Historical Events

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January

3 1967-Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4) Commissioned with OV-10 Broncos at NAS North Island
10 1956-Naval Air Defense Mine Unit established at Panama City, FL.

1959-Second USS Independence commissioned.

11 1943-First attack with forward firing ordnance against a German U-boat.
12 1991-U.S. Congress authorizes use of force against Iraqi forces invading Kuwait
14 1943-CV-22 USS Independence commissioned.

1969-USS Enterprise fire kills 27, injures 344 and 15 aircraft were destroyed

15 1991-USS Ranger arrives in Red Sea joining carriers Kennedy, Midway, America, Saratoga and Roosevelt.
17 1991-President Bush orders destruction of Iraqi military capability.

1991-First combat firing of a Tomahawk Cruise Missile.

19 1991-First combat launch of a Stand-Off Land Attack Missile (SLAM).
23 1965-USS America CV-66 commissioned.
24 1991-Navy A-6 aircraft attack and destroy an Iraqi mine layer.
27 1991-Patriot missiles intercept six Iraqi SCUD missiles fired at Israel and Saudi Arabia.
28 1945-CV-36 USS Antietam commissioned.
29 1962-First Walleye dropped at NWC China Lake.

1991-U.S. Troop strength in the Persian Gulf is 500,000.

30 1991-Two weeks into Desert Storm, the U.S. Navy has flown over 3,500 combat sorties and launched 260 Tomahawk cruise missiles

 

February

1 1942-First U.S. carrier offensive of World War II
2 1991-EXOCET capable Iraqi patrol boats destroyed by two Laser Guided Bombs.
3 1991-First use of a Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) for gunfire spotting in combat.
4 1991-Marine AV-8B Harriers attack and destroy 25 Iraqi tanks with Rockeye cluster bombs.
6 1947-CV-49 USS Wright commissioned
7 1964-Carriers Ranger, Coral Sea and Hancock launch first strikes against North Vietnam
8 1993-Aviation Ordnance Officer Career Progression course established.
11 1943-First combat mission flown by F-4U Corsair (VMF-124).
14 1991-USS America battle group arrives in Persian Gulf.
17 1943-CV-16 USS Lexington commissioned.
19 1991-Navy aircraft destroy 5 aircraft hidden in western Iraq
20 1974-VS-41 at NAS North Island accepted the first S-3A Viking.
21 1991-First time in history Marine AV-8 aircraft conduct operations from Helicopter Assault Ship Nassau
23 1991-1,685 Iraqi tanks, 925 armored vehicles and 1,450 artillery pieces are destroyed
24 1942-CV-6 USS Enterprise attacks Wake Island.
25 1943-CV-23 USS Princeton commissioned.

1991-Incoming Iraqi Silkworm missile is destroyed by USS Missouri.

26 1991-21 retreating Iraqi divisions are destroyed.
27 1978-Navy accepts delivery of last A-4 Skyhawk aircraft

 

March

1 1942-VP-82 sank first German U-boat of World War II.
2 1926-Aviation Ordnance rate established
3 1991-Iraqi military formally surrenders to General Schwarzkopf.
4 1991-Iraq releases coalition POW's.
8 1945-First launch of rocket powered missile named Gorgon
10 1971-On Yankee Station, carriers Ranger and Kittyhawk set record 233 strike sorties.
11 1946-VA designations for attack squadrons instituted.
19 1958-First Bullpup launched.
20 1922-CV-1 USS Langley commissioned.

1943-First aerial mining mission flown.

21 1930-First dive bomber delivers 1,000 pound bomb.
22 1940-Development of guided missiles initiated.
25 1943-CV-17 USS Bunker Hill commissioned.

1956-First F-8 Crusader delivered.

26 1965-Operation Rolling Thunder, the systematic bombing of military units in North Vietnam begins.

1995-AO-QMB (a.k.a. PIP Conference) killed by friendly fire.

29 1943-Testing of forward firing rockets from aircraft is completed.
31 1943-CV-24 USS Belleauwood commissioned

 

April

8 1925-First night carrier landing made aboard USS Langley.
11 1946-CV-32 USS Leyte commissioned.

1972-First Harpoon Missile launched from P-3 aircraft.

12 1956-Scheduled production of the Sparrow I completed.
14 1956-CV-60 Second USS Saratoga commissioned.
15 1944-CV-19 USS Hancock commissioned.

1956-CV-10 Second USS Yorktown commissioned.

1986-Air strikes against Libyan terrorist strongholds.

16 1945-CV-21 USS Boxer commissioned
18 1942-LtCol. J. H. Doolittle led raid on Tokyo with 16 B-25's.

1988-Carrier Air Wing Eleven sank Iranian Fast Frigate.

19 1775-Revolutionary War begins.
21 1943-Capt Fred M. Trapnell made first jet flight by a Naval Aviator.
24 1967-First MIG kill of Vietnam War by VF-114.
25 Marine Corps Aviation Ordnance Established
27 1948-Two P-2V Neptune's made JATO take-off from USS Coral Sea.
28 1972-First Phoenix missile launched from F-14 Tomcat.
29 1961-CV-63 USS Kittyhawk commissioned.

1975-Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of American citizens from Vietnam begins.

