Patrol Squadron 92 (VP-92) was established on 14 November
1970 at NAS South Weymouth, Massachusetts as a component of the Naval Air
Reserve. Its primary missions were
those of land-based maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW). Like all Navy patrol squadrons, its
responsibility was to locate, track, and, if necessary, attack and destroy
enemy submarines.
Although an active duty patrol squadron with the
designation of VP-92 had operated during World War II and served with distinction,
it had been disestablished shortly before the end of that global conflict and
has no real connection to the current VP-92.
Rather, VP-92’s earliest direct ancestor was VP-919, which was a Reserve
squadron established at NAS Squantum in Quincy Massachusetts during July
1946. It was equipped with examples of
the Consolidated PBY Catalina.
In November of that same year, VP-919 was re-designated as VP-ML-69 in
conformance with a new system being introduced at that time. Yet another re-designation occurred during
February 1950 when the squadron became VP-911.
Upon the closure of NAS Squantum in December 1953, VP-911 and the other
squadrons of the Naval and Marine Air Reserve at Squantum moved to much more
spacious quarters at the nearby and newly re-activated NAS South Weymouth. This latter air station had been home to
Airship Patrol Squadron 11 (ZP-11) and a detachment of Airship Utility Squadron
1 (ZJ-1) during World War II. As their
names imply, both of these squadrons operated lighter-than-air blimps, the
former on ASW missions and the latter on a variety of utility operations
including research flights for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Following the end of World War II, NAS South
Weymouth had been first downgraded to a Naval Air Facility and then, in 1949,
placed in caretaker status. With the
planned closure of NAS Squantum because of its short runways that could not be
practically extended and because of its air traffic conflicts with Boston’s
Logan Airport, action was initiated by the Navy to convert the closed South
Weymouth blimp base into a modern facility that could accommodate the needs of
the Air Reserve program. New
construction there involved three runways, aircraft parking aprons, barracks,
fuel storage tanks, etc. NAS South
Weymouth was officially re-established on 4 December 1953.
Additional patrol squadrons continued to be established at
NAS South Weymouth over the next few years in response to the increasing threat
to the nation’s security from Soviet submarines. The first of these squadrons was VP-914, in 1958. A peak total of seven Reserve VP squadrons
was reached in 1963 with the establishment of VP-915, VP-916, and VP-917.
Then, the numbers began to decline. VP-916 and VP-917 disappeared in 1964,
followed by VP-914 in 1966. A
re-organization in 1968 had squadrons VP-911, VP-912, VP-913, and VP-915
re-designated as VP-63Z1, VP-63Z2, VP-63Z3, and VP-11Z4, respectively.
The year 1968 was pivotal for the future of the Naval Air
Reserve, for on 23 January of that year, the spy ship USS Pueblo was
seized by North Korea in international waters.
In response, President Lyndon Johnson ordered the immediate recall to
active duty of six tactical fighter and attack squadrons of the Naval Air
Reserve. Although these reservists were
willing to serve their country in its time of need, their motivation and
patriotism were not enough. The recall
proved to be a dismal failure, and all six squadrons were released from active
duty on 16 September 1968.
|
Tom Hildreth caught SP-2E
128379 at Bradley Field, CT
in 1964 minus its fin cap.
The 7Z tail code was shared
by NAS South Weymouth's num-
rous Neptune units at the time
|
In analyzing the reasons for the failure, the following
conclusions were reached: (1) the Naval
Air Reserve was assigned obsolete aircraft that were not combat ready, were
difficult to maintain and support, and were not compatible with the fleet; (2)
enlisted personnel with suitable backgrounds and training to support a full
mobilization were not assigned to the squadrons in sufficient numbers; (3)
Reserve squadrons typically operated away from their active-duty counterparts
and were not familiar with current fleet procedures; (4) Reserve training was
not realistic and up-to-date, constrained in many cases by lack of modern
equipment; and (5) sufficient funding had to be provided to allow Reserve
aviators enough flight time to maintain their qualifications.
Although no Naval Air Reserve VP squadrons were recalled
to active duty during the Pueblo crisis, there was no doubt in anyone’s
mind that, had they been, they would have shared the same fate as the tactical
fighter and attack squadrons.
It was obvious that a complete reorganization of the Naval
Air Reserve would be required if it was to become a viable organization. This reorganization took place during 1970
and established two Naval Air Reserve carrier air wings (CVWR), two anti-submarine
warfare groups (CVSGR), four transport squadrons (VR), and twelve maritime
patrol squadrons (VP).
