VA-36, nicknamed the ''Roadrunners'', 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 ...

. It was established as Fighter Squadron VF-102 on 1 May 1952, redesignated VA-36 on 1 July 1955, and disestablished on 1 August 1970. It was the first squadron to be designated VA-36, the second VA-36 was established on 6 March 1987 and disestablished on 1 April 1994.

Operational history

* November 1953 – September 1954: During the squadron's world cruise aboard , it visited 14 different ports in 10 foreign countries and transited the

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

and

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

s. * July–August 1961: While deployed on a training cruise aboard in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, the squadron was on an alert status due to the

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called or after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front ...

. * 2 December 1965: The squadron conducted its first combat operations, flying from on Dixie Station in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

off the coast of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. This marked the first time a nuclear powered ship had engaged in combat. *December 1965 – June 1966: During this period of combat operations squadron personnel were awarded over 170

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

s. * May–June 1967: VA-36, embarked on , was on station in the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

during the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Units of ''America's'' air wing were launched to provide air cover for when it came under attack by Israeli forces.

Home port assignments

The squadron was assigned to these home ports, effective on the dates shown: *

NAAS Cecil Field Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area. ...

– 1 May 1952 *

NAS Jacksonville Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jacksonville is located i ...

– July 1955 * NAS Cecil Field – April 1956

Aircraft assignment

The squadron first received the following aircraft in the months shown: * FG-1D Corsair – May 1952 *

F9F-5 Panther The Grumman F9F Panther is an early carrier-based jet fighter designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Grumman. It was the first jet-powered fighter aircraft to see air-to-air combat with the United States Navy as well as bein ...

– Oct 1952 * F9F-8 & F9F-8B Panther – 2 Nov 1956 * F9F-8T Panther – 14 Apr 1957 * A4D-2 Skyhawk – 11 Sep 1958 * A4D-2N/A-4C Skyhawk – 21 Mar 1961 (The A4D-2N designation changed to A-4C in 1962.) * A-4E Skyhawk – Oct 1967 (The squadron began its transition to A-4Es in October 1967 and in November 1967 transitioned back to A-4Cs)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Va-36 Attack squadrons of the United States Navy Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons

Operational history

Home port assignments

Aircraft assignment

See also

References