Aviation
Historical Chronology
Aviation
Historical ChronologyTHE SIXTH DECADE
The year 1961 marked the golden anniversary of Naval Aviation.
It was a year filled with many nostalgic memories of past glories
and also a year in which Naval Aviation attained new stature as
an effective fighting force. One nuclear powered and two conventionally
powered attack carriers joined the operating forces, perhaps the
greatest array of carrier-air might added during peace time to
any fleet in a single year. Before the decade was out, two more
attack carriers were commissioned and another was taking form
on the ways. Four new amphibious assault ships, and others built
to exploit the unique capabilities of helicopters in vertical
assault and replenishment, joined the fleet. New high performance
aircraft went into operation. Vertical and short takeoff and landing
aircraft were developed; one went into service. New types of missiles
appeared and such old standbys as Sparrow and Sidewinder were
given new capabilities. On the other side of the ledger, the blimp
and the flying boat, long familiar figures in Naval Aviation,
became victims of the relentless march of technology.
Man's effort to conquer space began in earnest as manned orbital
flight became reality and a series of successes culminated in
the first manned lunar landing. More than half the Nation's astronauts
had Navy backgrounds; Naval Aviators made the first American suborbital
and orbital flights. Navy flight surgeons joined in study of the
physiological effects of space flight. A Navy space surveillance
system helped forge the necessary links for a continuous watch
on space. Satellites developed by Navy scientists expanded our
knowledge of space and a Navy satellite navigation system gave
to all nations an accurate means of traveling the earth's oceans.
Navy ships, including either carriers or amphibious assault types,
were at sea in both oceans during all orbiting periods to cover
an emergency landing, and were always on station to recover the
astronauts and their spacecraft upon their return to earth.
Support of the space program was responsible for a number of organizational
adjustments within the Navy Department as well as for formation
of a Recovery Force command in the fleet. Broader and more basic
changes in departmental structure resulted from a series of high
level studies directed toward clarifying lines of authority and
responsibility. The Bureau system was abolished and material support
was centralized under a strengthened Material Command placed under
direct control of the Chief of Naval Operations. New impetus was
given to the project manager concept and other changes radiated
outward to the operating forces and the shore establishment.
In other respects, the Navy's traditional role in controlling
the sea was unchanged. Revival of the old technique of naval blockade
during the Cuban crisis found a modern Navy fully capable of performing
it. Operating forces were near at hand to give aid to the stricken
when hurricanes, typhoons, and earthquakes struck in widely distant
points. The round-the-world cruise of a nuclear-powered task force
and operations in the Indian Ocean carried the flag into many
foreign ports. Crises in Africa, the Middle East, and over Berlin,
and threat of war in Caribbean nations found naval forces ready
to evacuate American nationals and by their presence to reaffirm
the Navy's role in keeping the peace. In Southeast Asia the Nation
responded to aggressive actions with retaliatory air strikes.
As retaliation developed into war and the Nation's commitment
increased, the burden of the Navy's air war was carried by aircraft
of the Seventh Fleet. The requirement for sustained naval action
and support of operations ashore posed major problems for logistic
planners and force commanders alike, as the action became progressively
heavier despite repeated attempts to halt the fighting and to
settle differences at the conference table.
JANUARY
1--Electronics Countermeasures Squadrons were redesignated Fleet
Air Reconnaissance Squadrons, without change of their letter title
VQ.
15--The Naval Weather Service Division was transferred from the
Office of DCNO (Operations & Readiness) to the staff of the
Vice Chief of Naval Operations, and an Office of the U.S. Naval
Weather Service was set up as a field activity under the management
control of the Chief of Naval Operations. The responsibilities
of the new office included management control of the integrated
Fleet Weather Central system and technical direction of meteorological
matters within the shore establishment and the operating forces.
26--The first of two giant unmanned balloons was launched from
Valley Forge, at sea south of the Virgin Islands. Almost as high
as a 50-story building and with a cubic capacity greater than
that of the rigid airship Akron, the balloons carried a weight
of 2,500 pounds including 800 pounds of emulsion sheets to record
cosmic-ray activity. The first balloon achieved an altitude of
116,000 feet and remained aloft 8 hours but the second reached
113,000 feet and made a flight of 26 1/2 hours. The balloons were
tracked by early warning aircraft from the carrier and shore base
and the instruments were recovered by a destroyer. The project
was under the joint sponsorship of the National Science Foundation
and the Office of Naval Research.
FEBRUARY
25--A Navy R6D transport, carrying members of the Navy Band and
a team of antisubmarine specialists, collided with a Brazilian
air liner over Sugar Loaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro. The accident
took the lives of all 26 persons on board the air liner and all
but three of the 38 Navy men on board the R6D.
29--The Department of Defense announced that two new developments
in airborne mine countermeasures had been successfully demonstrated
to Navy and Defense officials by the Navy Mine Defense Laboratory
and the Navy Air Mine Defense Development Unit at Panama City,
Fla. The first was an air-portable mine sweeping gear that enabled
a helicopter to become a self-sufficient aerial minesweeper. The
second was equipment for transferring the minesweeping-gear towline
from a surface minesweeper to a helicopter, from one helicopter
to another, or from a helicopter to a surface minesweeper.
29--Navy and Marine Corps personnel from Port Lyautey were flown
to the Agadir area of Morocco to aid inhabitants of the city razed
by a severe earthquake. Before rescue and relief operations were
over, a Navy-wide effort brought food and clothing to the stricken
people from Reserve and other units as far from the scene as Seattle,
Wash.
MARCH
1--A ZPG-3W airship of ZW-1 returned to NAS Lakehurst from an
Air Defense Command barrier patrol over the North Atlantic after
having been on station for 49.3 hours and 58 hours in the air.
This new record for continuous patrol more than doubled the best
time logged by its predecessor, the smaller ZPG-2W.
18--On the first firing test of Project Hydra, conducted at Naval
Missile Center, Point Mugu, a 150-pound rocket was successfully
ignited underwater and launched into the air. The test demonstrated
the feasibility of launching rockets while floating upright in
the water and gave promise of eliminating the cost of launching
pad construction and allowing greater freedom in the choice of
launching sites.
25--In the first launch of a guided missile from a nuclear powered
submarine, the Halibut fired a Regulus I during training exercises
off Oahu.
26--Elements of the First Marine Aircraft Wing, participating
in Exercise Blue Star, established an operational jet airstrip
on the south shore of Taiwan within 72 hours of the amphibious
landing. The 3,400-foot strip was surfaced with expeditionary
airfield matting, equipped with MOREST arresting gear, portable
TACAN equipment, portable mirror landing system, lower control
system, and supported by a portable fuel tank farm. A4D aircraft
operated from the strip with the assistance of JATO, and F4Ds
and F8Us used afterburners for takeoff.
APRIL
1--Antisubmarine Carrier Groups, CVSG-53 and -59, each composed
of one HS and two VS squadrons, were established at NAS North
Island. This marked the beginning of a reorganization of antisubmarine
aviation which called for the formation of nine CVSGs and for
the assignment of an additional replacement CVSG and a Patrol
Squadron in each Fleet to perform functions paralleling those
being carried out by the previously established replacement carrier
air groups.
13--The navigation satellite Transit 1B was placed into orbit
by a Thor-Able-Star rocket launched from Cape Canaveral. Designed
by the Applied Physics Laboratory, the satellite emitted a radio
signal at a precise frequency. Surface receiving stations used
a measurement of the signal's doppler shift to determine their
position with high accuracy. Among other experiments performed
in connection with this launch, an uninstrumented satellite, mounted
pickaback, was successfully separated and placed in its own orbit.
Thereby the feasibility of launching multiple satellites with
a single vehicle was demonstrated.
19--The Secretary of the Navy established the Naval Space Surveillance
Facility, Dahlgren, Va.
MAY
1--Seventeen Basic Training Groups of the Naval Air Training Command
were redesignated Training Squadrons, VT, and established as separate
units, each under a commanding officer.
JUNE
3--Test launchings of Bullpup air-to-surface missiles from a Marine
Corps HUS-1 helicopter were successfully completed at the Naval
Air Test Center, Patuxent River.
10--Seven helicopters of HS-4 from Yorktown rescued 53 merchant
seamen from the British freighter Shun Lee which was breaking
up on Pratas Reef, 500 miles northwest of Manila. Under storm
conditions in the wake of typhoon Mary, the helicopter took 25
men from the wreck and 28 more from Pratas Island inside the reef.
21--The frigate Norfolk from a position off Key West, fired the
antisubmarine rocket missile Asroc in a public demonstration,
marking the completion of a 2 month technical evaluation. This
missile featured a rocket powered airframe carrying a homing torpedo,
or alternatively, a depth charge.
22--The navigation satellite Transit 2A was placed into orbit
by a Thor-Able-Star rocket launched from Cape Canaveral. A Naval
Research Laboratory Sol Rad I (Solar radiation) satellite, mounted
pickaback, was also placed in orbit. In addition to further developing
the doppler navigation techniques, Transit 2A confirmed the practicability
of using satellites for precise geodetic survey, provided critical
measurements of the effect of the ionosphere on electromagnetic
waves, and provided measurements of high frequency cosmic noise
requested by the Canadian Government. The 2A had an operating
life of 2 1/2 years.
JULY
1--The first Carrier On-board Delivery Squadron, Fleet Tactical
Support Squadron 40 (VRC-40), was established at NAS Norfolk,
Commander J. H. Crawford commanding.
1--In a successful demonstration of the operating capabilities
of a drone helicopter designed for use in antisubmarine warfare
from destroyers, an experimental DSN-1 made an at-sea landing
aboard Mitscher (DL 2), off the coast of Long Island. Although
the drone was manned by a safety pilot, the helicopter was flown
by remote control from shore, maneuvered around the ship and into
position for a landing, before the pilot took command and made
the final let down.
1--To support the operations of the Pacific Missile Range, a Pacific
Missile Range Facility was established at Eniwetok, Marshall Islands.
9--Wasp sailed from Guantanamo for the coast of Africa to support
United Nations attempts to quiet disorders in the newly independent
states of the Congo. By the time of her departure in early August,
the carrier had supplied a quarter of a million gallons of gasoline
in support of the UN airlift.
18--The Navy terminated the Corvus air-to-surface missile program
in order to permit increased emphasis upon other weapons
systems offering a wider scope of employment.
20--A Polaris ballistic missile was launched for
the first time from George Washington, while submerged at sea
off Cape Canaveral. The missile broke clear of the water,
ignited in the air and streaked more than 1,000 miles toward it
target down the Atlantic Missile Range.
21--The Navy announced that a contract for the development of
the Missileer aircraft for launching the Eagle long-range air-to-air
guided missile, was being issued to the Douglas Aircraft Corporation.
AUGUST
1--The Naval Air Rocket Test Station, Lake Denmark, N.J. was disestablished
and the land was turned over to the Army for incorporation in
Picattinny Arsenal. Navy liquid rocket development projects were
transferred to other activities, primarily the Naval Ordnance
Test Station, China Lake, Calif., the Naval Propellant Plant,
Indian Head, Md., and the Naval Weapons Laboratory, Dahlgren,
Va.