In a major change from past practices, each squadron of
the Naval Air Reserve would have “ownership” of the aircraft assigned to
it. Having to share aircraft with other
squadrons, as had been standard practice, would be a thing of the past. Each squadron would also be provided with
sufficient full-time personnel to keep it operating when the squadron’s Reserve
personnel were not present. The new
force structure would mirror the structure of the active-duty forces in terms
of total manpower, number of aircraft assigned to a squadron, maintenance and
reporting procedures, funding, etc.
The twelve new VP squadrons established included VP-60 at
NAS Glenview, Illinois; VP-62 at NAS Jacksonville, Florida; VP-64 at NAS Willow
Grove, Pennsylvania; VP-65 at NAS Los Alamitos, California; VP-66 at NAS Willow
Grove; VP-67 at NAS Memphis, Tennessee; VP-68 at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland;
VP-69 at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington; VP-90 at NAS Glenview; VP-91 at NAS
Moffett Field, California; VP-92 at NAS South Weymouth, Massachusetts; and
VP-94 at NAS New Orleans, Louisiana.
Each squadron was formed using the personnel and equipment assets of
older-style VP squadrons, all of which were disestablished at the time the new
squadrons came into being.
VP-92 was, as noted, officially established at NAS South
Weymouth on 14 November 1970 from the assets of VP-63Z1, VP-63Z2, VP-63Z3, and
VP-11Z4. It was initially equipped with
12 examples of the Lockheed SP-2H Neptune, the final standard production
version of this long-serving aircraft type.
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SP-2H 141250 photographed
by Tom Hildreth on final
approach to NAS Sowey's 6000 ft
runway 08 on 11 March 1973
|
Each aircraft carried the squadron’s assigned “LY” (Lima Yankee) tail
code on each side of its vertical stabilizer.
A crew of nine was typically carried, consisting of two officers (the
pilot and copilot) and seven enlisted personnel. VP-92 normally operated with a complement of over 200 part-time
reservists supplemented by approximately 120 full-time personnel.
A variety of sensors equipped the SP-2H for use in
carrying out its mission of ASW. These
sensors included surface search radar, an identification friend or foe (IFF)
system, a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) used for detecting disturbances in
the earth’s magnetic field caused by a submerged submarine, active and passive
sonar equipment, electronic sensing measures (ESM) equipment, and a powerful
wing-mounted searchlight for illuminating a target at night.
Like all Reserve VP squadrons, VP-92 undertook most of its
training missions near the squadron’s home base, in this case NAS South
Weymouth. However, each squadron was
also required to perform an annual two-week active-duty period, sometimes at an
overseas location, during which time they would typically work with active-duty
units.
VP-92 undertook its first overseas deployment during 1971,
operating for two weeks from NS Rota, Spain.
From there, ASW missions were flown over the eastern Atlantic Ocean and
the western Mediterranean Sea.
Subsequent annual two-week active duty training periods during the first
half of the 1970s were staged from NAS Jacksonville, Florida in 1972 and 1973
and from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland in 1974.
These training periods involved participating in ASW exercises,
simulator sessions, and other types of activities.
During 1975, VP-92 transitioned from the SP-2H Neptune
to the more modern DELTIC version of Lockheed’s P-3A Orion, a
four-engine turboprop maritime patrol aircraft that offered many advantages
over the Neptune that it replaced.
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P-3A 151373 photographed on
approach to Westover ARB by
Tom Hildreth on 20 May 1977
|
These advantages included greater speed, a far roomier cabin that was
pressurized, updated sensor equipment, etc.
Although a vast improvement over the
Neptunes, the P-3A
Orions
operated by the Reserve squadrons were, nonetheless, hand-me-downs from
active-duty squadrons that had themselves upgraded to more advanced versions of
the
Orion, namely the P-3B and the P-3C.
The DELTIC P-3As typically carried a crew of 12, with nine
aircraft typically being assigned to a squadron at any one time.
VP-92’s first deployment with the P-3A took place in 1976
when it operated from NAS Bermuda and NAS Willow Grove, Pennsylvania for its
annual two-week active duty period.
These same two bases were also utilized for the 1977 deployment,
followed by NS Rota, Spain in 1978 and NAF Lajes in the Azores in 1979. Lajes was again the site of the squadron’s
deployments in 1980, 1982, and 1983, with NAS Jacksonville being the base of
operations in 1981. ASW missions
predominated during these deployments.
The squadron upgraded to the TACNAVMOD Update version of
the P-3B Orion during 1984.
