VAQ-33
military unit
VAQ-33, nicknamed the Firebirds, was a Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron of the U.S. Navy, serving for 44 years (1949–1993) under various designations and with a constantly-evolving group of aircraft. It was designated VAQ-33 in 1968, at which time it operated the piston-powered EA-1F Skyraider, or Spad. The squadron had the distinctions of being the last Navy unit to operate the A-1 Skyraider, and of making its last carrier deployment, in 1969. The retirement of the Spad marked the beginning of the squadron's decades-long role as a pioneering electronic aggressor squadron. That role ended with electronic aggressor missions being transferred to the Navy Reserve and the squadron's disestablishment at NAS Key West on 1 October 1993.
History
The squadron was established in 1949 as Composite Squadron VC-33 at NAS Norfolk. It flew the TBM-3E/N/Q Avenger and a few SNB-5 Texans. Its mission was antisubmarine warfare (ASW). It moved to NAS Atlantic City in 1950, where its mission changed to night attack. It sent three detachments to the Korean War aboard carriers, where it distinguished itself in night attack and ECM missions.
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This entry incorporates text from “VAQ-33” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.