2--A Naval Research Laboratory Aerobee rocket, instrumented to
study the ultraviolet spectrum of the sun, was launched at the
White Sands Missile Range and soared over 90 miles into the atmosphere.
As the rocket returned to earth, its nose cone separated from
the main section and was parachuted to the ground.
11--In the first recovery of an object after it had been in orbit,
a Navy HRS-3 helicopter, operating from the Haiti Victory of the
Pacific Missile Range, recovered the instrumented capsule discharged
by Discoverer XIII on its 17th pass around the earth. The capsule
was located about 330 miles northwest of Honolulu by Air Force
planes which directed the ship toward the spot. Recovery was made
less than three hours after the capsule hit the water.
SEPTEMBER
2--Captain Holden C. Richardson, Naval Aviator No. 13, died at
Bethesda, Md. A man of many attainments, Captain Richardson was
the Navy's first engineering test pilot, helped develop the Navy's
first catapults, was one of the designers of the NC boats, supervised
their construction and piloted one of them on the trans-Atlantic
attempt, was a pioneer designer of flying boat hulls, and one
of the original members of NACA.
5--An F4H-1 Phantom II, piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H.
Miller, USMC, set a new world record for 500 kilometers over the
triangular course at Edwards AF Base with a speed of 1216.78 m.p.h.
19--The NASA Nuclear Emulsion Recovery Vehicle (NERV) was launched
from the Naval Missile Facility Point Arguello by an Argo D-8
rocket. The instrumented capsule reached an altitude of 1,260
miles and landed 1,300 miles down range where it was recovered
by Navy ships.
25--An F4H-1 Phantom II, piloted by Commander John F. Davis, averaged
1390.21 m.p.h. for 100 kilometers over a closed circuit course,
bettering the existing world record for the distance by more than
200 m.p.h.
OCTOBER
20--The Department of Defense announced establishment under Navy
management of an Army-Navy-Air Force program to develop the prototype
of an operational vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for the
purpose of testing its suitability for air transport service.
NOVEMBER
10--The Secretary of Defense directed that the Navy Space Surveillance
System and the Air Force Space Track System, each performing similar
services over different sections of the surveillance network,
be placed under the control of the North American Air Defense
Command for military functions.
15--The Polaris, Fleet Ballistic Missile Weapon System, became
operational as George Washington (SSBN 598) departed Charleston,
S.C., with a load of 16 A-1 tactical missiles.
17--At the request of the threatened countries, President Eisenhower
ordered a naval patrol of Central American waters to intercept
and prevent any Communist led invasion of Guatemala and Nicaragua
from the sea. The patrol was carried out by a carrier and destroyer
force which remained in the area until recalled on 7 December.
DECEMBER
13--An A3J Vigilante piloted by Commander Leroy A. Heath and with
Lieutenant Henry L. Monroe as bombardier-navigator, climbed to
91,450.8 feet over Edwards Air Force Base while carrying a payload
of 1,000 kilograms. This performance established a new world altitude
record with payload and surpassed the existing record by over
4 miles.
19--Fire broke out on the hangar deck of Constellation in the
last stages of construction at the New York Naval Shipyard. Fifty
civilian workers died in the blaze.
22--Helicopters of HS-3 and HU-2 from Valley Forge rescued 27
men from the oiler SS Pine Ridge as she was breaking up in heavy
seas 100 miles off Cape Hatteras.
JANUARY
31--A Marine Corps helicopter of HMR(L)-262 made an at sea recovery
of a Mercury capsule, bearing the chimpanzee Ham, after it had
completed a 15-minute flight reaching 155 miles high and 420 miles
down range. The capsule was launched by a Redstone rocket from
Cape Canaveral in a preliminary test for manned space flight.
FEBRUARY
1--The Space Surveillance System, with headquarters at the Naval
Weapons Laboratory, Dahlgren, Va., was established, Captain David
G. Woosley commanding. By this action, the system which had been
functioning as an experimental research project since 1959, became
an operational command.
21--The navigation satellite Transit 3B, carrying Lofti (low frequency
transionospheric satellite) pickaback, was put into orbit by a
Thor-Able-Star rocket, fired from Cape Canaveral. Improper burning
of the second stage and its failure to separate from the payload
prevented achievement of the planned orbital path. Despite this,
during the Transit's 39 days in orbit, prototype navigational
messages containing ephemerides and time signals were injected
into its memory and reported back thereby providing the first
complete demonstration of all features of the navigation satellite
system.
MARCH
6--The Secretary of Defense established Defense policies and responsibilities
for development of satellites, antisatellites, space probes and
supporting systems. Each Military Department was authorized "to
conduct preliminary research to develop new ways of using space
technology to perform its assigned function." Although research,
development, test and engineering of Department of Defense space
development programs and projects were to be the responsibility
of the Air Force, provisions were made for granting exceptions
thereby leaving the door ajar to the possibility of the Navy developing
a unique space capability.
APRIL
10--A C-130BL Hercules of VX-6, piloted by Commander Loyd E. Newcomer
and carrying a double crew of 16 and a special crew of five, landed
at Christchurch, New Zealand, completing the emergency evacuation
from Byrd Station, Antarctica, of Leonid Kuperov a Soviet exchange
scientist who was suffering from an acute abdominal condition.
The round trip flight out of Christchurch was the first to pierce
the winter isolation of the Antarctic Continent.
21--The Office of the Pacific Missile Range Representative, Kaneohe,
was redesignated and established as the Pacific Missile Range
Facility, Hawaiian Area, to serve as the mid-Pacific headquarters
for missile and satellite tracking stations located in the Hawaiian
and Central Pacific areas.
29--Kitty Hawk equipped with Terrier anti-air missiles and first
of a new class of attack carriers, was commissioned at Philadelphia,
Captain William F. Bringle commanding.
MAY
4--A world record balloon altitude of 113,739.9 feet was reached
in a two-place open gondola Stratolab flight by Commander Malcolm
D. Ross and Lieutenant Commander Victor A. Prather (MC). Launched
from Antietam off the mouth of the Mississippi, the balloon, which
was the largest ever employed on manned flight, reached its maximum
altitude 2 hours and 36 minutes after takeoff 136 miles south
of Mobile, Ala. This achievement was marred by the death of
Lieutenant Commander Prather who fell from the sling of the recovery
helicopter and died on board the carrier about an hour after being
pulled from the water.
5--Commander Alan B. Shepard became the first American to go into
space as he completed a flight reaching 116 miles high and 302
miles down range from Cape Canaveral. His space capsule, Freedom
7, was launched by a Redstone rocket and recovered at sea by an
HUS-1 helicopter of Marine Corps Squadron HMR(L)-262 which transported
it and Commander Shepard to Lake Champlain.
17--An HSS-2 helicopter flown by Commander Patrick L. Sullivan
and Lieutenant Beverly W. Witherspoon, set a new world class speed
record of 192.9 m.p.h. for 3 kilometers at Bradley Field, Windsor
Locks, Conn.
24--Three F4H Phantom II fighters competing for the Bendix Trophy
bettered the existing record for transcontinental flight from
Los Angeles to New York. The winning team of Lieutenant R. F.
Gordon, pilot, and Lieutenant (jg) B. R. Young, RIO, averaged
870 m.p.h. on the 2,421.4 mile flight and set a new record of
2 hours, 47 minutes.
24--Commander P. L. Sullivan and Lieutenant B. W. Witherspoon,
flying an HSS-2 helicopter set another new world class speed record
with a mark of 174.9 m.p.h. over a 100-kilometer course between
Milford and Westbrook, Conn.
JUNE
1--Ships of the Second Fleet, including the carriers Intrepid,
Shangri-La, and Randolph, were ordered to stand by off southern
Hispaniola when a general uprising seemed about to follow the
assassination of President Trujillo of the Dominican Republic.
21--The Secretary of the Navy approved plans for terminating the
lighter-than-air program that would disestablish all operational
units by November, put eight of the 10 remaining airships in storage
and inactivate the Overhaul and Repair shop at Lakehurst.
29--The navigation satellite Transit 4A was put into a nearly
circular orbit at about 500 miles by a Thor-Able-Star rocket fired
from Cape Canaveral. Although Greb and Injun satellites riding
pickaback did not separate from each other, both operated satisfactorily.
Transit 4A was the first space vehicle to be equipped with a nuclear
powered generator.
JULY
10--The first NATOPS (Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures
Standardization) Manual was promulgated with the distribution
of the HSS-1 manual. This manual prescribed standard operating
procedures and flight instructions which were peculiar to the
HSS-1 and complemented the more technical information contained
in the HSS-1 Flight Manual (or handbook). As the NATOPS system
developed, NATOPS Flight Manuals were issued which consolidated
flight and operating instructions with the handbook information,
the first being that for the F9F-8T dated 15 December 1963. Further
publications included the NATOPS Manual, which contained generalized
instructions covering air operations, and other manuals dealing
with such subjects as carrier operations, air refueling, instrument
flight, and landing signal officer procedures.
18--The first of a series of 10 unguided rocket launches was made
at Naval Missile Center, Point Mugu to develop an economical research
rocket using a standard booster. Called Sparro-air, the rocket
was designed and built at Point Mugu by combining two Sparrow
air-to-air missile rocket motors. It was launched from an F4D
Skyray to an altitude of 64 miles.
21--Captain Virgil I. Grissom, USAF, the second American man-in-space,
completed a 15 minute, 118 mile high flight 303 miles down the
Atlantic Missile Range. Premature blowoff of the hatch cover caused
flooding of the capsule and made its recovery impossible, but
Grissom was picked up from the water by a second helicopter and
delivered safely to the carrier Randolph.
AUGUST
3--The Director of Defense Research and Engineering approved revisions
to the tri-Service Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) program
whereby administrative responsibility for a tilting wing aircraft
(later developed as the XC-142) was transferred from the Navy
to the Air Force but with the three services continuing to share
the cost equally.
26--Iwo Jima was commissioned at Bremerton, Captain T. D. Harris
commanding. First of the amphibious assault ships to be designed
and built as such, the new ship was 602 feet overall, of 17,000
tons standard displacement, and equipped to operate a helicopter
squadron and an embarked detachment of Marine combat troops in
the "vertical envelopment" concept of amphibious assault.
28--The Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake reported on tests
of Snakeye I mechanical retardation devices which were being developed
to permit low altitude bombing with the MK 80 family of low drag
bombs. Four designs of retarders (two made by Douglas and two
by NOTS) had been tested in flight, on the Station's rocket powered
test sled, or in the wind tunnel. One of Douglas' designs had
shown sufficient promise that a contract had been issued for a
number of experimental and prototype units.
28--Lieutenant Hunt Hardisty, pilot, and Lieutenant Earl H. DeEsch,
RIO, flew an F4H Phantom II over the 3-kilometer course at Holloman
AFB, N. Mex., and averaged 902.769 m.p.h. for a new low altitude
world speed record.
SEPTEMBER
11--Task Force 135 commanded by Rear Admiral F.J. Brush, composed
of the carriers Shangri-La and Antietam, two destroyers, an attack
transport and two fleet tugs, was ordered to the Galveston-Freeport
area of Texas for disaster relief operations in the wake of Hurricane
Carla.
