Marine Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VMFP-3) was an aviation unit of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

active between 1975 and 1990.

Mission

Conduct aerial, multisensor imagery reconnaissance to include aerial photographic, infrared, and side looking airborne radar reconnaissance in support of

Fleet Marine Force The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general- and special-purpose forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Flee ...

operations.

History

VMFP-3 was activated on 1 July 1975 as part of the

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (abbreviated as 3rd MAW) is the major west coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in San Diego, California and provides the aviation comb ...

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located next to the community of El Toro, near Irvine, California. Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps Aviation on the West Coast. ...

, California (USA). The squadron was deactivated on 1 July 1990 ( See AlMar 24-1990). Photo and electronic reconnaissance had previously been conducted by three Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadrons (VMCJ-1, 2, 3) located at MCAS Iwakuni (Japan),

MCAS Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and ...

, and MCAS El Toro, respectively. These squadrons, (each flying RF-4Bs and EA-6As) were consolidated into two squadrons- VMAQ-2 at MCAS Cherry Point operating all the EA-6s, and VMFP-3 operating all the RF-4Bs. Each squadron would deploy detachments to Iwakuni to fly missions previously flown by

VMCJ-1 Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VMCJ-1) was an aviation squadron of the United States Marine Corps that provided aerial photographic reconnaissance and electronic countermeasures is support of the Fleet Marine Force. The squadron was ...

. Overseas detachments, in addition to supporting FMF operations, continued the 7th fleet support started by VMCJ-1 in 1974. RF-4Bs of VMFP-3 were permanently deployed aboard the aircraft carrier from 1975 to 1984. A six-plane detachment operated as part of

Carrier Air Wing Five 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 ...

, although retaining their own tail code "RF". RF4B VMFP3

In 1990 Marine tactical reconnaissance was taken over by the Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System carried by McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D Hornet aircraft of Marine fighter attack squadrons (VMFA). Consequently, all RF-4Bs were retired and VMFP-3 was disbanded.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography ;Web * *

External links

Photo of an RF-4B Phantom II, with VMFP-3 markings, on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation

These are both dead links. {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017

Photo A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now crea ...

Inactive units of the United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance units of the United States Military units and formations disestablished in 1990

Mission

History

See also

References

External links