These aircraft featured considerably improved sensor capabilities when
compared with the DELTIC P-3As previously operated by the squadron. They also had more powerful engines than
those used on the P-3As.
Squadron deployments during their annual two-week
active-duty periods continued following the transition to the P-3B
TACNAVMOD. NAS Bermuda was the site of
the 1984 deployment, followed by NAF Lajes in 1985 and 1986, and NS Rota, Spain
in each year from 1987 through 1990.
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P-3B 153435 photographed at
NAS South Weymouth by Tom S.
Cuddy on 29 December 1984
|
In both 1989 and 1990, VP-92 was also selected to participate in the annual UNITAS
exercises with Latin American Navies.
During 1991, VP-92 was chosen to be the first Naval Air Reserve P-3
squadron to assume full responsibility for all operational commitments at NAS
Bermuda during its active-duty period.
Prior to this event, the Reserve squadrons typically deployed to Bermuda
to supplement an active-duty squadron deployed there at the same time.
The year 1991 also saw VP-92 transition into the Update II
version of the P-3C Orion. The
P-3C differed substantially from the earlier P-3A and P-3B in terms of its
electronic equipment and interior layout.
These features enabled it to operate with a crew of only 10 in comparison
with the crew of 12 required by earlier models of the Orion.
In 1992, VP-92 took its new aircraft to Colombia and
Panama to participate in that year’s UNITAS exercises. The year 1993 saw VP-92 operate from NAS
Sigonella, Sicily for the first time.
From there they flew full combat patrols over the Adriatic Sea in
support of Operation Sharp Guard. These
patrols were undertaken under the authority of United Nations Resolution Number
820 to help prevent weapons being smuggled to the various factions of the
former Yugoslavia. VP-92 returned to
NAS Sigonella in 1994 to once again participate in Operation Sharp Guard. During that same year, other VP-92 aircraft
operated from NS Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico to support Operation Support
Democracy. This latter operation was in
response to United Nations Resolution Number 841 mandating the restoration of
the President of Haiti, who had been overthrown in a coup staged by that
country’s military. Another VP-92 aircraft
and crew that busy year participated in the annual UNITAS exercises, operating
from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Operations
in 1994 provide a good example of how far-flung operations by Reserve maritime
patrol squadrons had become in support of the needs of the Regular Navy and how
the Reserve forces had seamlessly integrated with their active-duty
counterparts.
NAS Sigonella again served in 1995 as the location for
VP-92’s continuing participation in Operation Sharp Guard. However, other VP-92 crews and aircraft
deployed to NS Roosevelt Roads, where they undertook counter-narcotics missions
for the first time. With the
dismemberment of the former Soviet Union several years earlier, ASW missions
had declined in importance, while the anti-drug-smuggling missions would play
an increasingly important role for VP-92 in the coming years. VP-92 was also selected in 1995 to
participate in the International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, England. This annual air show is the largest such
military event in the world.
The year 1995 was also significant for VP-92’s future, for
during that year the Base Realignment and Closure Commission
voted to close NAS South Weymouth, the squadron’s long-time home. As a result, VP-92 relocated to NAS
Brunswick, Maine during June and July of 1996.
NAS Brunswick was already home to several active duty VP squadrons
operating the P-3C version of the Orion.
Because of the distance involved in traveling to NAS
Brunswick for their drill periods, many of VP-92’s Reservists chose not to make
the move and, instead, chose to affiliate with other units closer to home or to
take an “early out” from their military commitment. To help counteract this loss of personnel and to help retain
those members who elected to make the move to Brunswick, an “airlift” program
that originally began at South Weymouth continued in operation at NAS
Brunswick. On drill weekends, one or
two flights, with one usually covering the Northeast Corridor from Washington
DC northward and the other from Detroit, Michigan eastward would bring
Reservists from airfields near their homes to NAS Brunswick. Reservists were brought to Brunswick on
Friday nights and returned home on Sunday nights. Many Reservists who took advantage of these flights were former
members of other Reserve VP squadrons that had previously been disestablished
when their Bases closed.
VP-92 began operating the P-3C Update II.5 aircraft type
shortly before the move to Brunswick was made.
This version of the Orion featured improved acoustic sensor
processing systems and various other new and updated equipment.
As if the move to Brunswick and the transition to a new
aircraft were not enough in 1996, VP-92 also deployed to NAS Keflavik, Iceland,
where open-ocean ASW patrols were conducted, as well as to NS Roosevelt Roads
for counter-narcotics operations.
