RVAH-12

Reconnaissance Attack (Heavy) Squadron 12

RVAH-12 squadron patch
Active 1 July 1965-2 July 1979
Country United States
Branch United States Navy
Role Photo-reconnaissance
Part of Inactive
Nickname(s) Speartips
Engagements Vietnam War

RVAH-12 was a Reconnaissance Attack (Heavy) Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established on 1 July 1965 and disestablished on 2 July 1979.[1]

Operational history

RVAH-12 RA-5C Vigilante offshore of Vietnam in 1967
RVAH-12 RA-5C prepares to launch from USS Constellation in 1973

RVAH-12 / Cold War and Vietnam

RVAH-12 was established on 1 July 1965 at NAS Sanford, Florida, the first squadron to specifically formed to operate the RA-5C Vigilante. Early in its history, RVAH-12 was selected as the short-term host for a little known, and at the time, highly sensitive project known as Snare. This involved the installation of an articulated infrared spectrum sensor on the top side of two aircraft, BuNo 148933 and BuNo 151727, just ahead of the vertical stabilizer. The purpose of Snare was to obtain laser emitter and other related data from special Soviet Tu-16 Badger, Tu-95 Bear, and M-4 Bison long range bombers flying observation missions of U.S. Navy carrier battle groups from Russian soil. Snare operations were conducted for a short period during RVAH-12's 1971-1972 Mediterranean deployment aboard USS Independence.

RVAH-12's Cold War / Vietnam-era deployments were as follows:

RVAH-12 / Cold War (post-Vietnam)

With the end of the Vietnam War, RVAH-12 returned to stateside training and forward deployed Cold War presence operations aboard Fleet aircraft carriers. In addition, budgetary pressures and force reductions following the end of the Vietnam War force the Department of Defense to once again close several stateside air bases, to include NAS Albany, Georgia. In January 1974, RVAH-12 shifted home stations from NAS Albany to NAS Key West, Florida.[11]

RVAH-12's subsequent deployments were as follows:

Attrition of airframes and the increasing maintenance and flight hour costs of the RA-5C in a constrained defense budget environment forced the Navy to incrementally retire the RA-5C and sunset the RVAH community beginning in mid-1974. Carrier-based reconnaissance was concurrently conducted by the active duty VFP community at NAS Miramar and the Naval Reserve VFP community at Andrews AFB / NAF Washington with the RF-8G Crusader until 29 March 1987, when the last RF-8G was retired and the mission was fully transferred to the active duty and Naval Reserve VF community at NAS Miramar, NAS Oceana, NAS Dallas and NAS JRB Fort Worth as a secondary role with the F-14 Tomcat equipped with the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS).

Following its return from its final Mediterranean deployment in 1979, RVAH-12 was disestablished at NAS Key West on 2 July 1979 following 14 years and 1 day of active naval service.[12]

Home port assignments

The squadron was assigned to these home ports:

Aircraft Assignment

See also

References

  1. "Service of North American A-5 Vigilante with US Navy". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Grove, M. & Miller, J; Aerofax Minigraph 9, North American Rockwell A3J/A-5A Vigilante; Aerofax, Inc., Arlington, TX c1989, p15; ISBN 0-942548-14-0
  3. 1 2 3 4 "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 3 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 Powell, Robert (2012). RA-5C Vigilante Units in Combat. Osprey Publishing. p. 86. ISBN 9781782005421.
  5. http://veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1411
  6. http://veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=97
  7. "U.S. Accounted-For from the Vietnam War (Sorted by Name) Prisoners of War, Escapees, Returnees and Remains Recovered" (PDF). Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  8. "CDR Laurent Norbert Dion". The Virtual Wall. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  9. "LTJG Charles David Hom". The Virtual Wall. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  10. "U.S. Unaccounted-For from the Vietnam War (Sorted by Name) Prisoners of War, Missing in Action and Killed in Action/Body not Recovered" (PDF). Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  11. http://www.gonavy.jp/navy/sqn/VAH01.html
  12. http://www.rvahnavy.com/5history.html


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