VAK, VAL, and VAP) and strike fighter (VFA) communities from the time the first of these commands was established in 1934, through the publication of this volume in 1995. There are seven appendixes, including such things as technical information and drawings for aircraft assigned to the squadrons covered, carrier deployments by year, and lineage listings for the squadrons. A glossary, bibliography, and index are also included. The information was compiled by Roy A. Grossnick, the head of the Naval Historical Center's Naval Aviation History Office. Volume 2 (2000) contains 154 histories covering every patrol squadron (VP, VPB, VP(H) and VP(AM)) in existence between 1922 and 2000. Fourteen appendixes cover technical information on patrol aircraft, submarines sunk by patrol squadrons, air-to-air claims for Navy and Marine Corps patrol aircraft during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, a listing of patrol squadron shore bases, etc. A glossary, bibliography, and index are also included. This book provides an opportunity to learn about the origins, achievements and traditions of patrol aviation as it relates to the naval heritage of the United States. It was written by professional historian and retired Navy Captain Michael D. Roberts. Subsequent volumes in the series will cover other components of U.S. naval aviation. In 2000, the staff of the History & Heritage Command's Aviation History Branch was in the early stages of work on Volume 3, containing the histories and lineage of all U.S. Navy fighter squadrons.

Reference use

Because the ''DANAS'' is a work of the U.S. government, its content is in the public domain, and the text is often quoted verbatim in other works.

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Publication data

Reference use

See also

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