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P-3C 161404 photographed at
NAF Keflavik by Baldur
Sveinsson on 6 August 1997
|
This pattern of operations continued to the same two locations in 1997, as well as
to Howard AFB in Panama.
In 1998, the
Keflavik deployment was dropped, although those to NS Roosevelt Roads and
Howard AFB continued.
Another change in aircraft type occurred during the latter
part of 1998 and into 1999 when the P-3C Update III began to be allocated to
VP-92. This version of the Orion
was the most advanced P-3 model produced and was the type flown by most of the
active-duty squadrons a that time. Its
main attribute was an entirely new acoustic sensor system. In addition, it included many other
improvements over the capabilities of earlier models of the Orion. The squadron deployed to NS Roosevelt Roads
in 1999.
A return to NAS Keflavik for ASW patrols in the Atlantic
was made in 2000, along with what had become a regular deployment to NS
Roosevelt Roads for counter-narcotics operations. One squadron aircraft also deployed on short notice to NS Rota,
Spain to participate in a multi-national Naval exercise.
As the decade wore on, each year seemed to get busier for
VP-92 than the year before. No less
than eight locations worldwide were sites of VP-92 deployments in 2001. These locations consisted of Ecuador, NAS
Key West, NS Roosevelt Roads, NAS Keflavik, NS Rota, NAF Kadena on the island
of Okinawa, NAF Misawa in Japan, and MCAS Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii.
The year 2002 was also extremely active for VP-92. Deployments were made to Brazil, Chile, NAS
Jacksonville, Germany, NAS Sigonella, RAF Kinloss in Scotland, NS Roosevelt
Roads, and El Salvador. The Reserves
truly had become one with the active-duty forces.
El Salvador and Ecuador were visited once again in 2003,
as was NAS Jacksonville.
VP-92 received examples of the P-3C Update III AIP
aircraft during 2004 and 2005. These
aircraft featured equipment that allowed them to better operate in the
anti-surface warfare (ASUW) mission.
Deployments in 2004 were to El Salvador, the Dutch Antilles, and
Ecuador. NAS Jacksonville was the deployment
site in 2005. El Salvador was visited
again in 2006.
In 2005 the Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted
to close NAS Brunswick, with all of its active-duty squadrons to move to NAS
Jacksonville. These squadrons are
currently scheduled to make their move during 2008. Unfortunately, the decision to close NAS Brunswick has also
resulted in the decision to disestablish VP-92 on 30 November 2007, as NAS
Jacksonville already has its own Reserve P-3 squadron (VP-62) stationed
there. Thus, after 37 years of service
to the Navy, the end of VP-92 is in sight.
Although disestablishment looms in the near future, VP-92
continues to serve the country’s needs.
In February and March of 2007, the squadron sent crews to El Salvador to
supplement the crews of VP-5 in the continuing anti-narcotics mission. However, in June of 2007, the squadron’s
last aircraft was transferred to another squadron. Now, preparations are underway for the disestablishment ceremony
at NAS Brunswick.
Over the years, VP-92 was the proud recipient of numerous
awards and commendations, including:
·
One Meritorious Unit Commendation in recognition of
excellent performance in anti-submarine warfare
·
One Joint Meritorious Unit Award in recognition for the
squadron’s participation in Operation Sharp Guard and Operation Support
Democracy
·
One Joint Meritorious Unit Award in recognition of the
squadron’s work with the Coast Guard, Customs Service, and other government
agencies in counter-narcotics operations
·
Three Battle Readiness Awards (“Battle E”) in
recognition of sustained superior performance in an operational environment
(serves as an indicator of a squadron’s readiness to perform its assigned tasks
in wartime)
·
Seven Commander Reserve Patrol Wing Atlantic Retention
Excellence Awards (“Golden Helm”) in recognition of superior personnel
re-enlistment rates)
·
Six AVCM Donald M Neal Maintenance Awards (“Golden
Wrench”) in recognition of the highest degree of excellence in performing
aircraft maintenance
·
Five CNO Aviation Safety Awards (“Safety S”) in
recognition of being able to demonstrate exceptional levels of commitment to
all aspects of aviation safety and operational risk management
·
Three Commander Reserve Patrol Wings Administrative
Excellence Awards in recognition of the squadron’s superior record keeping
·
Three Commander Reserve Patrol Wing Atlantic Bloodhound
Awards in recognition of the squadron’s high scores in torpedo delivery
exercises.
Note: The source
for much of the material in this short history of VP-92 is a book
entitled The Minutemen of VP-92
by Marc J. Frattasio.