OCTOBER
1--In response to the call of the President as a result of renewed
tension over the divided city of Berlin, units of the Naval Reserve,
including five patrol and 13 carrier antisubmarine squadrons of
the Naval Air Reserve, reported for active duty.
16--The Astronautics Operations Division, Op-54, with mission,
functions and personnel, was transferred from the Office of DCNO
(Air) to Op-76 of the Office of DCNO (Development).
23--The Polaris A-2 was fired from underwater for the first time
as Ethan Allen (SSBN 608) fired it 1,500 miles down the Atlantic
Missile Range.
31--Fleet Airship Wing One and Patrol Squadrons ZP-1 and -3, the
last operating units of the LTA branch of Naval Aviation, were
disestablished at NAS Lakehurst.
NOVEMBER
6--The aircraft carrier Antietam left British Honduras for Pensacola
after 4 days of relief operations following hurricane Hattie.
Helicopters, from Training Squadron 8 (VT-8) and Marine Helicopter
Squadron (Light) 264 (HMR(L)-264), carried over 57 tons of food,
water and medical supplies and transported medical and other relief
personnel to the people at Belize, Stann Creek and other points
hit by the hurricane.
22--Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Robinson, USMC, flying an F4H-1
Phantom II, set a world speed record, averaging 1606.3 m.p.h.
in two runs over the 15 to 25-kilometer course at Edwards Air
Force Base.
25--The nuclear-powered Enterprise was commissioned at Newport
News, Va., Captain Vincent P. DePoix commanding.
DECEMBER
1--An HSS-2 helicopter, flown by Captain Bruce K. Lloyd and Commander
E. J. Roulstone, laid claim to three new world speed records over
a course along Long Island Sound between Milford and Westbrook,
Conn., with performances of 182.8 m.p.h., 179.5 m.p.h., and 175.3
m.p.h. for 100, 500, and 1,000 kilometers, respectively.
5--Commander George W. Ellis piloted an F4H Phantom II on another
world record, surpassing the existing record for altitude sustained
in horizontal flight with a height of 66,443.8 feet over Edwards
Air Force Base.
6--In a joint Navy-Air Force ceremony, new wings were pinned on
America's first astronauts, Commander Alan B. Shepard, USN, and
Captain Virgil I. Grissom, USAF. The new designs displayed a shooting
star superimposed on the traditional aviator wings of the respective
services.
8--The landing field at NAS Anacostia was closed at 0500 hours,
all approach procedures were terminated and air traffic facilities
ceased operation. Thus ended the career of a station unique for
the variety of its operations and services and, in terms of continuous
operations, the fourth oldest in the U.S. Navy.
14--Installation of the Pilot Landing Aid Television system (PLAT)
was completed on Coral Sea, the first carrier to have the system
installed for operational use. Designed to provide a video tape
of every landing, the system was useful for instructional purposes
and in the analysis of landing accidents making it a valuable
tool in the promotion of safety. By early 1963, all attack carriers
had been equipped with PLAT and plans were underway for its installation
in antisubmarine carriers and at shore stations.
30--An HSS-2 helicopter flown by Commander P. L. Sullivan and
Captain D. A. Spurlock, USMC, at Windsor Locks, Conn., bettered
its old 3-kilometer world record at 199.01 m.p.h.
JANUARY
1--Three new Fleet Air Commands were established under Commander
Naval Air Force Atlantic, one with headquarters at Keflavik, Iceland,
one at Bermuda and the other in the Azores.
17--First air operations were conducted by Enterprise as Commander
George Talley made an arrested landing and catapult launch in
an F8U Crusader. Although three TF Traders of VR-40 had taken
off from her deck on 30 October 1961 to transport VlP's to the
mainland after observing sea trials, Commander Talley's flights
marked the start of Enterprise fleet operations.
23--The last of 18 F8U-2N Crusaders of Marine All-Weather Fighter
Squadron, VMF(AW)-451, arrived at Atsugi, Japan, from MCAS El
Toro, completing the first trans-Pacific flight by a Marine Corps
jet fighter squadron. Stops were made at Kaneohe, Wake, and Guam
and air refueling was provided by GV-1 tankers. The flight was
led by Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Crew, commanding officer
of the squadron.
24--Two Navy F4H Phantom II fighters, designated F-110A by the
Air Force, arrived at Langley AFB for use in orientation courses
preliminary to the assignment of Phantom's to units of the Air
Force Tactical Air Command.
26--To overcome deficiencies disclosed during operation of ships
equipped with surface to air missiles, the Chief of the Bureau
of Naval Weapons designated an Assistant Chief for Surface Missile
Systems who was to head a special task force and direct all aspects
of surface missiles within the Bureau and to act with the Chiefs
of Naval Personnel and the Bureau of Ships on matters involving
these Bureaus.
FEBRUARY
5--An HSS-2 Sea King became the first helicopter to exceed 200
m.p.h. in an officially sanctioned trial. Piloted by Lieutenant
R. W. Crafton, USN, and Captain L. K. Keck, USMC, over a course
along the Connecticut shore from Milford to New Haven, the antisubmarine
helicopter broke the world record for 15 to 25 kilometers with
a speed of 210.65 m.p.h.
8--A detachment of Patrol Squadron 11 at Argentia began ice reconnaissance
flights over the Gulf of St. Lawrence to aid in evaluating satellite
readings of ice formations transmitted by Tiros 4 which was put
into orbit the same day.
20--Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn. USMC, in Mercury spacecraft
Friendship 7, was launched from Cape Canaveral by an Atlas rocket.
His three turns about the earth were the first U.S. manned orbital
flights. He was recovered some 166 miles east of Grand Turk Island
in the Bahamas by the destroyer Noa (DD 841) and then delivered
by helicopter to the carrier Randolph.
21--The F4H-1 Phantom II established new world records for climb
to 3,000 and 6,000 meters with times of 34.52 and 48.78 seconds.
Lieutenant Commander J. W. Young and Commander D. M. Longton piloted
the plane on its respective record flights at NAS Brunswick, Maine.
MARCH
1--New world climb records to 9,000 and 12,000 meters were established
at NAS Brunswick, Maine, when an F4H-1 piloted by Lieutenant Colonel
W. C. McGraw, USMC, reached those altitudes from a standing start
in 61.62 and 77.15 seconds, respectively.
3--The F4H-1 continued its assault on time-to-climb records at
NAS Brunswick as Lieutenant Commander D. W. Nordberg piloted the
Phantom II to 15,000 meters altitude in 114.54 seconds.
31--Lieutenant Commander F. Taylor Brown piloted the F4H-1 Phantom
II at NAS Point Mugu, to a new world time-to-climb record for
20,000 meters with a time of 178.5 seconds.
APRIL
3--Lieutenant Commander John W. Young piloted the F4H-1 to its
seventh world time-to-climb record by reaching 25,000 meters in
230.44 seconds at NAS Point Mugu.
12--The F4H-1 made a clean sweep of world time-to-climb records
as Lieutenant Commander Del W. Nordberg piloted a Phantom II at
Point Mugu on a climb to 30,000 meters in 371.43 seconds. Speed
attained was better than 3 miles per minute, straight up.
30--The Naval Air Research and Development Activities Command
was disestablished and responsibility for overall management and
coordination of the aeronautical research and development activities
in the Third and Fourth Naval Districts was returned to the Bureau
of Naval Weapons.
MAY
10--A Sparrow III fired from an F4H-1 scored a direct hit in a
head-on attack on a Regulus II missile while both were at supersonic
speed. The interception, made in the test range of the Naval Air
Missile Center at Point Mugu, was the first successful head-on
attack made by an air-launched weapon on a surface launched guided
missile.
22--The Navy's first space satellite command, the Navy Astronautics
Group, was established at the Pacific Missile Range Headquarters,
Point Mugu, Calif., under command of Commander James C. Quillen,
Jr. In addition to its other duties, the new command was given
responsibility for operating the Transit Navigational System being
developed by the Navy for the Department of Defense.
24--Lieutenant Commander M. Scott Carpenter in Aurora 7 was launched
into orbit from Cape Canaveral on the second U.S. manned orbital
flight. Upon completing three orbits he returned to earth landing
in the Atlantic 200 miles beyond the planned impact area. He was
located by a Navy P2V, assisted by para-rescue men dropped from
an Air Force RC-54 and, after almost 3 hours in the water, picked
up by an HSS helicopter from Intrepid and returned safely to the
carrier. His capsule was retrieved by the destroyer John R. Pierce.
29--Vice Admiral P. N. L. Bellinger, USN (Ret.), died in Clifton
Forge, Va. His long and distinguished career as Naval Aviator
No. 8 began on 26 November 1912 when he reported for flight training
at Annapolis and ended with his retirement 1 October 1947 while
serving on the General Board. As one of the pioneers in Naval
Aviation he conducted many experiments, scored a number of "firsts"
and made several record flights.
JUNE
1--The final report on the titanium alloy sheet rolling program
was issued by the Materials Advisory Board of the National Research
Council, thereby terminating this program as a formally organized
effort. Achievements of the program during the six years included
acquiring metallurgical and engineering data for a number of titanium
alloys and familiarizing the aerospace industry with their properties
and methods of fabrication. High strength, heat-treated sheet
alloys developed under this program were soon utilized in a number
of aircraft including the A-7, later models of the F-4, the Air
Force SR-71 and in deep submergence vehicles used in oceanographic
research. The success of this effort also led to the establishment
of a similar refractory metal sheet rolling program to develop
metals for use at extremely high temperatures.
26--The 1,500-mile range Polaris A-2 missile became operational
as Ethan Allan (SSBN 608) departed Charleston, S.C. carrying 16
of the A-2 missiles.
29--A Polaris missile was fired 1,400 miles down range from Cape
Canaveral, carrying the new bullet nose shape to be used in the
A-3 advanced Polaris. The first flight model of the A-3 was successfully
fired from the same base on 7 August 1962.
JULY
1--The commands Fleet Air Patuxent and Naval Air Bases, Potomac
River Naval Command were established and assigned as additional
duty to Commander Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent.
AUGUST
1--Squadrons of the Naval Air Reserve that had been called up
in October 1961, were released to inactive duty, reducing the
strength of the naval air operating forces by 18 squadrons and
3,995 officers and men.
31--The passing of an era was marked at NAS Lakehurst by the last
flight of a Navy airship. The flight also marked the end of a
year's service by the two airships kept in operation after the
discontinuance of the lighter-than-air program for use as airborne
aerodynamics and research laboratories in the development of VTOL/STOL
aircraft and ASW search Systems. Pilots on the last flight were
Commanders W. D. Ashe and R. Shannon and the passengers included
lighter-than-air stalwarts Vice Admiral Charles E. Rosendahl,
USN (Ret.), and Captain Fred N. Klein, USN (Ret.). Many lighter-than-air
men from many parts of the country were on hand to observe and
to lend a hand in docking the airship after its last flight. This
ended a 45-year LTA saga that began with the DN-1, the Navy's
first airship.
SEPTEMBER
12--A Grumman Albatross, UF-2G, piloted by Lieutenant Commander
D. E. Moore, climbed to 29,460 feet over Floyd Bennett Field,
N.Y., and set a new world altitude record for amphibians carrying
a 1,000 kilogram load. On the same day, Lieutenant Commander F.
