Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 115 (VAW-115), also known as the "Liberty Bells", is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

airborne early warning and control Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

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 ...

that flies the

E-2C Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable tactical Airborne early warning and control, airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed duri ...

Squadron history

The squadron was originally established on 20 April 1967, flying the E-2A Hawkeye. It was assigned to Attack Carrier Wing Two and deployed on board .

1970s

E-2B Hawkeye of VAW-115 in flight in 1974

VAW-115 transitioned to the E-2B and joined CVW-5 in 1971 and made two combat deployments to the

Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...

between May 1971 and April 1973 on board . In September 1973, CVW-5 moved to

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

, Japan as a component of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces, and the only air wing home ported outside the continental United States. VAW-115 E-2B Hawkeyes performed a command and control role in

Operation Frequent Wind Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saig ...

, supporting the evacuation of Saigon in April 1975. VAW-115 made eleven deployments to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

and

North Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

, a period which saw such tumultuous events as the Iranian seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran.

1980s

In 1983, VAW-115 participated in rescue and salvage operations following the Korean Air Lines Flight 007 shootdown. Two years later, the squadron received the E-2C and supported Freedom of Navigation operations, both for in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

and for

Operation Earnest Will Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 – 26 September 1988) was the American military protection of Kuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest nav ...

, protecting Kuwaiti re-flagged tankers through the

Straits of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( fa, تنگه هرمز ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' ar, مَضيق هُرمُز ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the o ...

. During the 1989-90 deployments with the ''Midway'' Battle Group, the squadron and their E-2C Hawkeyes participated in Operation Classic Resolve, supporting the democratic government of the Philippines against a coup attempt.

1990s

In response to the Iraqi

Invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...

, VAW-115 deployed to the Persian Gulf in October 1990 as part of

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. In January 1991, Desert Shield transitioned to Desert Storm and saw VAW-115 flying 179 combat sorties. In August 1991, USS ''Midway'' was decommissioned and CVW-5 embarked on . During the ensuing years, the squadron deployed to the Persian Gulf four times in support of

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of mon ...

, enforcing a No-Fly Zone over the skies of southern Iraq. In January 1998, VAW-115 and the ''Independence'' Battle Group were called upon to participate in various Persian Gulf contingency operations in support of United Nations sanctions. After transitioning to the E-2C Group II Navigation Upgrade aircraft, VAW-115 cross-decked with CVW-5 to in mid 1998.

2000s

In February 2003, the squadron was once again called to the Persian Gulf to support Operation Southern Watch and flew 46 combat sorties until the commencement of

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

in March 2003. During that operation, the squadron flew 363.8 hours in support of Army and Marine Corps units on the ground. In the years that followed, VAW-115 participated in exercises such as Valiant Shield,

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

, and Talisman Saber as well as Exercises Annualex and Keen Sword with the Japanese

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

and Maritime Self Defense Forces. VAW-115 took part in joint and multi-national RIMPAC 2008, providing Airborne Battle Space Command and Control to 49 naval vessels, 150 aircraft, and 29 other foreign and U.S. units from 10 participating countries.

2010s

In February 2010 the squadron began reequipping with the E-2C Hawkeye 2000. The improved E-2C Hawkeye 2000 carries advanced capabilities over its predecessor in the areas of detection, processing, identification, communication and navigation. VAW-115 has achieved 24 years and 50,000 hoursAfter 44 years, 'Liberty Bells' head home
Ashley Bunch, NavyTimes.com, 2017-06-02 of Class-A mishap-free flight hours receiving eight Battle Efficiency "E" awards, seven AEW Excellence awards, and six Safety "S" awards. On 2 February 2017, VAW-125 arrived at

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni is a United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki river delta, southeast of Iwakuni Station in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History The Japanese government bought a large portion of what is today MCAS I ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to replace VAW-115 in

Carrier Air Wing Five Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier . It was initially formed in 1943. It has participated in the Second Wor ...

aboard the aircraft carrier . In the summer of 2017 the squadron moved to

Naval Air Station Point Mugu Naval Air Station Point Mugu was a United States naval air station near Oxnard, California, which operated as an independent base from 1941 to 2000, when it merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base V ...

. All VAW Squadrons are now Airborne Command and Control Squadrons.

2020s

In 2022, VAW-115 transitioned to the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.https://www.airpac.navy.mil/Organization/Airborne-Command-Control-Squadron-VAW-115/About-Us/ About Us] – CVW-11 – U.S. Navy – Access Date 9 January 2023

References

External links

VAW-115 official website
{{United States Navy Aircraft Squadrons Early warning squadrons of the United States Navy