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(This article is about the 1960s-90s training squadron not the 1940s VPB-31 anti-submarine patrol squadron which operated from Key West)
VP-31, Patrol Squadron 31 was a maritime patrol squadron of the
*30 June 1960: VP-31 (later DETNI) was established at
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 ...
. It was established on 30 June 1960 to train replacement aircrew and maintenance personnel. It was disestablished on 1 November 1993.
Insignia
The only insignia for VP-31 was approved on 25 July 1962, and was selected to represent theanti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
(ASW) training program used to educate patrol squadron aircrew of FAW-14. The central figure of the design was a submarine at the focal point of four beams from on high. Above the submarine was a magic lamp from which issued a wisp of smoke. The lamp signified the squadron's original nickname, the ''Genies''. The design was circular, with a scroll at the bottom containing the designation Patrol Squadron Thirty One. Colors: outline of design, lamp and beams, silver and gold; lamp and submarine trim, red; central portion of beams, cream; background of design and submarine, deep blue. The squadron's nickname was ''Genies'' from 1962–1971 and ''Black Lightnings'' from 1971–1993.
History
*30 June 1960: VP-31 (later DETNI) was established at Naval Air Station North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...
, San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. The primary mission of the squadron was training replacement aircrew and maintenance personnel for all Pacific Fleet patrol squadrons, administrative control of the sonobuoy buildup shop and all class D maintenance for all patrol squadrons on North Island. Limited training was begun soon after the squadron's establishment, but it was not until the fall of 1960 that a complete staff of 20 officers and 300 enlisted personnel were engaged in full-scale training operations with an inventory of two P2V-5FS Neptunes, two P2V-7S, and one R5D Skymaster.
*November 1961: The squadron's responsibilities were expanded to include training foreign personnel transitioning to the P2V-7. Seventy-two members of the No. 10 Squadron RAAF were among the first foreign students to be assigned for training in this aircraft. Two UF-1s seaplanes were assigned to VP-31 and converted to ASW specifications for training air force personnel from Norway, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Spain.
*4 January 1963: VP-31 Detachment Alpha was established at Naval Air Station Moffett Field
Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November 10, ...
Its primary mission was to train pilots and aircrewmen for the advanced ASW aircraft, the P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.Hangar One at NAS Moffett Field. Hangar One, now a Naval Memorial site, was built in April 1933 as a home for the Navy's largest dirigibles, her sister ship, . The vast structure provided much needed space for the constantly expanding operations of the squadron.
*1 July 1966: Detachment Alpha at NAS Moffett Field, was renamed Detachment Moffett. The parent squadron remained at NAS North Island.
*1 January 1967: Detachment Moffett became the parent element of VP-31, and the unit at North Island became Detachment North Island. This change occurred to accommodate the increasing numbers of students receiving training on the P-3 airframe. Detachment North Island discontinued training on the P-5 Marlin when the Navy ceased seaplane operations in 1967, but continued to provide training to crews on the P-2 Neptunes until its disestablishment in 1970.
*6 March 1969: All six crewmembers of the squadron's P-3A, BuNo. 152765, RP-07 died when it crashed at
Naval Air Station Lemoore
Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County, California, Kings County and Fresno County, California, Fresno County, California, United States. Lemoore Station, California, Lemoore Station, a censu ...
, California, at the end of a practice ground control approach (GCA) landing.
*1 January 1970: VP-31's Detachment North Island was disestablished, having trained over 2,000 pilots, 700 Naval Flight Officers, and 10,600 aircrewmen/maintenance personnel.
*7 July 1971: VP-31 received CNO approval for the P-3A/B Fleet Replacement Aviation Maintenance Program (FRAMP), designed to train aircrew and ground personnel in the transition from older model P-3 Orions to the newer versions.
*26 May 1972: A VP-31 P-3A, BuNo. 152155, failed to return to NAS Moffett Field at the completion of a routine training flight. Search operations by Navy, Army, Air Force and Civil Air Patrol aircraft continued for seven days, but no trace of the missing aircraft was ever found. Two crewmen, three personnel under instruction and three observers were listed as missing and presumed dead.
*June 1974: VP-31 was tasked with training Iranian Navy
, ''Daryādelān''"Seahearts"
, patron =
, motto = fa, راه ما، راه حسین است, ''Rāh-e ma, rāh-e hoseyn ast''"''Our Path, Is Hussain's Path''"
, colors =
...
aircrews on the specially configured version of the Orion, the P-3F, that would be used by that country's military for maritime patrol. Flight training/familiarization was completed in December, with all aspects of the support/maintenance training syllabus completed by 6 June 1975.
*January 1984: VP-31 began the transition of Pacific Fleet patrol squadrons to the P-3 aircraft with enhanced avionics configurations. In one 15-month period, the squadron received 22 aircraft for extensive avionics modifications. In the years following, VP-31 averaged 16 to 18 Orion modifications every 12 months.
*1 November 1993: VP-31 was disestablished due to the closure of NAS Moffett Field and the consolidation of training resources into one VP training squadron, VP-30
Patrol Squadron 30 (VP-30) is a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy, established on 30 June 1960. It is based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.
Mission
VP-30's mission is to provide Lockheed P-3C Orion and Boeing P ...
, based at NAS Jacksonville
Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25
Location
NAS Jack ...
, Florida.
Home port assignments
The squadron was assigned to these home ports, effective on the dates shown: *NAS North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NB ...
, California - 30 June 1960
* NAS Moffet Field, California
**(Det Alpha) 4 January 1963
**(Det Moffet) 1 July 1966
* NAS Moffett Field - 1 January 1967
Aircraft Assignment
The squadron first received the following aircraft on the dates shown: * P2V-5/SP-2E - July 1960 * P2V-7/SP-2H - July 1960 * P5M-2/SP-5B - September 1960 * R5D-5/VC-54S - July 1960 * R7V-1 - June 1961 * C-121J - June 1961 * UF-1/SHU-16B - October 1961 * P-3A - February 1963 * P-3B - December 1965 * P-3C - July 1970 * P-3F - December 1974 * P-3C UI - June 1975 * VP-3A - 1977 * P-3C UII - December 1977 * P-3C UII.5 - 1983 * P-3C UIII - January 1985 * TP-3A - 1986References
*http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol2/chap3-7.pdfSee also
*History of the United States Navy
The history of the United States Navy divides into two major periods: the "Old Navy", a small but respected force of sailing ships that was notable for innovation in the use of ironclads during the American Civil War, and the "New Navy" the ...
*List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons
There are hundreds of US Navy aircraft squadrons which are not currently active dating back to before World War II (the U.S. Navy operated aircraft prior to World War I, but it did not organize them in squadrons until after that war). To be mo ...
*List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons
This is a list of active United States Navy aircraft squadrons. ''Deactivated'' or ''disestablished'' squadrons are listed in the List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons.
Navy aircraft squadrons are composed of several aircraft (fr ...
* List of squadrons in the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons
The tables below cover every one of the 280 squadrons listed in the U.S. Navy's two-volume ''Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons'' (''DANAS''). Volume 1 covers every squadron in the Attack (VA) and Strike Fighter (VFA) communities fro ...
{{US Navy navbox
Patrol squadrons of the United States Navy