VA-152 (U.S. Navy)
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VA-152 was an Attack Squadron of the
U.S. 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 o ...
, nicknamed the ''Fighting Aces'' from 1953-1956, the ''Friendly Squadron'' or ''Friendlies'' from 1957-1968, and the ''Mavericks'' thereafter. The squadron was established as Reserve Fighter Squadron VF-713 sometime in the late 1940s, and called to active duty on 1 February 1951. It was redesignated as VF-152 on 4 February 1953, and finally as VA-152 on 1 August 1958. The squadron was disestablished on 29 January 1971, after twenty years of service.


Operational history

* 15 October 1951: The squadron participated in its first combat operations 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 ...
. * 31 December 1951: Squadron aircraft were used for ''Operation Pin Wheel''. The aircraft were secured to the flight deck, with engines running, and the thrust provided by the aircraft was used to assist in the docking of . * February 1955: Squadron aircraft flew night surveillance operations supporting the evacuation of
Chinese Nationalists The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Taiw ...
from 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 ...
during the First Taiwan Straits Crisis. * March 1958: Due to revolts and unsettled conditions in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and the concern for the safety of Americans in the country, , with VF-152 embarked, departed
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
to operate in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...
. * September–October 1958: During the Second Taiwan Straits Crisis, , with VF-152 embarked, operated in the area of
Taiwan 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 nort ...
. * January 1961: Due to the crisis in Laos and the capture of strategic positions in the country by the Pathet Lao force, , with VA-152 embarked, was directed to operate in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...
. * 11–12 July 1962: The squadron participated in the first carrier flight operations in the Bering Sea since the end of
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 ...
. * April–December 1964: Squadron personnel, while based at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, trained South Vietnamese pilots to fly the
A-1 A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...
. * 6 and 7 November 1965: Commander Gordon H. Smith was awarded the Silver Star for his participation as Flight Leader in directing and assisting in the first night rescue of a downed aviator in enemy territory on 6 November. This was followed by an attempt to rescue another aviator the following day in the same area. * 7 November 1965: Lieutenant Gordon C. Wileen was awarded the Silver Star for his participation in an attempted air rescue of a downed aviator deep in enemy territory. * 13 November 1965: Commander Albert E. Knutson was awarded the Silver Star for his attempt to locate and rescue a downed pilot in enemy territory. During the rescue attempt his aircraft sustained 26 hits. * 26 October 1966: While on
Yankee Station Yankee Station (officially Point Yankee) was a fixed coordinate off the coast of Vietnam where U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and support ships operated in open waters over a nine-year period during the Vietnam War. The location was used primar ...
and preparing to launch her first strike of the day, suffered a disastrous fire. The squadron lost two personnel in the fire and the damage to the carrier was so extensive that it returned to the States for repairs. * 16 June 1967 - 31 January 1968: VA-152 is the second-to-last US Navy attack squadron to fly the single-seat A-1H/J Skyraider in combat, as part of Carrier Air Wing 16 (embarked aboard the ''Oriskany''), during the squadron's and carrier's third combat cruise to Southeast Asia. VA-152 loses one aircraft and its pilot during this last A-1 cruise, on 15 July 1967. (VA-25 is the very last USN squadron to fly the A-1H/J in combat, completing its third and final combat cruise in early April 1968, aboard the ''Coral Sea'').


Home port assignments

The squadron was assigned to these home ports, effective on the dates shown: * NAS Denver – Assigned prior to 1951. Exact date unknown. *
NAS Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and 07-25 measuring . Two helicopter pads and a control tower were ...
– 11 Apr 1951 *
NAS 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, ...
– 05 Jun 1952 *
NAS Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and 07-25 measuring . Two helicopter pads and a control tower were ...
– Nov 1963


Aircraft assignment

The squadron first received the following aircraft on the dates shown: * F4U-4 ''Corsair'' – 16 Apr 1951 * FG-1D ''Corsair'' – 12 Jun 1952 * F2H-3 ''Banshee'' – 3 Oct 1953 * AD-6/AD-1H ''Skyraider'' – 05 Feb 1959 * A-1J ''Skyraider'' – Dec 1962 * A-4B ''Skyhawk'' – Feb 1968 * A-4C ''Skyhawk'' – Feb 1968 * A-4E ''Skyhawk'' – May 1969


See also

*
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 ...
* Attack aircraft *
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 ...
*
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 ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Va-152 Attack squadrons of the United States Navy Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons