Whisler departed NAS Norfolk, Virginia., in an F9F-6 Cougar, BuNo 127432, and after stops at NAS Memphis, Tennessee, and Webb AFB, Texas, landed at NAS North Island, California. Whisler Jr., attached to VR-31, completed the first transcontinental roundtrip solo flight between sunrise and sunset. of VF-51 piloted two F9F-3s and shot down two enemy Yakovlev Yak-9P Franks over Pyongyang.Ģ3 June 1953-Lt. Navy pilots also registered their initial kills in aerial combat during the Korean War and the first by Navy jets. These raids marked the baptism by fire for F9F-3 Panthers and AD Skyraiders. 827 and 800 Squadrons, respectively, launched strikes on North Korean airfields, supply lines, and transportation facilities in the area of Pyongyang. Valley Forge (CV-45)-the only operational US carrier in the western Pacific when the war began-with CVG-5 embarked and British carrier Triumph (R-16) operating in the Yellow Sea with Fairy Firefly FR.1s. The Soviets had boycotted the council in protest of ongoing American support of the Chinese Nationalists and the Soviets' absence prevented their veto of the motion.ģ July 1950-Carrier aircraft went into action during the Korean War. The United States asked for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, which then adopted a resolution condemning the North Korean aggression, demanded the withdrawal of North Korean troops above the 38th parallel, and called on all members to assist the UN in the execution of the resolution. Searchers recovered pieces of wreckage, but all ten men on board the Privateer died.Ģ5 June 1950-Despite warnings from multiple intelligence sources, the North Koreans, achieving tactical surprise, invaded South Korea, initiating the Korean War. The flight covered 5,060 miles in 25 hours, 59 minutes, the longest to date made from a carrier deck.Ĩ April 1950-Soviet aircraft shot down a PB4Y-2, BuNo 59645, of VP-26 Detachment A-based at NAS Port Lyautey, in French Morocco, but on patrol from Wiesbaden, West Germany-over the Baltic Sea off the coast of Liepaja, Latvia. Roosevelt (CVB-42) off Jacksonville, Florida, and flew over Charleston, South Carolina, the Bahamas, the Panama Canal, up the coast of Central America, and over Mexico, landing the next day at Municipal Airport, San Francisco, California. Thomas Robinson took off in a P2V-3C Neptune from Franklin D. The carrier modernization program continued and underwent revision to incorporate steam catapults and angled flight decks.ħ February 1950-In a demonstration of carrier long-range attack capabilities, pilot Cmdr. Research in high-speed flight, assisted by specially designed aircraft, provided data that led toward advances in aircraft performance. The launching of ships and research missiles from shore installations provided useful data and experience. The ships and submarines to employ them readied for action. They reached within 7,000 sorties of World War II totals in all theaters, and surpassed the bomb tonnage by 74,000 tons.Īway from combat, advances in guided missile technology brought the new weapons into operational status. Helicopters assumed an increasingly significant role as they rescued downed aircrew, evacuated wounded, flew short-range supply missions to Marines and soldiers ashore, spotted shore bombardment gunfire for ships, and scoured coastal areas for mines.ĭuring the three years of war, Navy and Marine aircraft flew 276,000 combat sorties and dropped 177,000 tons of bombs. In addition, the need to sustain carrier air power over a landmass for extended periods imposed command and logistical burdens.Ĭarrier aircraft flew deep support missions attacked supply lines roamed over enemy territory for targets of opportunity bombed bridges interdicted highways and railroads attacked refineries, railroad yards, and hydroelectric plants and escorted land-based bombers on special missions. The seesaw clashes on the ground during the first six months of the war demanded flexibility of force. The introduction of jet aircraft created a composite force in which either jet or propeller-driven aircraft that differed in performance characteristics, maintenance requirements, and tactical applications equipped comparable commands. New weapons and equipment had not been fully integrated and tactical doctrine and operating techniques for their employment were still under development. Successive budgetary decreases had reduced the size of the service, and a reorganization of operating forces to keep them within the prescribed limits had begun. The establishment of the National Military Establishment in 1947 and its reorganization in 1949, when it was renamed the Department of Defense, required adjustments that had not been completed by the outbreak of war. The outbreak of the Korean War caught naval aviation in the midst of transition.
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