Sea Control Squadron 37 or VS-37 also known as the "Sawbucks" was an

Anti 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 typic ...

squadron that was decommissioned in 1995 along with

CVW-15 Carrier Air Wing Fifteen (CVW-15) is a former United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing that was decommissioned on March 31, 1995. It was previously known as Carrier Air Group Fifteen (CVG-15) before 1963 before being renamed in December of th ...

. During its active history, it flew during the Korean and Vietnam Wars as well as operating the last S-2 Trackers inservice with the US Navy in 1975.

History

Pre VS-37 (1946–1953)

VS-37 was established as Attack Reverse Squadron VA-76E in 1946 at NAS Oakland, California (Now Oakland International Airport). The squadron then changed to VC-871 (Composite Squadron) before being changed to Anti Submarine Warfare Squadron 871 or "VS-871". While based at NAS Los Alamitos, the squadron was called to active duty to take part in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Between October 28, 1952, and February 9, 1953, the squadron made a deployment to the region with the TBM-3S/W Avenger on board USS ''Bataan''. The squadron then switched to the for the rest of their time in the Korean War until May 26, 1953, when they returned home.

VS-37 during the 1950s (1953-1959)

VS-871 changed to the designation of VS-37 on June 24, 1953, flying the Grumman AF-2S/W Guardian. Between 1954 and 55, they deployed on board the USS Princeton CVS-37 in helping the evacuation of

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

(Nationalist China) forces fleeing the

Tachen Islands The Dachen Islands, Tachen Islands or Tachens () are a group of islands off the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang, China, in the East China Sea. They are administered by the Jiaojiang District of Taizhou. Before the First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955, ...

. After this, the squadron made three more deployments that decade with the Grumman S2F-1 and S2F-2 Tracker. AF-2W VS-37 Jul1957

1960s and 70s

Starting in 1960, the squadron made its long association with the USS ''Hornet'' CVS-12 that would last until 1969. The following year (1961), the squadron split in two with one part remaining VS-37 while the other becoming

VS-35 Sea Control Squadron 35 (VS-35), known as the ''Boomerangers'' was an anti-submarine/surface squadron of the United States Navy. Established on 3 January 1961, at Naval Air Station Los Alamitos, California, it was disestablished on 30 June 1973. ...

. In 1965, '67 and finally in 1969, the squadron deployed with the Hornet to the Vietnam War as well as taking part in the recovery of the test spaceflight Apollo 3 on August 25, 1966. Between October 1970 and February 1971, VS-37 deployed aboard the USS ''Ticonderoga'' (CVS-14), travelling to the Indian Ocean once although they did not deploy to Vietnam during that period. After this, the squadron received the US Navy's first S-2G Tracker and moved to

CVW-11 Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier .USS ''Kitty Hawk'' CV-63. During the 1973-1974 deployment CV-63 entered south Vietnam waters where it received a battle pendent from RVN LTGEN KHANG for prior deployment operations, as well as an extended at sea period in the Indian Ocean that included a visit from the Shah of Iran. The final deployment with the S-2G occurred in 1975. In August 1976, the squadron retired the last US Navy Grumman Tracker, replacing it with the

Lockheed S-3A Viking The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a four-crew, twin-engine turbofan-powered jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Corporation. Because of its characteristic sound, it was nicknamed the "War Hoover" after th ...

. Between September 1978 and May 1979, they deployed with CVW-9 on board the USS ''Constellation'' (CV-64) 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 ...

. This included operating the US-3A COD (

Carrier Onboard Delivery Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is the use of aircraft to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo, such as replacement parts, from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea. Several types of aircraft, including helicopters, have ...

) aircraft.

1980s

In 1981, they deployed USS ''Ranger'' (CV-61) as part of

CVW-2 Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier . Subordinate units CVW-2 consists of 9 Squadrons History 1940s-50s Origi ...

and USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65) as part of

CVW-14 Carrier Air Wing Fourteen (CVW-14), was a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. Mission To conduct carrier air warfare operations and assist in the planning, control, coordination and integr ...

for six deployments in the West and North Pacific as well as the

and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

. This included the escorting of US reflagged Kuwaiti tankers in Operation Earnest Will during the Iran-Iraq War in 1987.

