VFA-195
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| Strike Fighter Squadron 195 | |
|---|---|
 VFA-195 Insignia |
|
| Active | August, 1943 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Fighter/Attack |
| Role | Close air support Air interdiction Aerial reconnaissance |
| Part of | Carrier Air Wing 5 |
| Garrison/HQ | Naval Air Station Atsugi |
| Nickname | "Dambusters" |
| Motto | “Chippy Ho” |
| Battles/wars | World War II Korean War Vietnam War Operation Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom |
Strike Fighter Squadron 195 (VFA-195), also known as the "Dambusters", are a United States Navy F/A-18C Hornet fighter squadron stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi. They are a part of Carrier Air Wing 5 and their catail code is NF.
Contents |
[edit] Mission
VFA-195 exists to provide power projection for the United States
[edit] History
[edit] World War II
As unit of Carrier Air Group 19 during World War II, VT-19, flying the TBM Avenger, was a part of Admiral Bull Halsey’s Naval Task Force. The squadron participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and in the landings at Guam, Palau, Morotai and Leyte. Squadron pilots also flew strikes against the Carolines, Philippines, Bonin Islands, Okinawa, Mindanao and Formosa while embarked on USS Lexington (CV-16).
[edit] Korean War
The squadron served in the Korean War while embarked on USS Princeton On May 2, 1951, the squadron’s Skyraiders, making precise low level runs, delivered aerial torpedoes on the heavily defended and strategically positioned Hwa Chon Dam in North Korea. Destruction of the dam had been attempted by Air Force and Navy bombers but was finally accomplished by VA-20A, earning them the nickname Dambusters.
[edit] Vietnam War
VA-195 transitioned to the A-4 Skyhawk in July 1959 and moved to NAS Lemoore, California in January 1962. As the Vietnam crisis flared in the fall of 1964, the squadron made their fourth consecutive deployment on USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31) with the U.S. Seventh Fleet. During the next five years, while operating various models of the A-4 from the decks of the “Bon Homme Richard” and USS Ticonderoga (CV-14), the squadron logged more combat flight hours and sorties than any other squadron in Carrier Air Wing 19.
In the spring of 1970 VA-195 passed another milestone, transitioning to the A-7E Corsair II. As a unit of Carrier Air Wing 11 on USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), the squadron deployed in the fall of 1970, marking its fourth consecutive decade of involvement in foreign conflicts. During the Vietnam War, VA-195 delivered the first data link version of the television guided Walleye Glide Bomb in combat. Success was on July 19, 1972 as the squadron delivered a single Walleye down the throat of a cave storage area causing its complete destruction. Later the same day, they destroyed the Ninh Binh railroad bridge, also with a single weapon.
[edit] The 1980s
The Dambuster were redesignated Strike Fighter Squadron 195 on April 1, 1985 and commenced transition to the F/A-18 Hornet. Upon completion, VFA-195 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5) and officially joined the Forward Deployed Naval Forces in U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan on July 1, 1986
[edit] The Gulf War & the 1990s
VFA-195 was deployed aboard the USS Midway (CV-41) when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. During Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm the Dambusters flew 564 combat missions, delivering 356 tons of ordnance, and became the first Hornet squadron to deliver a Walleye II glide bomb in combat.
[edit] Global War on Terror
VFA-195 flew in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, striking targets deep in Afghanistan. Called on for duty in the Persian Gulf in 2003, the Dambusters flew 278 combat sorties in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, delivered 179,000 pounds of precision guided munitions against military targets over the course of a single month.
