VA-72 (U.S. Navy)

Attack Squadron 72
Active	25 January 1945 – 30 June 1991
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Nickname(s)	Blue Hawks
Engagements	Korean War Vietnam War Operation El Dorado Canyon 1991 Gulf War
Aircraft flown
Attack	Douglas A-4 Skyhawk LTV A-7 Corsair II
Fighter	Grumman F6F Hellcat Grumman F8F Bearcat Grumman F9F Panther

Attack Squadron 72 (VA-72)) was an aviation unit of the U.S. Navy. It was established as Bomber Fighter Squadron 18 (VBF-18) on 25 January 1945. The squadron was redesignated as Fighter Squadron 8A (VF-8A) on 15 November 1946, as VF-72 on 28 July 1948, and finally as VA-72 on 3 January 1956. It was disestablished on 30 June 1991.^[1]

The squadron's nickname from 1945 to 1950 was "Bearcats", followed by "Hawks" until 1962, and the Blue Hawks from that point forward. Its first insignia, a bearcat, was approved in 1946; a new one, featuring a peregrine falcon, was approved in 1950. Its last insignia, with a blue hawk, was current from 1956 until the squadron's disestablishment 35 years later.^[2]

Significant events

A VF-8A F8F-1B approaching USS Leyte, in 1947.

• Sep–Dec 1946: Participated in USS Leyte (CV-32) shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea and a goodwill cruise to South America for the inauguration of Chile’s President Gabriel González Videla.

• 19 Aug 1948: Squadron commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander B. F. Haker, lost at sea while attempting a carrier approach.

• 25 Jan 1949: Cross deck operations with the British carrier HMS Triumph (R16) in the Mediterranean.

• Apr 1961: The squadron operated from USS Independence (CVA-62) in an area south of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by American supported Cuban exiles.

• 22 Oct–22 Nov 1962: Participated in the Cuban Quarantine while embarked in Independence.

A VA-72 A4D-2 launching from USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1959.

10–16 May 1963: A detachment of three aircraft deployed in USS Wasp (CVS-18) to provide courier service during a Project Mercury space flight of the Faith 7 capsule.

• 17 Oct 1965: The squadron’s executive officer, Commander H. B. Southworth, led the first successful strike against a surface-to-air SA-2 missile installation in North Vietnam. The strike was composed of four VA-72 A-4Es and one A-6A from VA-75.

• 18 Sep 1970: While operating in the Caribbean aboard USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67), the squadron was ordered to deploy with the carrier to the Mediterranean due to the fighting between forces of Jordan and Palestine and the intervention of Syria on behalf of the Palestinians.

• Oct 1973: With the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, Kennedy and her air wing, while operating in the North Atlantic after just completing a Mediterranean deployment, were ordered back to the Mediterranean. VA-72 conducted flight operations while the carrier was on station south of Crete, from the latter part of October through mid November.

• 17–19 Sep 1985: VA-72, along with other units of CVW-1, were the first to conduct flight operations from a carrier operating inside a fjord. USS America (CV-66) operated in Vestfjorden, Norway, during this evolution.

• 22–27 Mar 1986: During Freedom of Navigation Exercises in the Gulf of Sidra and the resulting combat action with Libyan forces, VA-72 flew patrols to protect the task force from attack by surface ships or submarines and also provided aerial refueling missions for fighters flying combat air patrols.

• 14 Apr 1986: The United States initiated Operation Eldorado Canyon, air strikes against targets in Libya. VA-72 provided air-to-surface missile support for possible employment against surface-to-air missile radar sites.

• Sep–Oct 1990 and Dec 1990–Jan 1991: The squadron participated in Operation Desert Shield, the buildup of American and Allied forces to counter a threatened invasion of Saudi Arabia by Iraq and as part of an economic blockade of Iraq to force its withdrawal from Kuwait.

• 17 Jan 1991: Operation Desert Storm, combat operations to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait, was launched. The squadron’s A-7E Corsair IIs participated in the first combat strike against Iraqi targets in Baghdad.

• 29 Jan 1991: Squadron aircraft flew their first combat mission in the Kuwait theater, striking Iraqi troops, tanks and artillery positions.

• 27 Feb 1991: Squadron aircraft participated in the last naval air combat strike of the war, hitting retreating Iraqi troops east of Najaf, Iraq. During the 43 days of war the squadron flew 362 sorties without the loss of a pilot or aircraft.

• 8 Jun 1991: The last two squadron aircraft participated in the Desert Storm Victory Parade flyover in Washington, D.C.^[2]

Home port assignments

An A-7B of VA-72 on USS John F. Kennedy, October 1976.

The squadron was assigned to these home ports, effective on the dates shown:^[2]

• NAS Astoria – 25 Jan 1945
• NAS San Diego – 22 Apr 1945
• NAS Quonset Point – 14 Nov 1945
• NAS Oceana – 03 Sep 1957
• NAS Cecil Field – 15 Feb 1966

Aircraft Assignment

A-7E Corsair IIs of VA-72 in June 1991.

The squadron first received the following aircraft on the dates shown:^[2]

• F6F-3/5 Hellcat – 07 Feb 1945
• F8F-1 Bearcat – 10 Aug 1945
• F8F-1B Bearcat – Jan 1947
• F8F-2 Bearcat – 20 Mar 1948
• F8F-1 Bearcat – 01 Dec 1948
• F8F-1B Bearcat – 09 Feb 1950
• F9F-2 Panther – 16 Mar 1951
• F9F-5 Panther – 11 Oct 1951
• F9F-2 Panther – Feb 1952
• F9F-5 Panther – Feb 1953
• A4D-1 Skyhawk – Sep 1956
• A4D-2 Skyhawk – 12 Feb 1958
• A4D-2N/A-4C Skyhawk – Mar 1961
• A-4E Skyhawk – May 1964
• A-4B Skyhawk – Mar 1967
• A-7B Corsair II – Jan 1970
• A-7E Corsair II – 13 Sep 1977

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. "Fighter Squadron Lineage". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
2. Grossnick, Roy A. (1995). Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Volume 1, Chapter 2, Section 5: Attack Squadron Histories for VA-64 to VA-75 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. pp. 124–128. Retrieved 2014-02-16.