A. W. Franke, Jr., piloted the Albatross to a new record for amphibians
with a 2,000 kilogram load with a climb to 27,380 feet.
15--Lieutenant Commander R. A. Hoffman, piloting a Grumman Albatross,
UF-2G, set a new world 5,000 kilometer speed record for amphibians
carrying a 1,000 kilogram load with a speed of 151.4 mph. on a
course from Floyd Bennett Field to Plattsburgh, N.Y., to Dupree,
S. Dak., and return to Floyd Bennett Field, N.Y.
17--Nine pilots selected to join the Nation's astronauts were
introduced to the public at Houston, Tex. The three Navy men on
the new team were: Lieutenant Commander James A. Lovell, Jr.,
Lieutenant Commander John W. Young, and Lieutenant Charles Conrad,
Jr.
18--A joint Army-Navy-Air Force regulation was issued establishing
a uniform system of designating military aircraft similar to that
previously in use by the Air Force. By it, all existing aircraft
were redesignated using a letter, dash, number, and letter to
indicate in that order, the basic mission or type of aircraft,
its place in the series of that type, and its place in the series
of changes in its basic design. Under the system, the Crusader,
formerly designated F8U-2, became the F-8C indicating the third
change (C) in the eighth (8) of the fighter (F) series. Provision
was also made for indicating status of the aircraft and modifications
of its basic mission by prefix letters. Thus the YF8U-1P became
the YRF-8A symbolizing a prototype (Y) of the photoreconnaissance
(R) modification of the F-8A aircraft.
OCTOBER
3--Sigma 7, Commander Walter M. Schirra pilot was launched into
orbit by a Mercury-Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral and, after
nearly six orbits and a flight of over 160,000 miles, landed in
the Pacific, 275 miles northeast of Midway Island. Helicopters
dropped UDT men near the capsule and it and Commander Schirra
were hoisted aboard Kearsarge.
8--To strengthen the air defense of the southeastern United States,
Fighter Squadron 41, equipped with F-4B Phantoms, was transferred
from NAS Oceana to NAS Key West for duty with the U.S. Air Force
in the North American Air Defense Command.
16--The Chief of Naval Operations directed that a few helicopters
be converted to aerial minesweepers for use in a mine countermeasures
development and training program and eventual assignment to fleet
squadrons. The RH-46A (HRB-1) was initially designated for this
conversion but the RH-3A (HSS-2) was later
substituted.
17--VMA-225 completed a two-way crossing of the Atlantic between
MCAS Cherry Point and NS Rota, Spain. Lieutenant Colonel E. A.
Harper, USMC, led the flight of 16 A-4C Skyhawks (A4D) which left
Cherry Point on the 8th, flew to Bermuda and directly to Rota.
After a brief layover, the flight returned to Cherry Point by
way of Lajes in the Azores and Bermuda. Refueling on both east
and west flights was provided by 10 Marine KC-130F Hercules tankers
of VMGR-252.
19--As operational units began moving to patrol stations in Florida
to counter the threat posed by missiles and bombers in Cuba, all
aircraft and squadrons not required for air defense, reconnaissance
and antisubmarine patrol were relocated to prevent overcrowding.
23--Light Photographic Squadron 62, which had been flying photo
reconnaissance over the missile sites in Cuba since the 15th,
flew the first low-level photo mission over Cuban territory. For
its outstanding accomplishment during this crisis, in the period
15 October-26 November 1962, this squadron was awarded the Navy
Unit Commendation which was presented personally by the President
on 26 November 1962.
24--As the President imposed the quarantine of Cuba which he had
announced in his TV broadcast 2 days earlier, ships of the blockading
force were in position at sea, including the attack carriers Enterprise
and Independence and the antisubmarine carriers Essex and Randolph,
and shore based aircraft were in the air patrolling their assigned
sectors. On the same day the service tours of all officers and
enlisted men were extended indefinitely.
31--The geodetic satellite Anna, developed for the Department
of Defense under Bureau of Naval Weapons management, was placed
into orbit from Cape Canaveral. The Anna satellite contained three
independent sets of instrumentation to validate geodetic measurements
taken by several organizations participating in the Anna worldwide
geodetic research and mapping program.
NOVEMBER
5--Two Marine Corps helicopter squadrons began, as additional
duty, a transition training program in which some 500 Marine aviators
qualified in fixed-wing aircraft would be trained to operate helicopters.
The need for the special program arose from the increased proportion
of helicopters in the Marine Corps, coupled with an overall shortage
of pilots and the inability of the Naval Air Training Command
to absorb the additional training load within the time schedule
allotted.
20--As agreement was reached over the removal of missiles and
bombers from Cuba, the naval blockade was discontinued and the
ships at sea resumed their normal operations. Next day, the extensions
of service ordered in October were cancelled.
30--The Bureau of Naval Weapons issued a contract to the Bell
Aerosystems Co., for construction and flight test of two VTOL
research aircraft with dual tandem-ducted propellers. Thereby
the tri-service VTOL program was expanded to include a tilting
duct craft to be developed under Navy administration in addition
to the tilting wing XC-142 and the tilting engine X-19A both of
which were administered by the Air Force.
DECEMBER
1--Two new commands, Fleet Air Caribbean and Naval Air Bases,
Tenth Naval District, were established and assigned as additional
duty to Commander Caribbean Sea Frontier.
14--The Naval Air Material Center was renamed Naval Air Engineering
Center.
18--Transit 5A, a prototype of the Navy's operational navigation
satellite, was launched into a polar orbit by a four-stage Blue
Scout rocket fired at the Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello.
The satellite's radio failed after 20 hours in orbit and prevented
its utilization for navigation purposes. However, certain secondary
experiments were successful.
19--An E-2A piloted by Lieutenant Commander Lee M. Ramsey was
catapulted off the Enterprise in the first shipboard test of nose-tow
gear designed to replace the catapult bridle and reduce launching
intervals. Minutes later the second nosetow launch was made by
an A-6A.
JANUARY
7-13--Helicopters from NAS Port Lyautey, NS Rota and Springfield
flew rescue and relief missions in the flooded areas of Beth and
Sebou Rivers in Morocco. Over 45,000 pounds of food, medicines
and emergency supplies were flown in and some 320 marooned persons
were lifted to safety.
29--A Walleye television glide bomb, released from a YA-4B, made
a direct impact on its target at the Naval Ordnance Test Station,
China Lake in the first demonstration of its automatic homing
feature.
FEBRUARY
9--The Secretary of the Navy approved with minor modification
the recommendations of his Advisory Committee on the Review of
the Management of the Department of the Navy, commonly known as
the Dillon Board for its chairman John H. Dillon. With this approval
he set into motion a series of changes in lines of authority and
responsibility that would be implemented during the year, most
of which were outlined in a General Order issued on 1 July 1963.
22--An LC-130F Hercules of VX-6 made the longest flight in Antarctic
history covering territory never before seen by man. The plane
which was piloted by Commander William H. Everett and carried
Rear Admiral James R. Reedy among its passengers, made the 3,470
mile flight from McMurdo Station, south beyond the South Pole
to the Shackleton Mountain Range and then southeastward to the
pole of inaccessibility and returned to McMurdo in 10 hours and
40 minutes.
25--The transmitter in the Navy-developed Solar Radiation I satellite
was restarted after 22 months of silence. Launched 22 June 1960
with Transit 2A in the first of the pickaback firings, the 42-pound
satellite provided detailed data on solar storms for 8 months
and was turned off on signal from earth on 18 April 1961 when
magnetic drag reduced the satellite's spin to a level too low
for useful scanning of the sun.
MARCH
8--The Department of Defense and National Aeronautics and Space
Administration announced an agreement establishing working arrangements
concerning the nonmilitary applications of the Transit navigation
satellite system. Under it the NASA assumed responsibility for
determining the suitability of Transit equipment for nonmilitary
purposes while the Navy retained its responsibility for overall
technical direction and for research and development as necessary
to meet and support military requirements.
APRIL
1--To bring their title in line with their functions, Replacement
Air Groups (RAG) were redesignated Combat Readiness Air Groups
(CRAG).
MAY
8--The Air Force announced that two squadrons of A-1E Skyraiders
would be added to the 1st Air Commando Group at Hurlburt AFB,
Fla. This decision followed field tests of two Skyraiders loaned
by the Navy in mid-1962 and led to a further decision, announced
by the Secretary of the Air Force in May 1964, that 75 Skyraiders
would be sent to Vietnam as replacements for B-26 and T-28 aircraft
employed there by the 1st Air Commando Wing.
16--Kearsage recovered Major L. Gordon Cooper, USAF, and his Faith
7 capsule, 80 miles southeast of Midway, after his 22-orbit flight.
JUNE
13--Lieutenant Commanderss R. K. Billings and R. S. Chew, Jr.,
of NATC Patuxent, piloting F-4A Phantom and F-8D Crusader aircraft
made the first fully automatic carrier landings with production
equipment on board Midway off the California coast. The landings,
made "hands off" with both flight controls and throttles
operated automatically by signals from the ship, highlighted almost
10 years of research and development and followed by almost 6
years the first such carrier landing made with test equipment.
20--The last student training flight in the P-5 Marlin by VT-31
at NAS Corpus Christi, marked the end of the seaplane in the flight
training program. The pilot and instructor was Lieutenant P. H.
Flood; the student was Ensign A. J. Hupp.
29--Fleet Air Wing 10 was established at NAS Moffett Field, Captain
John B. Honan commanding.
JULY
1--General Order No. 5 set forth new policies and principles governing
the organization and administration of the Navy and directed their
progressive implementation. It redefined the principal parts of
the Navy, adding a Naval Military Support Establishment as a fourth
part under a Chief of Naval Material, responsible directly to
the Secretary of the Navy and with command responsibilities over
the four material bureaus and major project managers and an overall
task of providing material support to the operating forces of
the Fleet and the Marine Corps.
AUGUST
1--Marine Corps All-Weather Fighter Squadrons VMF(AW) equipped
with F-4B aircraft were redesignated as Fighter Attack Squadrons,
VMFA.
2--Shortly after midnight, an F-3B Demon piloted by Lieutenant
Roger Bellnap, launched the first of a series of five planned
space probes designed to measure the ultraviolet radiation of
the stars. The probe, a two-stage solid propellant Sparroair,
was launched from a nearly vertical altitude at 30,000 feet over
the Pacific Missile Range and reached a peak altitude of 66 miles.
23-24--In a joint Weather Bureau-Navy project titled Stormfury,
a Navy A-3B Skywarrior seeded Hurricane Beulah with silver iodide
particles in an experiment to determine whether the energy patterns
of large storms could be changed. Although the second day seedings
appeared to have some effect, results were considered too indefinite
to draw firm conclusions.
SEPTEMBER
6--Five SH-3A helicopters of HS-9 based at NAS Quonset rescued
28 workmen from two Texas Towers shaken by gales and heavy seas
off Cape Cod.
