VPB-121
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VPB-121 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 19 (VP-19) on 1 October 1937, redesignated Patrol Squadron 43 (VP-43) on 1 July 1939, redesignated Patrol Squadron 81 (VP-81) on 1 July 1941, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 121 (VPB-121) on 1 October 1944 and disestablished on 1 June 1946.


Operational history

*1 October 1937: VP-19 was established at NAS Seattle, Washington and assigned six P2Y-3 flying boats. *17 March 1938: PatWing-4 squadrons VPs 16, 17 and 19 participated in Fleet Exercise XIX as part of White Force. The combined squadrons provided patrol sector searches out to . Attacks against the Black Force were judged to have inflicted major damage to elements of the enemy fleet. The exercise featured the first operational use by the Navy of long-range radio bearings for aeronautical navigation. *1 June 1938: VP-19, refitted with six new P2Y-3s, deployed to FAB Japonski Island, a recently completed seaplane base in Alaskan waters. Detachments were rotated to
Sitka, Alaska Sitka (; ) is a municipal home rule, unified Consolidated city-county, city-borough in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was under Russian America, Russian rule from 1799 to 1867. The city is situated on the west side of Ba ...
, during the eight-week tour of duty. The squadron returned to NAS Seattle on 1 August. *20 March 1941: VP-43 was directed to fly its aging P2Y-3s to NAS Pensacola, Florida, for
PBY Catalina The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (U.S. Navy designation), is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In U.S. Army service, it was designated as the O ...
replacements. The replacements, however, were in San Diego, California, requiring the squadron to travel there by train to pick up the new aircraft, arriving on 3 May 1941. There was a delay in accepting the aircraft while the Consolidated Aircraft Company installed self-sealing fuel cells, armor and upgraded waist gun stations. The squadron flew the new Catalinas back to NAS Pensacola when the work was completed. *13 June 1941: VP-43 was relocated from NAS Pensacola to
NAS Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ha ...
, Virginia. On 13 June the squadron turned over its new PBY-5s to VP-52 which had just arrived at NAS Norfolk from NAS Argentia, Newfoundland. In the aircraft exchange the squadron received VP-52’s well-used PBY-5s. *8 July 1941: The squadron, which had been depleted by transfers to other squadrons, was brought up to full strength. A flight training and ground school training syllabus on the PBY-5 aircraft was begun for new squadron personnel at NAS Norfolk. *22 October 1941: VP-81 was assigned the additional mission of an Operational Training Unit (OTU) for patrol squadrons attached to the Atlantic Fleet. The squadron was relocated from NAS Norfolk to NAS Key West, Florida. Operational patrols were conducted in conjunction with training flights off the East Coast. *21 December 1941: The squadron claimed a
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
sunk off the coast of Key West, however postwar examination of enemy records does not indicate any losses in that locality on that date. *1 September 1942: VP-81 was transferred to NAS San Juan, Puerto Rico, under the operational control of PatWing-12. The squadron conducted
Anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...
(ASW) searches in the Caribbean area. *1 June 1943: The squadron was relocated to NAS Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, under the operational control of FAW-11. ASW patrols, night antishipping patrols and convoy coverage were the primary duties of VP-81. *1 August 1943: VP-81 was transferred to
NAS San Diego Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...
, California, in preparation for the trans-Pacific flight to the South Pacific. New amphibious models of the Catalina, PBY-5As, were assigned as replacement aircraft while the squadron underwent additional training for its upcoming combat assignment. *1 November 1943: The squadron flew its trans-Pacific to NAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, where additional training was given before further reassignment to the combat zone. *25 November 1943: VP-81 was transferred to Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, relieving VP-54. Its duties consisted of search missions of the Saint George Channel, providing convoy coverage and nighttime ''Black Cat'' operations. The squadron came under the operational control of FAW-1. *3 February 1944: VP-81 was transferred to Munda, New Georgia Islands. ''Black Cat'' operations were conducted in conjunction with nearby
PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, and it was valued for its maneuverability and speed. However, PT boats were hampe ...
squadrons. Bombing strikes against land-based installations were carried out in the Choiseul Bay area. *7 May 1944: VP-81 was relocated to
Piva Airfield Piva Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands (archipelago), Solomon Islands archipelago. History World War II The 3rd Marine Division (United States), 3rd Marine Division landed on Bougainville o ...
,
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, where ''Black Cat'' nighttime operations were conducted against enemy shipping. *1 July 1944: The squadron returned to NAS San Diego. *8 September 1944: Upon return from leave, squadron aircrews were reassigned PB4Y-1 Liberators in place of Catalinas. Ground school and flight training took place at NAAF Camp Kearney, California. The squadron came under the operational control of FAW-14. Training had progressed to the advanced syllabus at NAS Brown Field, California, in preparation for the upcoming second combat tour in the Pacific. While in training, the squadron was assigned the PB4Y-2 Privateer in place of the older Liberator aircraft. *6 January 1945: VPB-121 flew its trans-Pacific flight to NAS Kaneohe Bay, where the squadron began intensive training in radar navigation. Operational search patrols in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands were also assigned as part of the training. *26 January – 1 February 1945: The squadron was relocated to Midway Island and put on barrier patrols and daytime ASW patrols, returning to NAS Kaneohe Bay on 1 February 1945. *1 March – 1 April 1945: VPB-121 was transferred to
Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...
. On 7 March 1945, the squadron conducted its first strikes on land installations at
Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...
. The missions continued through 1 April, when Ponape was added to the target list. *3 July 1945: VPB-121 was transferred to
Tinian Tinian () is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern ...
. On 8 July a detachment was assigned to
Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...
. *3 August 1945: Two Privateers from the Iwo Jima detachment spotted a downed P-51 pilot floating near the enemy-occupied island of Sagami Nada. While directing an American submarine to the location, the two aircraft sank one enemy ship that tried to interfere, and downed three Japanese fighters. Lieutenant Ralph D. Ettinger and his crew accounted for two of the eight fighters that attacked the Privateers. For his bravery in leading the defense against superior enemy forces for over 40 minutes of constant action, Ettinger was awarded the
Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...
. Lieutenant Commander Raymond J. Pflum, commanding officer of VPB-121, was the pilot of the second aircraft. His crew shot down one of the enemy fighters and was responsible for sinking the Japanese cargo vessel. He was also awarded the Navy Cross. *7 August 1945: Two of the squadron’s Privateers were caught by five enemy fighters in the area of Sagami Wan. One enemy aircraft was shot down and one of the squadron PB4Y-2 bombers was shot down in flames, with no survivors. *1 September 1945: VPB-121 was assigned weather flights out of Iwo Jima until the end of September when the squadron was relieved for return to NAS San Diego. *1 June 1946: VPB-121 was disestablished at NAS San Diego.


