VA-172 (U.S. Navy)

Attack Squadron 172
VA-172 squadron patch
Active	20 August 1945-15 January 1971
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Role	Attack aircraft
Part of	Inactive
Nickname(s)	Checkmates Blue Bolts
Engagements	Korean War Vietnam War
Aircraft flown
Attack	F6F Hellcat F4U Corsair F8F Bearcat FH-1 Phantom F2H Banshee A-4 Skyhawk

VBF-82 F4U on USS Randolph c.1946

VF-172 F2Hs over USS Essex c.1951

VA-172 A-4C fully armed with bombs on the flight deck of the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt off Vietnam, 1966. Note the blue lightning bolt painted on both aircraft.

VA-172 was an Attack Squadron of the U.S. Navy. It was established as Bomber Fighter Squadron VBF-82 on 20 August 1945, redesignated as Fighter Squadron VF-18A on 15 November 1946, as VF-172 on 11 August 1948, and as VA-172 on 1 November 1955. The squadron was disestablished on 15 January 1971. Its nickname was the Checkmates from 1946-1950, and the Blue Bolts thereafter.

Operational history

• 28 Jan 1949: Squadron aircraft, while secured to the flight deck and engines running, were used to assist in berthing USS Midway in Augusta, Sicily. This procedure is known as Operation Pinwheel.
• 23 Aug 1951: The squadron participated in its first combat sortie over Korea. This also marked the first use of the F2H-2 in combat.
• 25 Aug 1951: The squadron’s F2H-2 aircraft, along with F9Fs from VF-51, provided escort for 30 U.S. Air Force B-29 bombers raiding the marshalling yards at Rashin, North Korea.
• Nov–Dec 1956: USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, with VA-172 embarked, was ordered to deploy and operate off the coast of Spain as a result of the Suez crisis.
• Sep–Oct 1957: A detachment of squadron’s F2H-2 aircraft were embarked on USS Tarawa to provide fighter support for the antisubmarine warfare (ASW) carrier during a NATO exercise in the North Atlantic.
• Nov 1961: VA-172, embarked on Roosevelt, operated off the coast of the Dominican Republic to support the newly established democratic government.
• May 1963: Roosevelt, with VA-172 embarked, deployed to the Caribbean and operated off the coast of Haiti in response to a rebel attempt to overthrow the Haitian government.
• Jul–Sep 1963: A detachment from the squadron was deployed aboard USS Randolph to provide fighter coverage for the ASW Task Group during operations in the Caribbean Sea.
• 8–29 Aug 1964: Roosevelt, with VA-172 embarked, was ordered to operate in the vicinity of Cyprus after fighting escalated between Turkish and Greek forces on the island.
• Aug 1966: The squadron commenced combat operations in Vietnam. These were its first combat sorties since the Korean War in 1952.
• 2 Dec 1966: The squadron’s commanding officer, Commander Bruce A. Nystrom, was lost in a night reconnaissance mission over the Red River delta area in North Vietnam.

Home port assignments

The squadron was assigned to these home ports, effective on the dates shown:

• NAS Alameda – 20 Aug 1945
• NAS Quonset Point – 15 Jan 1946
• NAAS Cecil Field – 04 Mar 1949
• NAS Jacksonville – 24 Mar 1950
• NAS Cecil Field – 22 Feb 1958

Aircraft assignment

The squadron first received the following aircraft on the dates shown:

• F6F-5 Hellcat – Aug 1945
• F4U Corsair – 06 Sep 1945
• F8F Bearcat – 1946
• FH-1 Phantom – Mar 1949
• F2H-1 Banshee – May 1949
• F2H-2 Banshee – 21 Jun 1950
• F2H-4 Banshee – 13 Jan 1956
• F2H-2B Banshee – Sep 1956
• A4D-1 Skyhawk – 16 Dec 1957
• A4D-2 Skyhawk – May 1958
• A4C Skyhawk – 06 Sep 1961

See also

• List of squadrons in the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons
• Attack aircraft
• List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons
• History of the United States Navy

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons.