VA-153 (U.S. Navy)

Attack Squadron 153
VA-153 squadron patch
Active	1 February 1951-30 September 1977
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Role	Attack aircraft
Part of	Inactive
Nickname(s)	Blue Tail Flies
Engagements	Korean War Vietnam War
Aircraft flown
Attack	F6F Hellcat F9 Panther F9 Cougar FJ Fury A-4 Skyhawk A-7 Corsair II

VA-153 was an Attack Squadron of the U.S. Navy. During a 1949 reorganization of the Naval Air Reserve, a Fighter Squadron at NAS New York (believed to have been VF-718) was redesignated Fighter Squadron VF-831. It was called to active duty on 1 February 1951. The squadron was redesignated as VF-153 on 4 February 1953, and finally as VA-153 on 15 December 1956. It was disestablished on 30 September 1977. The squadron's nickname was the Blue Tail Flies from 1953 onward.^[1]

Operational history

VF-831 F9F-2 on USS Antietam c.1951

VA-153 A-4Es launching from USS Coral Sea in 1967

• VF-831 was assigned to Carrier Air Group 15 (CVG-15), aboard USS Antietam, which was deployed to Korea from 8 September 1951 to 2 May 1952.

• Feb 1955: Squadron aircraft flew sorties in support of the evacuation of Chinese Nationalists from the Tachen Islands during the First Taiwan Straits Crisis.

• 23 Aug–9 Sep 1958: The squadron flew sorties in the Taiwan Straits during the Second Taiwan Straits Crisis.

• Jan 1961: USS Coral Sea (CV-43), with VA-153 embarked, operated in the South China Sea after Pathet Lao forces captured strategic positions in Laos.

• 2 Feb 1965: The squadron began participating in operations in Laos. These operations involved Yankee Team, Operation Barrel Roll and Operation Steel Tiger missions.

• 7 and 11 Feb 1965: The squadron participated in Flaming Dart I and II, reprisal strikes against targets in North Vietnam following a Viet Cong attack on the American advisors compound at Pleiku and the American billet in Qui Nhon, South Vietnam.

• Mar 1965: The squadron participated in Operation Rolling Thunder, the bombing of military targets in North Vietnam.

• 13 Aug 1965: The squadron’s commanding officer, Commander H. E. Thomas, was killed in action over North Vietnam.

• Mar 1968: USS Coral Sea (CV-43), with VA-153 embarked, operated on station off the coast of Korea following the capture of USS Pueblo (AGER-2) in January by North Korea.

LTV A-7B Corsair II of VA-153 at NAS Cecil Field Florida after service aboard the U.S.S. F.D.Roosevelt in 1976. The aircraft wears bicentennial markings

• 21 Nov 1970: The squadron flew missions in support of Operation Ivory Coast, an attempt to rescue American prisoners of war at the Son Tay prisoner compound, 20 miles west of Hanoi.

• 11–22 Feb 1973: Following the ceasefire with North Vietnam the squadron flew combat missions in Laos until a ceasefire was signed with that country on 22 February 1973.

• Feb 1973: Commander D. R. Weichman, the squadron’s executive officer, completed his 625th combat mission of the Vietnam War. He maintains the record for the highest number of combat missions for a Navy fixed-wing pilot during this conflict.

• Nov 1973: USS Oriskany (CV-34), with VA-153 embarked, departed from operations in the South China Sea to relieve USS Hancock (CV-19) on station in the Arabian Sea due to the unsettled conditions following the Yom Kippur War.^[1]

Home port assignments

The squadron was assigned to these home ports, effective on the dates shown:^[1]

• NAS New York (Floyd Bennett Field) – assigned here prior to the squadron’s recall to active duty on 1 February 1951.
• NAS Alameda – 01 Apr 1951
• NAS Moffett Field – 5 May 1952
• NAS Lemoore – 21 Aug 1961

Aircraft Assignment

The squadron first received the following aircraft on the dates shown:^[1]

• F6F Hellcat *
• F9F-2 Panther – 06 Feb 1951
• F9F-5 Panther – Aug 1952
• F9F-6 Cougar – Oct 1953
• FJ-3 Fury – Mar 1955
• F9F-8 Cougar – Nov 1955
• F9F-8B Cougar – Apr 1956
• A4D-1 Skyhawk – 12 Feb 1957
• A4D-2 Skyhawk – 27 Oct 1958
• A4D-2N Skyhawk – 20 Jun 1961
• A-4E Skyhawk – Jan 1967
• A-4F Skyhawk – Apr 1968
• A-7A Corsair II – 14 Sep 1969
• A-7B Corsair II – May 1973

* While in a reserve status from September 1949 to January 1951, the squadron was most likely utilizing F6F pool aircraft assigned to NAS New York.

See also

• Attack aircraft
• List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons
• History of the United States Navy

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons.

1. Grossnick, Roy A. (1995). Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Volume 1, Chapter 2, Section 8: Attack Squadron Histories for VA-125 to VA-153 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. pp. 218–221. Retrieved 2014-02-19.

External links