Fighter Squadron 52 or VF-52 was an aviation unit 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 ...

. Originally established as Bombing Fighting Squadron 5 (VBF-5) on 8 May 1945, it was redesignated Fighting Squadron 6A (VF-6A) on 15 November 1946, redesignated as Fighter Squadron 52 (VF-52) on 16 August 1948 it was disestablished on 23 February 1959. It was the third US Navy squadron to be designated as VF-52.

Operational history

McDonnell F2H-3 Banshees of VF-52 are launched from USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14), in 1958

VF-52 was the only Navy squadron equipped with the

TO-1 Shooting Star The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

, a version of the Air Force's F-80C that was acquired to familiarise Navy pilots with jet aircraft due to delays in developing naval jets. VF-52 was assigned to Carrier Air Group 5 (CVG-5) on board the and was deployed to the Western Pacific and Korea from 1 May to 1 December 1950. VF-52 along with VF-51, where the first Navy jet squadrons to see combat. On 18 November 1950 VF-52 pilot LtCom William E. Lamb was credited with shooting down a

Korean People's Air Force The Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAAF; ; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍航空 및 反航空軍 ) is the unified military aviation force of North Korea. It is the second largest branch of the Korean People's Army comprising an estimated ...

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

, this was the Navy's second jet vs jet kill. VF-52 served its second Korean War deployment assigned to Air Task Group 1 (ATG-1) aboard the from 15 Oct 1951 to 03 July 1952. VF-52 served its third Korean War deployment assigned to Air Task Group 1 (ATG-1) aboard the from 30 Mar 1953 to 28 Nov 1953. VF-52 embarked on the for a WestPac deployment as part of ATG1 from 1 Sep 1954 to 11 Apr 1955. VF-52 embarked on the for a Western Pacific deployment from 28 May to 20 December 1956. VF-52 embarked on the for a Western Pacific deployment from 4 October 1958 to 16 February 1959.

Home port assignments

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 ...

Aircraft Assignment

* F4U-4 Corsair *

* F9F-2 F9F-5 Panther * F2H-3 Banshee

Notable former members

James L. Holloway III James Lemuel Holloway III (February 23, 1922 – November 26, 2019) was a United States Navy admiral and naval aviator who was decorated for his actions during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. After the Vietnam War, he was poste ...

Deceased

References

External links