VT-27 is a primary training squadron of the
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 ...
. One of just five Navy primary training squadrons, VT-27 is one of two located on the
Texas Coastal Bend.
History
Trainin Squadron 27 was initially established on July 11, 1951 as Advanced Training Unit-B at Naval Air Station,
Corpus Christi. The command moved to Naval Air Station,
Kingsville in 1952 and again to Naval Air Station,
New Iberia
New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Laf ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
in 1960. It was there the squadron was redesignated VT-27 in July of that year and about that time that the
Grumman S2F-1T Tracker was put into service as a multi-engine trainer. In September 1962 the
1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system
The Tri-Service aircraft designation system is a unified system introduced in 1962 by the United States Department of Defense for designating all U.S. military aircraft. Previously, the U.S. armed services used separate nomenclature systems.
...
changed the Tracker's designation to TS-2A. In July 1964, the "Boomers" were returned to Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi where they continue to be an important part of the community.
In 1973, the squadron began a transition to the role of a primary training squadron with the arrival on 1 August of the first
T-28B Trojan. By 1 October 1973, the last
Grumman TS-2A Tracker had departed, signifying the end of the advanced training role and the completion of the transition to primary training. In August 1983, the squadron took delivery of the first
T-34C Turbo Mentor
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston ...
aircraft. From March 1984, when the last T-28B ever used for naval flight training departed, to June 2013, the T-34C was the mainstay of the Navy and Marine Corps primary flight training program. In June 2013 VT-27 transitioned from T-34C to the
T-6B Texan II
The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is a single-engine turboprop aircraft built by the Raytheon Aircraft Company (Textron Aviation since 2014). A trainer aircraft based on the Pilatus PC-9, the T-6 has replaced the United States Air Force's Cessna T-3 ...
. The "Boomers" average well over 11,000 training missions a year, and more than 70 sorties per training day.
Squadron aircraft
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S2F-1T / TS-2A Tracker
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T-28B Trojan
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T-34C Turbo Mentor
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston ...
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T-6B Texan II
The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is a single-engine turboprop aircraft built by the Raytheon Aircraft Company (Textron Aviation since 2014). A trainer aircraft based on the Pilatus PC-9, the T-6 has replaced the United States Air Force's Cessna T-3 ...
Squadron bases
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Naval Air Station Corpus Christi
Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is a United States Navy naval air base located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas.
History
A naval air station for Corpus Christi ...
, Texas
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Naval Air Station Kingsville
Naval Air Station Kingsville or NAS Kingsville (NASK) is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located approximately 3 miles east of Kingsville, Texas in Kleberg County. NAS Kingsville is under the jurisdiction of Navy Region Southeast and i ...
, Texas
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Naval Air Station New Iberia Naval Air Station New Iberia, located near New Iberia, Louisiana, was a short-lived training facility of the United States Navy which operated for a mere five years in the 1960s.
The naval base at New Iberia was actually designated NAAS, indicating ...
, Louisiana
Training wing
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Training Air Wing Four
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...
, Corpus Christi, Texas
See also
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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 ...
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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 squadron (aviation), squadrons are composed of ...
*
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 ...
References
VT-27 U.S. Navy website
Training squadrons of the United States Navy
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