VX-3

Air Development Squadron 3
Active	20 November 1948-1 March 1960
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy

Last updated April 08, 2019

Air Development Squadron 3 or VX-3 was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron established on 20 November 1948 and disestablished on 1 March 1960.^[1]

The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the Navy is the third largest of the service branches. It has 282 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of March 2018, making it the second-largest air force in the world, after the United States Air Force.

Operational history

VX-3 was established by the merger of the assets of VA-1L and VF-1L and based at NAS Atlantic City, its aircraft carried the tail code "XC".^[1]^[2]

In late 1949 VX-3 received the F6U Pirate which it operated for a short period before sending them into storage at NAS Quonset Point.^[3]

The Vought F6U Pirate was the Vought company's first jet fighter, designed for US Navy during the mid-1940s. Although pioneering the use of turbojet power as the first naval fighter with an afterburner and composite material construction, the aircraft proved to be underpowered and was judged unsuitable for combat. None were ever issued to operational squadrons and they were relegated to development, training and test roles before they were withdrawn from service in 1950.

In March 1953 VX-3 began operational trials of probe and drogue aerial refueling using AJ-1 Savage bombers.^[3]^:197

The North American AJ Savage was a carrier-based medium bomber built for the United States Navy by North American Aviation. The aircraft was designed shortly after World War II to carry atomic bombs and this meant that the bomber was the heaviest aircraft thus far designed to operate from an aircraft carrier. It was powered by two piston engines and a turbojet buried in the rear fuselage. The AJ-1 first became operational in 1950 and several were based in South Korea during 1953 as a deterrent against the Communists. Of the 140 built, plus three prototypes, 30 were reconnaissance aircraft. Inflight-refueling equipment was deployed on the Savage in the mid-1950s. The bomber was replaced by the Douglas A3D Skywarrior beginning in 1957.

In late 1954 VX-3 carrier-qualified the F9F-8 Cougar aboard the USS Midway.^[3]^:135

The Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar is a carrier-based fighter aircraft for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Based on Grumman's earlier F9F Panther, the Cougar replaced the Panther's straight wing with a more modern swept wing. Thrust was also increased. The Navy considered the Cougar an updated version of the Panther, despite having a different official name, and thus Cougars started off from F9F-6.

USS Midway (CVB/CVA/CV-41) is an aircraft carrier, formerly of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class. Commissioned a week after the end of World War II, Midway was the largest ship in the world until 1955, as well as the first U.S. aircraft carrier too big to transit the Panama Canal. She operated for 47 years, during which time she saw action in the Vietnam War and served as the Persian Gulf flagship in 1991's Operation Desert Storm. Decommissioned in 1992, she is now a museum ship at the USS Midway Museum, in San Diego, California, and the only remaining U.S. aircraft carrier commissioned right after World War II ended that was not an Essex-class aircraft carrier.

In August 1955 VX-3 F9F-8s successfully tested the first mirror landing system aboard USS Bennington.^[3]^:184

USS Bennington (CV/CVA/CVS-20) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the second US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington (Vermont). Bennington was commissioned in August 1944, and served in several of the later campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning three battle stars. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an Antisubmarine Aircraft Carrier (CVS). In her second career, she spent most of her time in the Pacific, earning five battle stars for action during the Vietnam War. She served as the recovery ship for the Apollo 4 space mission.

VX-3 received the first F-8U-1 Crusaders in December 1956 and conducted carrier qualifications of the Crusader aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt in April 1957. During testing of the Crusader two aircraft and pilots were lost. On 6 June 1957 a VX-3 Crusader set a US coast to coast speed record of three hours and twenty-eight minutes, launching from USS Bon Homme Richard on the West Coast and landing on USS Saratoga on the East Coast.^[1]

Notable former members

Walter Starghill AT3

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References

1 2 3 Ginter, Steve (1990). Vought's F-8 Crusader - Navy Fighter Squadrons. Naval Fighters. p. 15. ISBN 9780942612196.
↑ Grossnick, Roy (1995). Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Volume 1, Chapter 2, Section 1: Attack Squadron Histories for VA-1E to VA-23. Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. p. 18.
1 2 3 4 Thomason, Tommy (2008). U.S. Naval Air Superiority: Development of Shipborne Jet Fighters - 1943-1962. Specialty Press. p. 45. ISBN 9781580071109.

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[Ginter-1] 1 2 3 Ginter, Steve (1990). Vought's F-8 Crusader - Navy Fighter Squadrons. Naval Fighters. p. 15. ISBN 9780942612196.

[DANAS-2] Grossnick, Roy (1995). Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Volume 1, Chapter 2, Section 1: Attack Squadron Histories for VA-1E to VA-23. Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. p. 18.

[Tom-3] 1 2 3 4 Thomason, Tommy (2008). U.S. Naval Air Superiority: Development of Shipborne Jet Fighters - 1943-1962. Specialty Press. p. 45. ISBN 9781580071109.

VX-3

Contents

Operational history

Notable former members

See also

Related Research Articles

References