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Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VQ-3), nicknamed the ''Ironmen'', is a
The squadron began on 23 December 1963 as a detachment of Fleet Tactical Support Squadron 21 (VR-21) at Naval Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii. It operated a specialized version of the
naval aviation
Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of Military aviation, military air power by Navy, navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
It often involves ''navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use.
Seab ...
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 ...
based at Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, adjacent to Del City and Midwest City.
The ba ...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
(United States). The squadron flies the Boeing E-6B Mercury airborne command post and communications relay aircraft. It is part of the Navy's TACAMO community, whose mission is to enable the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense to directly communicate with U.S. submarines, bombers, and missile silos during a nuclear war.
Operations
VQ-3 has a complement of 78 officers and 454 enlisted personnel. Since 1992, it has operated under Navy Strategic Communications Wing 1 at Tinker Air Force Base. It deploys aircraft to fly operational patrols out ofTravis Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 Kilometre, km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, California, Fairfield, i ...
, California.
History
The squadron began on 23 December 1963 as a detachment of Fleet Tactical Support Squadron 21 (VR-21) at Naval Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii. It operated a specialized version of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
aircraft, the EC-130G. In early 1966, it moved to NAS Agana, Guam, becoming part of Airborne Early Warning Squadron 1 (VW-1). On 1 July 1968, the TACAMO detachment became Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VQ-3). The EC-130G was replaced by the EC-130Q in 1969 and 1970. VQ-3 returned to Barbers Point in 1980. The squadron transitioned from the EC-130Q to the Boeing E-6A Mercury in 1989-90, and relocated to Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, adjacent to Del City and Midwest City.
The ba ...
in 1992.
The TACAMO Community Veterans Association organization has a museum and history kiosk at Kalaeloa Airport, on the site of the former NAS Barbers Point. It was dedicated 6 September 2016, with former members of VQ-3, VQ-4, and VQ-7 in attendance, chronicling the history of VQ-3.
References
{{United States Navy Aircraft Squadrons Fleet air reconnaissance squadrons of the United States Navy