1990s (Final Years)

In June 1990, VS-37 deployed with CVW-14 on the USS ''Independence'' CV-62. During that deployment, Iraq invaded Kuwait which led to the ship heading to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. During that time, the squadron helped in enforcing the blockade against Iraq with maritime patrols. On November 1, 1990, the Independence was relieved by the smaller USS ''Midway'' CV-41 and her air wing

CVW-5 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 ...

allowing the Independence to return home in December 1990. S-3A Viking of VS-37 at NAS North Island 1992

With

changing to the ''Kitty Hawk'' from the USS ''Carl Vinson'' (CVN-70) in 1991, VS-37 moved to back to ''Kitty Hawk'' to their new home base of

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 ...

, leaving behind CVW-14 after seven deployments. It was during this time in 1992 that the squadron transitioned to the newer S-3B Viking which had newer systems and capabilities included the ability to fire the

AGM-84 Harpoon The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Mi ...

anti-ship cruise missile. During their last two deployments, they took part in

Operation Restore Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force which operated in Somalia from 5 December 1992 until 4 May 1993. A United States initiative (code-named Operation Restore Hope), U ...

in the war-torn country of Somalia and

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 ...

in Iraq and Kuwait. On the 19th of January 1993, they supported strikes against Iraq in response to an attack by their anti-aircraft defences. The following year, they deployed to the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

during the 1994 tensions between North and South Korea over the former's Nuclear Program. Among the Vikings that VS-37 deployed was an S-3B 'Outlaw Viking', which was fitted with special Over-the-horizon sensory equipment. Towards the end of the deployment, their aircraft were involved in a little known incident between the U.S. and

P.R.C. China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

when on October 27, a

PLAN A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. F ...

Han class submarine was detected 100 km west of Kyushu shadowing the Kitty Hawk, and was later tracked by their own Vikings, all along the Korean Coast. The following day the P.R.C. scrambled J-6 Farmer aircraft to intercept the Vikings. one of their S-3s soon joined up with the Chinese fighter aircraft which flew around them for around five minutes. The incident then soon ended. During the entire incident, the Han class submarine stayed around 30 km near the Kitty Hawk Battlegroup, much closer than normal battlegroup operating procedures. At the end of 1994, VS-37 returned from their last ever deployment which was with CVW-15 on the ''Kitty Hawk''. After this on March 1, 1995, VS-37 was disestablished ending 49 years of history. During its last years of service, the squadron had won the COMNAVAIRPAC's 1994

Battle E The Battle Effectiveness Award (formerly the Battle Efficiency Award, commonly known as the Battle "E"), is awarded annually to the small number of United States Navy ships, submarines, aviation, and other units that win their battle effectiveness c ...

award, the Golden Wrench for its maintenance record as well as the Admiral Jimmy Thach and Arnold J. Isabel awards for its attributes in ASW. It also won the Top Hook honors as part of CVW-15.

In Fiction

VS-37 and CVW-15 were both featured in the novel by Joe Weber, 'Honorable Enemies' as being depicted operating from the Kitty Hawk as what happened in early 90s.

Aircraft

* '' TBM-3S/W Avenger'' * '' AF-2S/W Guardian'' * '' S2F-1/1S Tracker (S-2A Tracker)'' * ''S2F-2 Tracker (S-2C Tracker)'' * ''S2F-3 Tracker (S-2D Tracker)'' * ''S-2E Tracker'' * ''S-2G Tracker'' * '' S-3A Viking'' * ''S-3B Viking/'Outlaw' Viking''

References

{{Reflist United States Navy United States Navy squadrons Anti-submarine squadrons of the United States Navy Sea control squadrons of the United States Navy Military units and formations disestablished in 1995