18--To provide the continuing action necessary for effective management
of the inactive aircraft inventory, an informal Review Board was
established with representation from CNO, the Bureau of Naval
Weapons, the Aviation Supply Office, and the storage facility
at Litchfield Park, Arizona, to review the inventory at least
every 6 months for the purpose of recommending the retention or
disposal of specific models.
OCTOBER
18--The selection of 14 men for a new astronautic team was announced
by the NASA. Among those chosen were five naval aviators: Lieutenant
Commander Richard F. Gordon, Jr., Lieutenant Commander Roger B.
Chaffee, Lieutenant Alan L. Bean, Lieutenant Eugene A. Cernan,
and Captain Clifton C. Williams, USMC.
25--Navy ships and aircraft began departing from Port Au Prince
after nearly 2 weeks of relief operations in Haiti, laid waste
by hurricane Flora. Four Navy ships, including the carrier Lake
Champlain and the amphibious assault ship Thetis Bay, aided by
Navy and Marine Corps cargo aircraft from east coast stations,
delivered nearly 375 tons of food, clothing and medical supplies
donated by relief agencies, and provided other assistance to the
stricken populace.
26--The long range A-3 Polaris missile was launched for the first
time from a submerged submarine by Andrew Jackson cruising about
30 miles off Cape Canaveral, Fla.
NOVEMBER
30--The Secretary of Defense approved use of funds effective 1
July 1964, for the purpose of placing Naval Aviation Observers
in the same pay status as pilots.
DECEMBER
2--The Chief of Naval Material reported to the Secretary of the
Navy for duty as his assistant for Naval Material Support and
assumed supervision and command of the four material bureaus--Naval
Weapons, Ships, Supplies and Accounts, and Yards and Docks.
6--Transit 5BN-2 was launched into polar orbit by a Thor-Able-Star
rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base. This, the first navigation
satellite to become operational, provided data for use by surface
and submarine forces.
20--Carrier Air Groups (CVG), were redesignated Carrier Air Wings
(CVW).
21--Saratoga began receiving weather pictures from the Tiros 8
weather satellite while moored at Mayport, Fla. This was the start
of an operational investigation of shipborne readout equipment
in which the Saratoga continued to receive test readings from
Tiros, in port and at sea, through May 1964 and from the experimental
weather satellite Nimbus in September 1964.
JANUARY
1--Fleet Air Wings Pacific was established with Rear Admiral David
J. Welsh in command.
1--The last three seaplane tenders under ComNavAirLant, Duxbury
Bay, Greenwich Bay and Valcour, were transferred to Cruiser-Destroyer
Force Atlantic. Although the employment of these ships as seaplane
tenders had been secondary to their use as flagships for Commander
Middle East Force for several years, this transfer was the final
step in the phaseout of patrol seaplanes in the Atlantic Fleet.
15--The commands Fleet Air Southwest Pacific and Fleet Air Japan
were disestablished.
15--Carrier Divisions 15, 17, and 19 were designated Antisubmarine
Warfare Groups 1, 3, and 5 respectively and transferred from ComNavAirPac
to ComASWForPac for administrative control. Mission of the new
groups was to develop antisubmarine carrier group tactics, doctrine
and operating procedures including coordination with patrol aircraft
operations.
FEBRUARY
17--An Office of Antisubmarine Warfare Programs was established
under the Chief of Naval Operations to exercise centralized supervision
and coordination of all antisubmarine warfare planning, programming
and appraising.
28--A helicopter piloted by Commander D. W. Fisher of HU-1 made
the first landing on the deck of the combat store ship Mars (AFS
1) during her shakedown cruise off San Diego. Although the concept
of vertical replenishment at sea had been discussed and tested
as early as 1959 and helicopter platforms had been installed on
certain logistics ships since then, commissioning of the Mars
provided the first real opportunity to incorporate the
helicopter into the fleet logistic support system.
MARCH
9--A ceremony was held at the David Taylor Model Basin Aerodynamics
Laboratory commemorating the 50th anniversary of its establishment.
Originally set up at the Washington Navy Yard, the Laboratory
was moved to its present location in 1944. Captain Walter S. Diehl,
USN (Ret.), an aerodynamics authority of world repute, attended
the ceremony and received a citation for his outstanding contributions
to the work of the Laboratory.
13--Instructions were issued to redesignate all Heavy Attack Squadrons,
VAH, upon assignment of RA-5C aircraft, as Reconnaissance Attack
Squadrons, RVAH.
23--Two Marine helicopter crews of VMO-1 rescued 11 sick, injured
and wounded members of a road engineering party that had survived
attacks by hostile Indians in the dense jungle of the Amazon basin
near Iquitos, Peru. Their helicopters were transferred ashore
in the Canal Zone from Guadalcanal and were airlifted to Iquitos
by a U.S. Air Force C-130.
28--Within 5 hours after a devastating earthquake struck in Alaska,
the seaplane tender Salisbury Sound was underway from NAS Whidbey
to render assistance and P-3A Orions and C-54 Skymasters, moving
up from Moffett Field, were en route with emergency supplies.
For 14 days the ship provided power and heat to the severely damaged
Naval Station at Kodiak while its crew served in many capacities
to help people on shore.
APRIL
1--The last of 15 astronauts completed a helicopter flight familiarization
program at Ellyson Field, as a phase of their training for lunar
landings. The training was designed to simulate the operation
of the Lunar Excursion Module of Project Apollo. Instituted by
the Navy at the request of the NASA, the program was scheduled
in a series of 2-week courses for two students and had been in
progress since 12 November 1963.
4--The Concord Squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral R. B. Moore
and composed of Bon Homme Richard, the destroyers Shelton (DD
790), Blue (DD 744), Frank Knox (DD 742), and fleet oiler Hassayampa
(AO 145) of Seventh Fleet, entered the Indian Ocean from the Pacific
and began a 6-week cruise which carried it near Iran, the Arabian
peninsula, down the African Coast and into many ports along the
way for good will visits.
23--The Chief of Naval Operations broadened the opportunities
for Naval Aviators to qualify as helicopter pilots by extending
responsibilities for transition training to commands outside the
Flight Training Command.
MAY
1--A P-3A Orion, commanded by Captain P. L. Ruehrmund of VX-1,
returned to NAS Key West completing an 18 day, 26,550 nautical
mile flight which, in several stages, carried it around the world.
On the over-water leg of the flight the plane dropped explosive
sound signals to assist Naval Ordnance Laboratory scientists studying
the acoustical properties of the sea as a medium for sound transmission
over long distances.
7--The Chief of Naval Operations informed the Chief of Naval Personnel
of an agreement by which the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard
would train Navy pilots in the techniques of operating HU-16 seaplanes
in Search and Rescue and requested its implementation.
JUNE
24--Clara B. Johnson, PHC, of VU-7, was designated an aerial photographer
and became the first Wave with the right to wear the wings of
an aircrewman.
26--An LC-130F Hercules, commanded by Lieutenant Robert V. Mayer
of VX-6, completed a round-trip flight from Christchurch, New
Zealand, to Antarctica in an emergency evacuation of petty officer
B. L. McMullen, critically injured in a fall. Two planes, with
teams of medical specialists on board, flew from NAS Quonset Point
to Christchurch where one plane stood by while the other undertook
the hazardous flight.
29--A new specification for the color of naval aircraft was issued
which changed the color scheme for patrol aircraft assigned to
antisubmarine work to gull gray with white upper fuselage.
JULY
1--The Pacific Missile Range facilities at Point Arguello and
on Kwajalein Atoll were transferred from Navy to Air Force and
Army command respectively.
AUGUST
2--North Vietnam motor torpedo boats attacking the destroyer Maddox
patrolling international waters in the Gulf of Tonkin, were damaged
and driven off by ships gunfire and rocket and strafing attacks
by aircraft from Ticonderoga.
5--On orders from the President to take offensive action toward
preserving our right to operate in international waters, aircraft
from Seventh Fleet carriers Constellation and Ticonderoga attacked
motor torpedo boats and their supporting facilities at five locations
along the North Vietnam coast. In 64 attack sorties against the
concentrations, these aircraft sank or seriously damaged 25 boats
and destroyed a major part of their petroleum stores and storage
facilities.
15--The President announced existence of a program to develop
a counterinsurgency (COIN) airplane designed to perform a variety
of missions in peace and war. The Navy Department, as the designated
Department of Defense development agency, selected North American
Aviation Co., as the contractor for construction of the prototype,
later assigned for designation OV-1OA and the name Bronco.
29--Boxer and two LSD's arrived off the coast of Hispaniola to
give medical aid and helicopter evacuation services to people
in areas of Haiti and the Dominican Republic badly damaged by
Hurricane Cleo.
SEPTEMBER
28--The Polaris A-3, Fleet Ballistic Missile, became operational
as Daniel Webster (SSBN 626) departed Charleston, South Carolina,
with a full load of the new missiles.
30--Three ski-equipped Hercules aircraft of VX-6 took off from
Melbourne, Australia; Christchurch, New Zealand and Puntan Arenas,
Chile, respectively, and made flights to Antarctica, landing on
Williams Field at McMurdo. The flight from Melbourne, the first
in history from Australia to Antarctica, passed over the South
Pole to drop a 50-pound sack of mail to the wintering-over party,
then landed at Byrd Station before proceeding to McMurdo. The
arrival of Rear Admiral James R. Reedy, Commander Naval Support
Forces, Antarctica, on this flight, on 1 October, marked the official
opening of Deep Freeze '65.
OCTOBER
1--Franklin (AVT 8), formerly CVS, CVA and CV 13, was stricken
from the Navy Register--first of the World War II Essex Class
carriers to be labeled unfit for further service.
3--Operation Sea Orbit ended as Enterprise and Long Beach arrived
at Norfolk and Bainbridge reached Charleston, S.C. This task force,
the world's first composed entirely of nuclear powered ships,
left Gibraltar on 31 July, sailed down the Atlantic and around
Africa, across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and around Cape
Horn, completing a 65 day and 30,216 nautical mile round-the-world
cruise without taking on either fuel or provisions.
NOVEMBER
17--Helicopters of HMM-162 from Princeton, began delivery of 1,300
tons of food and clothing to people in the inland areas of South
Vietnam flooded by heavy rains following a typhoon.
26--Nine helicopters of HU-2 and four from NAS Lakehurst, assisted
the Coast Guard in the rescue of 17 men from the Norwegian tanker
Stolt Dagali cut in two by collision with the Israeli liner Shalom
off the New Jersey coast.
DECEMBER
17--Commander T. G. Ellyson, Naval Aviator No. 1, was enshrined
in the National Aviation Hall of Fame at Dayton, Ohio--first naval
officer to be so honored.
JANUARY
1--In accordance with the provision of General Orders prescribing
the organization and administration of the Navy, all Naval Air
Bases Commands were disestablished.
12--The Department of Defense announced that the Transit all-weather
navigation satellite system had been in operational use since
July 1964. This system, when completely developed, would consist
of four satellites in polar orbit and would provide a ship at
the equator with a navigational fix once an hour.
19--Lake Champlain recovered an unmanned Project Gemini space
capsule launched from Cape Kennedy in a suborbital flight 1,879
miles down the Atlantic Missile Range and within 23 miles of the
carrier.
FEBRUARY
7--In retaliation for a damaging Viet Cong attack on installations
around Pleiku, a fighter-bomber strike, launched from the carriers
Ranger, Coral Sea, and Hancock, blasted the military barracks
and staging areas near Dong Hoi in the southern sector of North
Vietnam.
8--The title and designation of Naval Aviation Observers, 135X,
were changed to Naval Flight Officers, 132X, to be effective 1
May.
MARCH
6--A Sikorsky SH-3A helicopter, piloted by Commander J. R. Williford,
took off from Hornet berthed at North Island, Calif., and 15 hours
and 51 minutes later landed on Franklin D. Roosevelt at sea off
Mayport, Fla. The flight surpassed the existing distance record
for helicopters by more than 700 miles.
8--With surface and air units of Seventh Fleet standing by, 3,500
Marines, including a helicopter squadron and supporting units,
landed without opposition at Danang, an air base near the northern
border of South Vietnam.
12--Four enlisted men completed 24 days of living in a rotating
room in a test conducted at Pensacola by the Naval School of Aviation
Medicine to determine the spinning rate men can endure without
discomfort and to check out procedures for conditioning men for
space flight.
23--Astronauts Virgil Grissom and John Young landed their Gemini
3 spacecraft east of Bermuda roughly 50 miles from the intended
splash point. The craft was spotted by Coast Guard helicopter
about 20 minutes after the landing and within an hour the two
astronauts were picked up by helicopter and delivered to Intrepid.
26--Seventh Fleet air units began their participation in Rolling
Thunder, a systematic bombing of military targets throughout North
Vietnam waged by land and ship based air, as pilots from the carriers
Coral Sea and Hancock launched a strike on island and coastal
radar stations in the vicinity of Vinh Son.
APRIL
15--Carrier pilots of Seventh Fleet joined the battle in South
Vietnam with a strike against Viet Cong positions near Black Virgin
Mountain. Their attack was so successful that future in-country
missions were assigned to Seventh Fleet and, to carry them out,
one carrier was normally operated at what was called Dixie Station
off the coast of South Vietnam. Dixie operations continued from
20 May 1965 to 4 August 1966 when land based air was well enough
established to handle most of the required air attacks in that
area.
19--Six Navy and two Marine Corps aviators emerged from two sealed
chambers at the Aerospace Crew Equipment Laboratory, Philadelphia,
after a 34-day test to learn the physical effect of prolonged
stays in confined quarters and a low-pressure pure oxygen atmosphere.
27--As revolt in the Dominican Republic threatened the safety
of American nationals, Boxer sent her Marines ashore while embarked
helicopter pilots of HMM-264 began an airlift in which over 1,000
men, women and children were evacuated to ships of the naval task
force standing by.
MAY
10--Seaspar, a surface-to-air version of the Sparrow III air-to-air
missile, was fired in the Pacific Missile Range test area from
Tioga County (LST 1158) on its first shipboard test.
12--Some 1,400 men of the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines landed at
Chu Lai, South Vietnam, from Iwo Jima and an APA and LSD.
18--Members of the Naval Air Reserve began a volunteer airlift
supporting operations in Vietnam. On weekend and other training
flights from their home stations to the west coast, Hawaii, and
Southeast Asia, these pilots and crews, flying C-54 and C-118
aircraft of the Air Reserve, carried key personnel and urgently
needed cargo to the combat zone, logging over 19,000 flight hours
in the first 18 months of the operation.
JUNE
1--The new Marine Corps expeditionary airfield at Chu Lai, South
Vietnam, 52 miles south of the major base at Danang, became operational
as the first aircraft arrived and the first combat missions took
off from the strip.
7--The Gemini 4 spacecraft of J. A. McDivitt and E. H. White splashed
in the Atlantic about 40 miles off target after a 4-day flight.
Minutes later Navy frogmen dropped from a helicopter to attach
the flotation collar and in less than an hour after landing the
astronauts were landed by helicopter on the carrier Wasp which
had kept position for possible landings in each orbit since blastoff
on 4 June.
17--While escorting a strike on the barracks at Gen Phu, North
Vietnam, Commander L. C. Page and Lieutenant J. E. D. Batson,
flying F-4B Phantoms of VF-21 and Midway, intercepted four MiG-17's
and each shot down one, scoring the first U.S. victories over
MiG's in Vietnam.
17--Independence with Air Wing 7 on board, arrived at Subic Bay
for duty with Seventh Fleet. Her arrival from the Atlantic Fleet
around the tip of Africa, added a fifth attack carrier to naval
forces operating off Vietnam.
23--In an unusual mission for ships of her type, the seaplane
tender Currituck carried out a shore bombardment of Viet Cong
positions in the Mekong Delta area of South Vietnam.
30--Seven years after its establishment, the Pacific extension
of Dewline ceased to operate and Barrier Force, Pacific and Airborne
Early Warning Barrier Squadron, Pacific went out of existence.
JULY
1--Fleet Air Wing 8 was established at NAS Moffett Field, Captain
David C. Kendrick commanding.
1--The Navy's first Oceanographic Air Survey Unit (OASU) was established
at NAS Patuxent, Commander Harold R. Hutchinson commanding. Tasks
assigned included aerial ice reconnaissance in the North Atlantic
and Polar areas and aerial operations concerned with worldwide
magnetic collection/observation, known as Project Magnet.
1--Helicopter Utility Squadrons (HU) were redesignated Helicopter
Combat Support Squadrons (HC) and Utility Squadrons (VU) were
redesignated Fleet Composite Squadrons (VC) as more representative
of their functions and composition.
14--Yorktown left San Diego for Subic Bay on a turnaround trip
to deliver urgently needed materials to forces operating in and
around South Vietnam.
AUGUST
13--To achieve the increase in personnel necessary to carry out
missions created by the requirements of a deteriorating international
situation, a temporary policy was established which deferred the
separation of officers and enlisted men from active service.
26--The barrier air patrol over the North Atlantic ended as an
EC-121J Warning Star of VW-11 landed at Keflavik, Iceland. The
landing also signalled a change in which a new and advanced radar
system took over from the aircraft and men of naval aviation who
for the past 10 years had maintained constant vigil over the northern
approaches to the American continent.
29--Gemini 5 splashed into the Atlantic 90 miles off target after
a record breaking 8-day space flight, and 45 minutes later Navy
frogmen helped astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad out
of their space ship and aboard a helicopter for flight to the
prime recovery ship Lake Champlain.
31--President Johnson approved a policy on the promotion and decoration
of astronauts by which each military astronaut would receive,
upon the completion of his first space flight, a one grade promotion
up to and including colonel in the Air Force and Marine Corps
and captain in the Navy, and Gemini astronauts completing a successful
space flight would receive the NASA Medal for Exceptional Service
(or cluster).
SEPTEMBER
1--In accord with the provision of an Act of Congress, the Secretary
of the Navy authorized additional pay to flight deck personnel
for duty performed in the hazardous environment of flight operations
on the decks of attack and antisubmarine carriers.
11--First elements of the First Cavalry Division, U.S. Army, with
their helicopter and light observation aircraft, went ashore at
Qui Nhon, South Vietnam, from Boxer in which they had been transported
from Mayport, Fla., by way of the Suez Canal.
24--As the accelerated frequency of manned space flights placed
increasing demands upon Navy recovery capabilities, a flag officer
was designated CNO Representative and Navy Deputy to the DOD Manager
for Manned Space Flight Support Operations and given additional
duty as Commander Manned Space Recovery Force, Atlantic. His assigned
mission was to coordinate and consolidate operational requirements
with all commands providing Navy resources in support of manned
space flights.
OCTOBER
14--The A-1, 1,200 nautical mile range, Polaris missile was retired
from duty with the return of the Abraham Lincoln (SSBN 602) to
the United States for overhaul and refitting with the 2,500 nautical
mile range Polaris A-3.
15--To expand Pacific airlift capabilities, Transport Squadron
22 was moved from its base at NAS Norfolk to the west coast at
NAS Moffett Field.
DECEMBER
2--The nuclear powered Enterprise, carrying the largest Air Wing
(CVW-9) deployed to the western Pacific to that time, joined the
action off Vietnam with strikes on Viet Cong installations near
Bien Hoa.
16--Wasp recovered Captain Walter M. Schirra and Major Thomas
P. Stafford, USAF, in their Gemini 6A spacecraft 1 hour after
their landing in the western Atlantic about 300 miles north of
Puerto Rico. The astronauts had completed a 1-day flight during
which they made rendezvous with Gemini 7 and kept station with
it for three and one-half orbits.
18--Helicopters of HS-11 recovered Lieutenant Colonel Frank Borman,
USAF, and Commander James A. Lovell, in the western Atlantic about
250 miles north of Grand Turk Island and delivered them to Wasp.
During their 14-day flight in Gemini 7, the astronauts carried
out many experiments in space, including station keeping with
Gemini 6A, and established a new duration record for manned space
flight.
20--The Secretary established a Director of Naval Laboratories
on the staff of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Development
and directed that he also serve as Director of Laboratory Programs
in the Office of Naval Material. Subsequently, administrative
responsibility for laboratories was transferred to this dual office
while test and evaluation facilities, such as Naval Air Test Center,
Naval Missile Center, and Naval Air Engineering Center were placed
under the command of the Naval Air Systems Command.
JANUARY
20--A contract for production of the Walleye television homing
glide bomb was issued to the Martin Marietta Corporation.
FEBRUARY
26--The first unmanned spacecraft of the Apollo series, fired
into suborbital flight by a Saturn 1B rocket from Cape Kennedy,
was recovered in the southeast Atlantic 200 miles east of Ascension
Island by a helicopter from Boxer.
MARCH
1--The Naval Air Transport Wing, Atlantic was disestablished.
2--Constellation began receiving weather data from the operational
weather satellite Essa 2. Her equipment was the second experimental
shipboard installation of receivers capable of presenting a picture
of major weather patterns taken from space and its evaluation
was a continuation of that begun on board Saratoga with the satellites
Tiros 8 and Nimbus in late 1963 and 1964.
16--The destroyer, Leonard F. Mason (DD 852) recovered astronauts
Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott in Gemini 8, who after completing
the first space docking with another satellite, experienced control
difficulties which necessitated an emergency landing in the Pacific
500 miles east of Okinawa.
17--The X-22A VTOL research aircraft made its first flight at
Buffalo, N.Y.
31--Flight test of a Helicopter Capsule Escape System, involving
recovery of personnel by separation of the inhabited section of
the fuselage from the helicopter proper, demonstrated the feasibility
of its use during inflight emergencies. The test was conducted
at NAF El Centro with an H-25 helicopter.
APRIL
4--NASA announced selection of 19 men for the Astronaut Team,
among whom were 11 who had qualified as Naval Aviators including
John S. Bull, Ronald E. Evans, Thomas K. Mattingly, Bruce McCandless
II, Edgar D. Mitchell and Paul J. Weitz on active duty in the
Navy and Gerald P. Carr and Jack R. Lousma on active duty in the
Marine Corps. Don L. Lind (USNR), and Vance D. Brand and Fred
W. Haise, Jr. (former Marine pilots), were selected as civilians.
5--The Secretary of Defense approved a joint request from the
Secretaries of the Navy and Air Force that Navy air transport
units be withdrawn from the Military Airlift Command. The withdrawal
was accomplished by disestablishing of Navy units during the first
half of 1967.
