He was assigned to replacement cvw12 prior to assuming command of cvw15 in july 1964. Coral sea commenced her fourth westpac deployment when she sailed 7 december 1964 via pearl harbor. Air wing 2 to the uss abraham lincoln for a westpac cruise on the historic first. However, the underpowered f7u was deemed to be unsatisfactory for fleet use and was stricken from naval air inventory in 1955. Once again, cvwl5 reflected the latest staleoftheart carrier air power technology. Printing is also easily possible because of the high resolution and the missing watermarks. Roberts book united states naval aviation patches page 88. Vf 2 received this honour as it is the squadron that has been flying the f14 longest. Owens was transferred to the brazilian navy 29 june 1973. I was on board uss ranger for two westpac cruises in 1973 and 1974. I am almost 100% sure that accident happened while we were very close to hawaii. Vf 21 made six further deployments to the war zone aboard the uss coral sea cv43 and uss ranger cva61 between 1966 and 1973. Under the deployments uss ranger 19751976 tab there is a russian bear over flight picture.
Vf24 fighting renegades fighter squadron us navy f14 tomcat. Did you serve aboard the uss ranger,if so when 6768 westpac vf 154 comments. Blue tail fly aircraft flew sorties from yorktown in support of the evacuation of chinese nationalists from the tachen islands. Vf 154 finally transitioned to the f14a in october 1983.
Underway home coral sea wall uss coral seas midway class ships specs ships weapons coral sea video coral sea audio shellback mardet bad guys cruise books traps nuke launch f111b artwork farewell. After the panther, vf 154 acquired the f3j fury, followed by the f8 crusader in 1957. Uss ranger cva61 arrives in san francisco after her first westpac cruise. On 6 february 1991, an f14a tomcat from vf 1, off ranger, piloted by lt. Uss ranger cva 61 westpac cruise book 196970 did you serve aboard uss ranger cv 61.
Dental department attack carrier air wing 2 va56 vaw115 rvah5 va93 vf 154. In august 1984, vf 24 and its airwing began workups with the uss kitty hawk cv63 with another westpac and indian ocean cruise in july 1985. Organization of united states naval aviation units in the. This patch is just a really weird reproduction of the uss america 1970 world cruise. America, cva66cv66, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977. This listing does not, however, distinguish which individual deployment was westpac or vietnam. In april 1986, vf 24 was called upon to execute operation coyote which involved positioning four fully mission capable f14a aircrat, accompanying aircrew and over 150. During this westpac deployment the ship made her first visit to fleet activities fa. We visted mombasa, phattya beach, hong kong, subic bay. Since returning from cruise vf 2 visited naf key west, in november 1997, to sharpen their acm skills. I dont have a picture in the 76 cruise book as i was mess cooking at the time, but thought it might be. Vf 837 returned from their first cruise and started working up for a second cruise. Uss ranger was the third ship in the forrestal class and the second carrier in the.
Vietnam navy uss saint paul ca73 cruise book 7th fleet westpac log. Strike fighter squadron 154, also known as the black knights, is a united states navy strike fighter squadron stationed at naval air station lemoore. Cvw14 assigned control over vf 21 and the squadron returned to sea in 1981, spending seven months in the pacific and the indian ocean. Did you serve aboard the uss ranger,if so when westpac 8081 comments. On the 4 feb 1953 while passing under the golden gate bridge onboard the uss princeton cv 37 and on their way back to korea, vf 837 was officially redesignated vf 154. Vf114, accomplished the 10,000th arrested landing on board in aircraft no.
She was ordered immediately to refit and repair at long beach naval base where she was prepared for her next wespac cruise. Fighter squadron 124 or vf 124 gunfighters was a fleet replacement squadron frs of the united states navy. This site is a tribute to the aircraft carrier uss coral sea cv43. Moments later, fellow freelancers lt jack batson, jr and lcdr robert doremus made it a double celebration by adding another mig17 to vf 21s tally, again employing an aim7. I hated to leave after only one cruise but got orders to photo school then to ficpac for the rest of my enlistment. Vf 153 blue tail flies flying the grumman f9f6 cougar under cvg15 embarked on uss yorktown cva 10 for a cruise to westpac. Visible on the flight deck are f4j phantom iis of vf 154 black knights 1xx side.
Uss ranger cv61 december 8, 1990 june 8 1991 uss ranger had a very different air wing compared to most carriers in the gulf war as it was in the grumman air wing format. In january 1973, constellation headed back to southeast asia. Check out our uss ranger cv 61 crew list and reconnect with old shipmates. In december 1979 vf 21 was reequipped with the f4s, but it was decided that the f4s was not ideally suited to be used from uss coral sea which vf 21 would deploy on for its next cruise, and instead vf 21 deployed with the less effective f4n. Thus vf 154, and sister squadron vf 21, were among the last units to convert to the f14a. Captain nick, on the 1976 ranger cruise i was a ltjg rio in vf 154. In that capacity, operating from uss coral sea cva43, he led the initial air strikes agains north vietnam, februarymay 1965. Strike fighter squadron one five four vfa154 flightline. Members of the usna class of 1963 who served in the vietnam war. No particular reason you would remember mebut i sure remember you. Uss ranger cva 61 westpac cruise book 196869 vf154. In 1968 vf 21 upgraded to the f4j and continued to operate this model until 1979. The lessons i learned from your outstanding leadership stayed with me for decades.
Uss ranger cva61 19691970 westpac vietnam war cruise book. Farley,, rathon jackson,, rich bakos, dale underwood, mr grau 2nd class,, j. Here you can download the uss ranger cva 61 westpac cruise book 1974 as a high resolution. As a usaf capt, i served on an air force navy exchange tour with vf 154 and made the 1976 westpac cruise under your command on the uss ranger. Vf154 black knights bkr final westpac 2003 us navy aircraft, milita. These operations ended on 29 december when the north vietnamese returned to the peace table. Vf 21 compiled a most impressive combat record by making six further visits to the war zone aboard uss coral sea cva43 and uss ranger cv61 between 1966 and 1973. Roosevelt uss hancock uss hornet c v 12 uss independence uss intrepid uss kearsarge uss kitty hawk uss midway uss oriskany uss ranger uss saratoga uss shangrila uss ticonderoga uss yorktown c vsio 1 2 34 57 810 11. Mar 05, 2021 mar 24, 1965 uss coral sea cva43 steams past uss ranger cva61 in the south china sea, 24 march 1965, during the early days of the air campaign against north vietnam. Uss kitty hawk cva63 naval history and heritage command. Back to last page back to cruise book page back to uss ranger page.
Vf154 black knights fighter squadron us navy f14 tomcat. The black knights are an operational fleet squadron flying the fa18f super hornet. None did you serve aboard the uss ranger,if so when 19721974 comments. Uss constellation cv64, a kitty hawkclass supercarrier, was the third ship of the united. Nov 25, 2009 i am still waiting to get the copies of his records. Det4 patch from a 1974 uss ranger westpac cruise with cvw2. The ninemonth deployment ended on 1 july, the carrier having spent 154 days off vietnam. I remember the accident on 12 may 1974 where the ka6b collided with an f4j in my squadron vf 154. The black knights were part of the uss ranger air wing at the time. Once all training was complete vf 2 deployed onboard the uss constellation once more, beginning a westpac cruise that will last several months. They are currently attached to carrier air wing eleven and deployed aboard the aircraft carrier uss theodore roosevelt. Vf21 freelancers fighter squadron fitron two one us navy. You will be able to zoom in to better read names etc. Although all four ships of the class were completed with angled decks, ranger had the distinction of being the first us carrier built from the beginning as an angleddeck ship.
Originally established on 16 august 1948 as vf 53 it was redesignated vf 124 at nas moffett field on 11 april 1958 due to a need for an increased number of flight training squadrons, itself necessary because of introduction of swept wing fighters into navy service. The move to uss ranger was because the constellation had fa18 hornet capability added and the ranger cruise was nicknamed deathcruise 8384 due to the loss of 11 crewmen. This meant it didnt have the fa18 or a7e corsair, which were the 2 different light attack aircraft launched used on many of the carriers, replacing them with 2 a6e. Here you can download the uss ranger cva 61 westpac cruise book 197273 as a high resolution. It was here vf 21 transitioned to the f4 phantom in 1963 and between november of that year to march 1964 it would be the last peacetime cruise for the next 10 years.
Within four months, i finished basic training, graduated from data processing school, and reported on board the uss ranger cv61, an aircraft carrier homeported out of san diego, california. Did you serve aboard the uss ranger,if so when vf 154 197273 comments. During the four months of cruise the squadron took part in tandem thrust 99, an unexpected persian gulf period due to uss theodore roosevelt being called to cover events in kosovo, plus port visits to hong kong, thailand and singapore. Vaw114, vaw112, cvw11, cvw2, uss ranger bicentenial cruise, kitty hawk westpac 75, and westpac 7374 patches on it. During this time vf 154 spent 120 days at sea of the coast of iran during the iranian hostage crisis until the hostages were formally released into united states custody just minutes after the new american president ronald reagan was sworn in. Vf 151 had traded in its demons for f4h phantom iis to compliment vf 154 f8ds.
Ranger was deployed to westpac from 9 november 1962 14 june 1963. In august 1984, vf 24 and cvw9 were again reassigned, this time to uss kitty hawk as part of battle group bravo, completing a westpac indina ocean cruise in december 1985. Gary kerans passed along pictures of his recent visit with you and your website link. Coffee survived but was captured, not returning home until 12 febru.
The seventh uss ranger cvcva61 was the third of four forrestalclass supercarriers built for the united states navy in the 1950s. Anyone that served in that time and doesnt have a year book, i would gladly send. The ship was scheduled to deploy on a western pacific cruise westpac. Cruised ageless warrior 1983 world cruise as a member of vf1. Uss america uss bennington uss bon horn richard uss constellation uss coral sea uss enterprise uss forrestal uss franklin d. The uneventful cruise took place from february to september 1963. The collision is also covered in rangers westpac cruise book 1979. Admiral gayler left, commander pacific, retiring in pearl harbor aboard uss ranger, 1976. Carrier deployments for westpac and vietnam 19641975 data.
Vf 124 was assigned to go embark the uss hancock to test the british steam catapult system and then deploy on a western pacific westpac cruise to japan. Photo from the rangers 1959 cruise book 3 january27 july, probably taken in the. I have looked at the 7272 westpac ranger cruise book online but it doesnt seem to list airwing members by name. Vf 21 embarked on its major deployment with the f3h2 demon on uss midway in mid1958. Uss ranger cruise books currently for sale on ebay. After serving as a replacement pilot in vf 124, capt. Uss ranger cv61 is a forrestalclass super aircraft carrier. Carrier deployments for westpac and vietnam 19641975. On the march 2, vf154 sailed on board us s kitty hawk for their first full westpac deployment. Uss coral sea cva43 and uss ranger cv61 between 1966 and 1973. Glindeman was executive officer and commanding officer of vf 154. Beginning with their 16 november 1972 deployment onboard uss ranger, vf 154 participated in some of the last us.
Vf 837 returned from their first cruise and started working up for a second. It was at miramar that vf21 converted from the rapidly obsolescing demon to the. When deployed with the pacific fleet, they serve aboard the uss abraham. On the march 2, vf 154 sailed on board uss kitty hawk for their first full westpac deployment. Ships ranger with emphasis on the 7th ship to bear that name, cva61. Also did numerous reftras on board her through the early 80s. Cruise books in the navy department librarys collection. Have several photos of my 6768 westpac with vf 154 w. Cruise book cds rangerguys photos uss ranger cv4 awards received by uss ranger cvacv 61. Black knights f4j 1976 modelrelive flying off the uss ranger with the vf 154 black knights in. Uss ranger cva61 at subic bay, philippine islands, summer 1973.
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