VAH-8

Heavy Attack Squadron 8
VAH-8 squadron patch
Active	1 May 1957-17 January 1968
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Role	Attack
Part of	Inactive
Nickname(s)	Fireballers
Aircraft flown
Attack	A-3B/KA-3B Skywarrior

VAH-8 A-3B bombing North Vietnam in 1965

VAH-8 A-3B being launched from USS Constellation (CVA-64) in 1966. Note the stress wrinkles on the fuselage

VAH-8, was a Heavy Attack Squadron of the U.S. Navy, based at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington. It was established on 1 May 1957 and disestablished on 17 January 1968. The squadron primarily flew the Douglas A-3 Skywarrior aircraft.^[1]

Operational history

On 13 Mar 1960, all nine of the squadron’s A3D-2 Skywarriors were launched from the deck of USS Midway (CVA-41), while deployed to WestPac, and flew a formation trans-Pacific flight of 4,800 miles to their home port of NAS Whidbey Island. Refueling stops were made at NAS Barbers Point and NAS Alameda. The total flight time was 10.9 hours and the aircraft arrived at NAS Whidbey Island on 15 March.^[1]

On 13 Mar 1962 during exercise Potshot, squadron A3Ds were launched from USS Midway carrying Marine Corps paratroopers who were dropped on a target site at Camp Pendleton.^[1]

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War VAH-2 was deployed on the following aircraft carriers operating on Yankee and Dixie Stations:^[2]

• 6 March-23 November 1965, A-3Bs were embarked on USS Midway

• 12 May-3 December 1966, A-3Bs were embarked on USS Constellation

• 29 April-4 December 1967, KA-3Bs were embarked on USS Constellation

See also

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

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 3: Heavy Attack Squadron Histories (VAH) (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
2. "Carrier, Carrier Based Squadrons and Non-Carrier Based Squadron Deployments to Vietnam" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. 1995. Retrieved 30 December 2015.