 

May

1 1951-First aerial use of torpedoes in Korean War by VA-195 against the Hwachon Dam. Thus the name DAMBUSTERS.
2 1923-First ordnance catapult launch from USS Langley.
3 1975-USS Nimitz commissioned.
4 1942-Battle of Coral Sea.
8 1944-CV-14 USS Ticonderoga commissioned.
9 1972-Haiphong Harbor mined by VA-22 and VA-94.
10 1972-Navy fliers shot down 8 MIG's. Lt. Randy Cunningham and LtJg. William Driscol became the only Navy ACES of the Vietnam War.
11 1946-CV-47 USS Philippine Sea commissioned.
12 1938-USS Enterprise commissioned.
21 1881-American Red Cross established.
26 1942-First Jet Assisted Take-Off (JATO) was demonstrated.
28 1943-CV-23 USS Cowpens commissioned.
29 1944-CV-21 USS Block Island was the only carrier sunk in the Atlantic during World War II.

 

June

1 1954-First steam catapult launch from USS Hancock.
3 1942-Battle of Midway.

1945-CV-39 USS Lake Champlain commissioned.

5 1976-A-6 Intruder launches first Tomahawk Cruise Missile.
6 1944-D-Day Normandy Invasion.
9 AOM rate changed to the present AO rate.
17 1943-CV-26 USS Monterey commissioned.
19 1976-First meeting of the Association of Aviation Ordnancemen held at the Bahia hotel in San Diego, CA.
20 1965-Lt. C. B. Johnson of VA-25 flying A-1 (SPAD) downs MIG-17.
22 1968-Keel laid for USS Nimitz (CVAN-68) at Newport News, VA.
26 1947-Development of Low Drag Bombs began.

 

July

3 1950-First Naval air strikes and air to air kills of Korean War.

1988-USS Vincennes shoots down Iranian airliner.

4 Independence Day.
14 1956-VA-46 first deployed Sidewinder Missile.

1969-First A-7 delivered to VA-122 at NAS Lemoore.

20 1969-First manned moon landing.
24 1943-CV-28 USS Cabot commissioned.
28 1914-World War I began.
29 1967-Fire broke out on board the USS Forestall killing 132. 62 men were injured and 2 reported missing.

 

August

1 1921-First bomb sight installed in an aircraft.
2 1964-Aircraft from carriers Constellation and Ticonderoga attack torpedo boats along Vietnam coast.

1990-Iraq invades Kuwait.

6 1944-CV-20 USS Bennington commissioned.
8 1990-President Bush orders armed forces to Saudi Arabia.
10 1957-CV-61 USS Ranger commissioned.
12 1940-Development of the proximity fuze began.
14 1912-First torpedo launched from aircraft.
15 1914-Panama Canal opened.
16 1943-CV-11 USS Intrepid commissioned.
31 1943-CV-27 Second USS Langley commissioned.

 

September

1 1939-World War II began.
2 1945-Japan surrenders onboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
6 1947-V-2 rocket launched from flight deck of USS Midway.
7 1968-CV-67 USS John F. Kennedy commissioned.
10 1945-CV-41-USS Midway commissioned.
11 1953-First Sidewinder fired at China Lake, CA.
14 1814-Star Spangled Banner written.
16 1989-CVN-71 USS Theodore Roosevelt commissioned. CVN-73 USS George Washington launched.
17 1974-Initial deployment of F-14 Tomcat aircraft aboard USS Enterprise.
25 1950-CV-34 USS Oriskany commissioned.
26 1931-Keel of USS Ranger, the first carrier designed and built as a carrier, was laid.
30 1937-CV-5 USS Yorktown commissioned.

 

October

1 1946-Naval Air Missile Test Center Pt. Mugu established.

1955-CV-59 USS Forrestal commissioned.

1997-MCAS Miramar, California Commissioned
7 1931-Norden bombsight demonstrated high altitude bombing effectiveness.
13 1987-United States Navy Memorial Dedicated.
18 1977-CVN-69 USS Dwight D. Eisenhower commissioned.
19 Revolutionary war ended.
20 1941-CV-8 USS Hornet commissioned.
22 1926-First fleet demonstration of dive bombing effectiveness.
24 1987-CVN-72 USS Abraham Lincoln launched.
26 1966-USS Oriskany fire off the coast of Vietnam killed 44 men.
27 1945-USS Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned.

1984-USS Theodore Roosevelt launched.

 

November

3 1946-CV-45 USS Valley Forge commissioned.
8 1943-Naval Ordnance Test Station Inyokern established.
9 1950-Commanding Officer of VF-111 becomes the first pilot to shoot down an enemy jet.
16 1927-CV-3 USS Saratoga commissioned.
17 1943-CV-29 USS Bataan commissioned.
18 1922-First catapult launch from USS Langley.
20 1961-NAS Lemoore Dedicated.
21 1973-Single F-14 aircraft fires six Phoenix missiles simultaneously at six different targets.
23 1961-CVN-65 second USS Enterprise commissioned.
24 1943-CV-18 second USS Wasp commissioned.
26 1944-CV-31 USS Bonnhomme Richard commissioned.

1945-CV-37 second USS Princeton commissioned.

29 1943-CV-12 second USS Hornet commissioned.

 

December

3 1983-Airstrikes against Lebanon.
7 1941-AOC John W. Finn is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
8 1945-CV-40 USS Tarawa commissioned.
9 1932-Navy developed high altitude bomb sight used in World War II.
10 1941-First Japanese ship (submarine) was sunk by aircraft from the USS Enterprise.
12 1979-First firing of a Sidewinder Missile from an F/A-18 aircraft.
14 1927-CV-2 USS Lexington commissioned.
15 1943-CV-30 USS San Jacinto commissioned.
17 1903-First flight of the Wright Brothers.
22 1969-F-8 Crusader from VF-191 crashed into hanger K277 at NAS Miramar killing 14.
30 1942-CV-9 USS Essex commissioned.

1944-CV-13 USS Franklin commissioned.

 

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