10--Two Navy enlisted men, and a Medical Officer and a civilian
electronics technician acting as observers, began spinning at
4 r.p.m. in the Coriolis Acceleration Platform of the Naval Aerospace
Medical Institute at NAS Pensacola. It was the beginning of a
4-day test to determine the ability of humans to adapt to a new
form of rotation such as may be used in space stations to produce
artificial gravity.
18--In a reorganization of Naval Air Basic Training Command schools
at NAS Pensacola, the Naval Pre-Flight School was redesignated
Naval Aviation Schools Command and six existing schools became
Departments of the new command. The six schools were: Aviation
Officer Candidate, Flight Preparation, Survival Training, Instructor
Training, Indoctrination for Naval Academy and NROTC Midshipman,
and Aviation Officer Indoctrination.
MAY
1--A reorganization of the Navy Department became effective which
placed material, medical, and personnel supporting organizations
under command of the Chief of Naval Operations, abolished the
Naval Material Support Establishment and its component bureaus
and in their place set up the Naval Material Command, composed
of six functional, or systems, commands titled: Air, Ships, Electronics,
Ordnance, Supply, and Facilities Engineering.
11--The Commanding Officer of MAG-12 piloted an A-4 Skyhawk on
a catapult launch from the Marine Expeditionary Airfield at Chu
Lai, Vietnam. It was the first combat use of the new land based
catapult capable of launching fully loaded tactical aircraft from
runways less than 3,000 feet long.
15--Intrepid, operating as an attack carrier although still classified
as an antisubmarine carrier (CVS), joined Seventh Fleet carriers
in action off Vietnam. On the first day, her Air Wing (CVW-10),
composed entirely of attack squadrons, flew 97 combat sorties
against Viet Cong troop concentrations and supply storage areas
around Saigon.
18--The XC-142A tri-service V/STOL transport made its first carrier
takeoffs and landings during tests conducted aboard Bennington
at sea off San Diego. The tests, including 44 short and six vertical
takeoffs, were made with wind over the deck varying from zero
to 32 knots. Lieutenant R. L. Rich, along with other Navy, Marine,
and Army pilots took turns at the controls.
JUNE
6--Wasp recovered Gemini 9 astronauts Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene
A. Cernan 345 miles east of Cape Kennedy after their 72-hour space
flight on which they made successful rendezvous with another satellite
and Cernan spent well over an hour outside the spacecraft. The
astronauts elected to remain in their space craft during the recovery
and were hoisted aboard the carrier.
7--A C-130 Hercules, piloted by Commander Marion Morris of VX-6,
returned to Christchurch, New Zealand, after a flight to McMurdo
Station, Antarctica, to evacuate Robert L. Mayfield, UT-2, who
had been critically injured in a fall. It was the third emergency
air evacuation from Antarctica during the winter night.
16--An attack by A-4 Skyhawks and F-8 Crusaders from Hancock in
an area 24 miles west of Thanh Hoa, was the first carrier strike
on petroleum facilities since 1964 and the beginning of what became
a systematic effort to destroy the petroleum storage system of
North Vietnam.
JULY
1--Three North Vietnam torpedo boats came out to attack Coontz
(DLG 9) and Rogers (DD 876) operating about 40 miles off shore
on search and rescue missions. Aircraft from the Constellation
and Hancock made short work of the attackers, sinking all three
with bombs, rockets, and 20 mm cannon fire. The Coontz pulled
19 survivors from the water.
19--The Chief of Naval Operations established the LHA program
to bring into being a new concept of an amphibious assault ship.
Plans developed through preliminary study envisioned a large multipurpose
ship with a flight deck for helicopters, a wet boat well for landing
craft, a troop carrying capacity of an LPH and a cargo capacity
nearly that of an AKA.
21--A helicopter assigned to HS-3 from Guadalcanal recovered astronauts
John W. Young and Michael Collins after their landing in the Atlantic
460 miles east of Cape Kennedy. The astronauts had spent over
70 hours in space, had docked with an Agena satellite and Collins
had made a space stand and a space walk.
AUGUST
25--Hornet recovered the second unmanned space craft of the Apollo
series after its suborbital flight about 500 miles southeast of
Wake Island.
SEPTEMBER
3--Naval Air Test Center pilots completed a 2 day shipboard suitability
trial of the RH-3A helicopter minesweeper aboard the Ozark (MCS
2) on the open sea. This trial completed the Center's evaluation
of the helicopter for the minesweeper role. The following year
the ship and a helicopter detachment from newly established HC-6
were utilized in a mine countermeasures development and training
program in the Atlantic Fleet and a detachment from HC-7 was prepared
for training and operation on the Catskill (MCS 1) in the Pacific.
8--An A-3A Skywarrior, equipped with a Phoenix missile and its
control system, located, locked on at long range and launched
the missile scoring an intercept on a jet target drone. The event
occurred over the Navy Pacific Missile Range near San Nicolas
Island. Although the Phoenix had been launched successfully before,
this was the first full scale test employing all functions of
the missile control system.
15--A helicopter assigned to HS-3 from Guam recovered Gemini 11
astronauts Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon at sea 700 miles
off Cape Kennedy. The recovery marked the end of a 3-day mission
in space in which the astronauts completed several dockings with
an Agena satellite, established a new altitude record of over
850 miles and Gordon made a walk in space.
16--Helicopters from Oriskany rescued the entire crew of 44 men
from the British merchant ship August Moon as she was breaking
up in heavy seas on Pratas Reef 175 miles southeast of Hong Kong.
OCTOBER
26--Fire broke out on the hangar of Oriskany while operating in
the South China Sea off Vietnam, resulting in the loss of 44 officers
and men. Heroic efforts by the crew against great odds prevented
greater loss of life and damage to the ship.
NOVEMBER
8--The Chief of Naval Operations approved a reorganization of
the Naval Air Reserve involving the disestablishment of all Air
Wing Staffs and establishing in place of each an administrative
unit titled Naval Air Reserve Staff and a training unit titled
Naval Air Reserve Division (Fleet Air).
15--Wasp made the last recovery of the Gemini program, picking
up astronauts James A. Lovell, Jr., and Edwin A. Aldrin, Jr.,
and their spacecraft 600 miles southeast of Cape Kennedy. The
astronauts were lifted from their spacecraft to the ship by an
SH-3A helicopter of HS-11.
FEBRUARY
26--The first application of aerial mining in Vietnam occurred
when seven A-6As, led by Commander A.H. Barrie of VA-35's Black
Panthers, planted mine fields in the mouths of the Song Ca and
Song Giang rivers. This operation was aimed at stopping coastal
barges from moving supplies into immediate areas.
APRIL
1--The status of Overhaul and Repair Departments at six Navy and
one Marine Corps air station was changed to that of separate commands,
each titled Naval Air Rework Facility.
12--A wing insignia for Aviation Experimental Psychologists and
Aviation Physiologists was approved. The new design was similar
to Flight Surgeons Wings except for use of the gold oak leaf of
the Medical Service Corps in place of the leaf with acorn of the
Medical Corps.
24--Seventh Fleet carrier aircraft launched their first strikes
on MiG bases in North Vietnam with an attack on Kep Airfield,
37 miles northeast of Hanoi. The attack was delivered by A-6 Intruders
and A-4 Skyhawks from Kitty Hawk and was followed-up by another
A-6 attack the same night. While providing cover for the bombers
during the first attack, Lieutenant Commander Charles E. Southwick
and Lieutenant Hugh Wisely, flying F-4B Phantoms of VF-114, each
were credited with a probable MiG-17 in aerial combat.
MAY
15--The Chief of Naval Operations directed that a new department
titled Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance (AIMD) be established
in all operating carriers except the one operating with the Naval
Air Training Command. The function of the new Department was to
assume responsibility for maintenance afloat formerly held by
Air Wing and Air Group commanders.
19--Two A-7A Corsair II aircraft, piloted by Commander Charles
Fritz and Captain Alex Gillespie, USMC, made a trans-Atlantic
crossing from NAS Patuxent River to Evreux, France, establishing
an unofficial record for long distance, nonrefueled flight by
light attack jet aircraft. Distance flown was 3,327 nautical miles;
time of flight was seven hours and one minute.
24--The seaplane tender Currituck returned to North Island after
completing a 10-month tour in the western Pacific and the last
combat tour for ships of her type.
JUNE
8--Aircraft launched from America to aid the Liberty (AGTR 5)
as she was under attack by Israeli aircraft and motor torpedo
boats, were called back before reaching their destination when
a message of regret and apology was received from Tel Aviv. Commander
Sixth Fleet then sent medical teams on board destroyers to the
scene to aid in caring for the wounded.
18--The first scheduled winter flight to Antarctica was successfully
completed when a Navy LC-130F of VX-6 flying from Christchurch,
New Zealand, landed at Williams Field, 7 miles from McMurdo Station.
Although earlier winter flights had been made to Antarctica as
a result of medical emergencies, this was the first planned flight.
30--The Naval Air Transport Wing, Pacific, was disestablished
at NAS Moffett Field.
JULY
1--The Dodge satellite was placed into orbit by a Titan III-C
fired from Cape Kennedy. Dodge (an acronym for Department of Defense
Gravity Experiment) was developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory
under management of the Naval Air Systems Command to provide a
three axis passive stabilization system that could be used on
satellites orbiting the earth at synchronous altitudes. In addition
to demonstrating the basic feasibility of this form of stabilization,
Dodge carried color television cameras and on 25 July made the
first full-disc color photograph of the earth.
1--The title of the Office of the Naval Weather Service was changed
to Naval Weather Service Command and its mission modified to ensure
fulfillment of Navy meteorological requirements and the Department
of Defense requirements for oceanographic analyses; and to provide
technical guidance in meteorological matters. On the same date,
the Naval Weather Service Division, Op-09B7, was disestablished
and its functions assigned to the new command.
1--Naval Air Propulsion Test Center, with headquarters at Trenton,
N.J., was established by merger of the Naval Air Turbine Test
Station, Trenton, and the Aeronautical Engine Laboratory of NAEC
Philadelphia.
19--Air Transport Squadron Three, last Navy component of the Military
Airlift Command, was disestablished at McGuire AFB, ending an
interservice partnership that began in 1948 when Navy and Air
Force transport squadrons combined to form the Military Air Transport
Service.
29--Fire broke out on the flight deck of Forrestal as aircraft
were being readied for launch over Vietnam. Flames engulfed the
fantail and spread below decks touching off bombs and ammunition.
Heroic effort brought the fires under control but damage to aircraft
and the ship was severe and the final casualty count was 132 dead,
two missing and presumed dead, and 62 injured.
29--The Vice President announced that the Navy Navigation Satellite
System, Transit, would be released for use by merchant ships and
for commercial manufacture of shipboard receivers.
AUGUST
15--The Aircraft Carrier Safety Review Panel held its first meeting.
Headed by Admiral James S. Russell, USN (Ret.), the panel was
appointed to examine actual and potential sources of fire and
explosions in aircraft carriers with the object of minimizing
their occurrence and damage and to propose further improvement
in the equipment and techniques used to fight fires and control
damage by explosion.
OCTOBER
10--Rear Admiral Albert Cushing Read, USN (Ret.), Naval Aviator
No. 24, died in Miami, Fla. Well known commander of the NC-4 on
the first flight across the Atlantic in 1919, Admiral Read made
many contributions during his Naval Aviation career which began
in July 1915 and carried through to his retirement in September
1946.
31--Currituck last seaplane tender in service, was decommissioned
at Mare Island and transferred to the Reserve Fleet.
NOVEMBER
6--An SP-5B Marlin of VP-40 at NAS North Island made the last
operational flight by seaplanes of the U.S. Navy. With Commanders
J. P. Smolinski and G. Surovik as pilot and copilot and 15 passengers
including Rear Admiral C. A. Karaberis on board, the flight ended
sea-plane patrol operations in the Navy. For more than fifty years,
seaplanes had been a mainstay in the Navy's enduring effort to
adequately integrate aeronautics with the fleet.
9--Bennington recovered the unmanned Apollo 4 spacecraft about
600 miles northwest of Hawaii and after its 8_-hour orbital flight.
JANUARY
19--A C-130 Hercules of VR-24 and helicopters from NAF Sigonella
delivered food, clothing and medicine to the west coast of Sicily
to aid some 40,000 persons made homeless by an earthquake in the
region of Montevago.
23--When word was received of the capture of Pueblo by a North
Korean patrol boat, a Task Group, composed of the Enterprise and
screen, was ordered to reverse course in the East China Sea and
to run northward to the Sea of Japan where it operated in the
vicinity of South Korea for almost a month.
27--At the call of the President in the emergency created by the
seizure of Pueblo, six carrier squadrons of the Naval Air Reserve
reported for active duty.
MARCH
28--The Secretary of the Navy approved establishment of a new
restricted line officer category (152x) called the Aeronautical
Maintenance Duty Officer (AMDO).
31--President Johnson announced that as an indication of American
willingness to make concessions opening the way to peace talks
with the North Vietnamese, the bombing of targets north of the
20th parallel would stop on the following day.
APRIL
4--The Apollo 6 unmanned spacecraft was recovered after its orbital
flight by Okinawa about 380 miles north of Hawaii.
MAY
3--The Aviation and Submarine Safety Centers were combined to
form the Naval Safety Center. At the same time the Office of the
Assistant Chief of Naval Operations (Safety) was established.
JUNE
22--The keel for Nimitz was laid at Newport News, Virginia.
JULY
1--To insure a more rapid and efficient transition to combat status
in the event of mobilization, the Naval Air Reserve was reorganized
into wings and squadrons known collectively as the Naval Air Reserve
Force and, effective 1 August, Commander Naval Air Reserve Training
assumed additional duty as Commander Naval Air Reserve Force.
6--Marine Observation Squadron 2 (VMO-2) stationed at Da Nang,
South Vietnam, received the first OV-1OA, Broncos, to arrive in
South Vietnam. The aircraft, specifically developed for counterinsurgency
warfare, was immediately employed for forward air control, visual
reconnaissance and helicopter escort.
AUGUST
24--A change in Uniform Regulations provided a new breast insigne
for Navy and Marine Corps personnel qualified as Flight Officers.
The new wings replaced the old Naval Aviation Observers wings
effective 31 December.
SEPTEMBER
16--The Department of Defense announced that six naval air reserve
squadrons called to active duty immediately after the seizure
of the Pueblo would be returned to inactive status within the
next six weeks.
OCTOBER
22--Helicopters of HS-5 from Essex located and recovered astronauts
Walter M. Schirra, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham about
285 miles south of Bermuda and delivered them safely to the ship.
It was the end of an 11-day mission in space and the first manned
flight of the Apollo program.
NOVEMBER
1--In response to orders from the President, all bombing of North
Vietnam was halted at 9 p.m. Saigon time. The last Navy mission
over the restricted area was flown earlier in the day by Commander
Kenneth E. Enney in an A-7 Corsair II from Constellation.
6--The lighter-than-air hangar at NAS Lakehurst was designated
a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service of the
Department of the Interior.
DECEMBER
27--Helicopters of HS-4 hovered over Apollo 8 after it ended its
historic flight around the moon with a predawn splashdown in the
Pacific within 3 miles of Yorktown. At first light, astronauts
Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, and William A. Anders were picked
up by helicopters and carried to the ship.
JANUARY
3--Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4), the first Navy squadron
of its type, was established at NAS North Island to operate the
OV-1OA, Bronco. When VAL-4 deployed to Vietnam in March, it became
an important part of the brownwater Navy, operating from two airfields
in the Mekong Delta to provide direct support for U.S. and Vietnamese
Navy Riverine operations.
14--A fire aboard Enterprise resulting from detonation of a MK-32
Zuni rocket warhead overheated by exhaust from an aircraft starting
unit, took 27 lives, injured 344 and destroyed 15 aircraft. Repairs
to the ship were completed at Pearl Harbor in early March.
27--The Commander, Naval Air Systems Command directed that the
Naval Aviation Integrated Logistic Support Task Force be phased
out. This Task Force, generally known as NAILS, had made an in
depth study of aviation logistics with particular emphasis on
spares and repair parts support management. Among other things,
it recommended that a NAILS Center be established.
FEBRUARY
3--The Naval Air Systems Command issued a contract to Grumman
for development of the F-14A fighter and manufacture of six experimental
aircraft. The F-14, intended as a high performance replacement
for the F-4 and abortive F-111B, will feature a variable-sweep
wing and carry the Phoenix missile.
13--Randolph was decommissioned, and placed in the Reserve Fleet.
This was followed on 30 June by the decommissioning of Essex,
which was placed in reserve, and on 1 December by the decommissioning
of Boxer which was sold for scrap.
MARCH
13--Apollo 9 Astronauts James A. McDivitt, USAF, David R. Scott,
USAF, and Russell L. Schweickart were recovered by a helicopter
from HS-3 off Guadalcanal after completing a 10-day orbit of the
earth.
APRIL
14--North Korean aircraft shot down an unarmed EC-121 propeller-driven
Constellation which was on a routine reconnaissance patrol over
the Sea of Japan from its base at Atsugi, Japan. The entire 31-man
crew was killed. U.S. response was to activate Task Force 71 to
protect such flights over those international waters in the future.
Initially, the TF consisted of the carriers Enterprise, Ticonderoga,
Ranger, and Hornet with cruiser and destroyer screens.
MAY
26--Apollo 10 Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, USAF, John W. Young,
USN, and Eugene A. Cernan, USN, were recovered by HS-4 off Princeton
after making an 8-day orbit of the earth.
26--A new, major development in carrier fire prevention occurred
when Franklin D. Roosevelt put to sea from Norfolk Naval Shipyard
after an ll-month overhaul which included installation of a deck
edge, spray system using the new sea watercompatible, fire-fighting
chemical, Light Water.
JUNE
1--On a flight from Stephenville, Newfoundland, to Mildenhall,
England, Lieutenant Colonel R. Lewis, USMC, and Major C. L. Phillips,
USMC, piloted an OV-10 Bronco to a world record of 2,539.78 miles
for point-to-point distance for light turbo-prop aircraft.
24--The first operational "hands off" arrested landing
using the AN/SPN-42, Automatic Carrier Landing System, on a carrier
was performed by Lieutenant Dean Smith and Lieutenant (jg) James
Sherlock of VF-103 when their Phantom II landed aboard Saratoga.
AN/SPN-42 is an outgrowth of SPN-10 which was first tested in
1957 but was found not to meet all fleet requirements.
30--Personnel on duty in the naval aeronautical organization at
the end of the fiscal year, in round numbers, included a grand
total of 177,000 with 28,500 officers of whom 15,200 were HTA
pilots. Enlisted men numbered 147,700 of whom 27 were pilots.
Respective figures for Marine Aviation were: 72,500; 9,600; 5,600;
62,800, and 5.
JULY
14--The first A-7E Corsair II assigned to an operational squadron
was delivered to VA-122, the A-7 West Coast training squadron
at NAS Lemoore. The A-7E version of the Vought Corsair II incorporates
heads-up-display (HUD) and Project Map Display (PMDS) whereby
vital information from flight and navigation instruments are projected
into the pilots normal field of vision, thereby permitting him
to concentrate on his mission without looking down at instruments.
Service use of this equipment culminated a development effort
of more than 15 years duration.
24--Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, ex-USN, Edwin E. Aldrin,
Jr., USAF, and Michael Collins, USAF, were recovered by HS-4 off
Hornet after the first moon landing during which Armstrong and
Aldrin walked on the moon, 20-21 July. The first person to set
foot on the moon was a naval aviator, Neil Armstrong.
AUGUST
1--The Naval Air Systems Command issued a contract to Lockheed
Aircraft Corporation for development of the S-3A, a carrier based
antisubmarine warfare plane designed for all weather operation
and equipped with modern detection and data processing equipment.
It was scheduled to replace the S-2 Tracker in the seventies.
17--Hurricane Camille swept into the Gulf Coast near Gulfort,
Miss., leaving many people homeless and causing heavy property
damage. Naval Aviation performed emergency assistance and Helicopter
Training Squadron Eight (HT-8) received a letter from the President
praising it for services rendered during the disaster.
31--Two LC-130's of VXE-6 arrived at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica,
6 weeks in advance of the opening of Operation Deep Freeze 70.
Among the passengers were Rear Admiral David F. Welch, Commander
Naval Support Force, Antarctica, and seven scientists.
SEPTEMBER
1--The Naval Aviation Integrated Logistic Support Center, Patuxent
River, Md., was established to provide intensified logistics management
for Naval Aviation.
8--As part of Project Birdseye, the Arctic ice-survey mission
initiated in March 1962 to gather ice-flow information for the
Naval Oceanographic Office, Oceanographic Development Squadron
Eight (VXN-8) provided ice surveillance for SS Manhattan during
the ship's historic voyage from the East Coast of the United States
to Alaska through the ice-packed Northwest Passage.
30--Anti-submarine Air Group 57 was disestablished followed by
the disestablishment of CVW-10 on 28 November and CVSG-52 on 15
December.
OCTOBER
22--The Naval Air Systems Command and the United Kingdom executed
a Memorandum of Agreement whereby the Hawker-Siddely Harrier,
a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, could be purchased.
A subsequent Letter of Offer covered procurement of 12 aircraft
with initial delivery in January 1971. The Harrier, U.S. designation
AV-8A, is being procured for operational use by the Marine Corps
as a result of interest generated in September 1968 when Marine
Aviators Colonel T. H. Miller and Lieutenant Colonel C. M. Baker
flew the aircraft in England. The Harrier was a further development
of the Kestrel, which in early phases received developmental support
from the United States and West Germany as well as the United
Kingdom.
NOVEMBER
24--The Apollo 12 Astronauts, an all-Naval Aviator crew of Richard
F. Gordon, Jr., Charles Conrad, Jr., and Alan L. Bean, were recovered
by HS-4 off Hornet after circling the moon and, in a lunar module,
landing there with Conrad and Bean on 19 November for 31 1/2 hours.
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Historical Center home page30 June 1997