Aircraft assignments

The squadron was assigned the following aircraft, effective on the dates shown: * P2Y-3 - October 1937 * PBY-5 - May 1941 * PBY-5A - August 1943 * PB4Y-1 - September 1944 * PB4Y-2 - October 1944


Home port assignments

The squadron was assigned to these home ports, effective on the dates shown: * NAS Seattle, Washington - 1 October 1937 * NAS Pensacola, Florida - 20 March 1941 *
NAS Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ha ...
, Virginia - 13 June 1941 * NAS Key West, Florida - 22 October 1941 * NAS San Juan, Puerto Rico - 1 September 1942 * NAS Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - 1 June 1943 *
NAS San Diego Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...
, California - 1 August 1943 * NAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii - 1 November 1943 * NAS San Diego - 1 July 1944 * NAAF Camp Kearney, California - 8 September 1944 * NAS Brown Field, California - November 1944 * NAS Kaneohe Bay - 6 January 1945 * NAS San Diego - September 1945


See also

*
Maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...
* List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons *
List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons This is a list of active United States Navy aircraft squadrons. ''Deactivated'' or ''disestablished'' squadrons are listed in the list of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons. The U.S. Navy uses the term "squadron" only to describe uni ...
* List of squadrons in the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons *
History of the United States Navy The history of the United States Navy divides into two major periods: the "Old Navy", a small but respected force of sailing ships that became notable for innovation in the use of ironclads during the American Civil War, and the "New Navy" ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vpb-121 Patrol squadrons of the United States Navy Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons