VA-23, nicknamed the ''Black Knights'', was an Attack Squadron of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, established as Reserve Fighter Squadron VF-653 in December 1949 at NAS Akron, Ohio. The squadron relocated to

NAS Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station mostly in Alameda, California, with a slight portion of it within San Francisco proper, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and ...

on 16 April 1951. It was redesignated VF-151 on 4 February 1953, and as VA-151 on 7 February 1956. It was finally designated as VA-23 on 23 February 1959, and moved to

NAS Lemoore Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County, California, Kings County and Fresno County, California, Fresno County, California, United States. Lemoore Station, California, Lemoore Station, a cen ...

on 30 September 1961. The squadron was disestablished on 1 April 1970.

Operational history

The squadron conducted its first combat strikes on 11 December 1951 during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. In February 1955, it provided air support during the evacuation of

Chinese Nationalists The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the sole ruling party of the country during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until its relocation to Taiwan, and in Taiwan ruled under ...

from the

Tachen Islands The Dachen Islands, Tachen Islands or Tachens form an island group off the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang, China, in the East China Sea. They are administered by the Jiaojiang District of Taizhou. Before the First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955, the ...

during the

First Taiwan Straits Crisis The First Taiwan Strait Crisis (also known as the Formosa Crisis, the 1954–1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis, the Offshore Islands Crisis, the Quemoy-Matsu Crisis, and the 1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis) was a brief armed conflict between the People's Rep ...

. In April 1965, operating from on

Yankee Station Yankee Station (officially Point Yankee) was a fixed coordinate off the coast of Vietnam where U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and support ships operated in open waters over a nine-year period during the Vietnam War. The location was used primari ...

, VA-23 conducted its first combat operations since the

; it became the first squadron to use the

Shrike missile AGM-45 Shrike is an American anti-radiation missile designed to home in on hostile anti-aircraft radar. The Shrike was developed by the Naval Weapons Center at China Lake in 1963 by mating a seeker head to the rocket body of an AIM-7 Sparrow. ...

in combat. In March 1968, along with other squadrons in CVW-19, conducted flight operations from in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

. These operations were part of a continuing show of American forces in the area, named Operation Formation Star, following the capture of by

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

on 23 January 1968. In April 1968, VA-23 flew combat strikes around

Khe Sanh Khe Sanh () is the district capital of Hướng Hoá District, Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam, located 63 km west of Đông Hà. During the Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict ...

, South Vietnam, in support of the besieged Marine base there.

Aircraft assignment

The squadron was assigned the following aircraft in the months shown: * FG-1D – 1951 * F4U-4 – 1951 * F4U-4B – 1951 * F9F-2 – August 1952 * F9F-5 – October 1952 * F7U-3M – May 1955 * F7U-3 – June 1955 * F9F-8B – December 1956 * F9F-8 – January 1957 * FJ-4B – July 1957 * A4D-2 – May 1960 * A-4E – December 1962 * A-4F – July 1967

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Va-23 Attack squadrons of the United States Navy Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons

Operational history

Aircraft assignment

See also

References