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VP-50

military unit

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 18, 2025
Entity authorityQ16986639
Source-derived summary

VP-50 was a long-lived Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy, having held that designation for 39 years from 1953 to 1992. Its nickname was the Blue Dragons. Originally established as VP-917 on 18 July 1946, redesignated Medium Patrol Squadron (Landplane) VP-ML-67 on 15 November 1946, redesignated VP-892 in February 1950, redesignated VP-50 on 4 February 1953 and disestablished on 30 June 1992.

Operational history

18 July 1946: VP-917 was established at NAS Sand Point, near Seattle. The squadron came under the operational control of FAW-14 and administrative control of the Naval Air Reserve Training Command (NARTC). The squadron was one of 21 naval reserve squadrons established after the war to accommodate the large number of aircrews recently released from active duty and utilize the enormous stocks of aircraft in the inventory. The squadron flew the PBY-5A/6A Catalina seaplane and the PV-2 Harpoon landplane.

15 November 1946: All patrol squadrons were redesignated. Regular Navy patrol squadron designations began with 1 and reserve patrol squadrons began with 5 or higher. VP-917 was redesignated VP-ML-67.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “VP-50” is military unit. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through VP-50, military and unit, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1953, 1992, 1946, 1950—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, VP-50, military and unit is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “military unit” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 18, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q16986639. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1953, 1992, 1946 and 1950.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “VP-50”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow VP-50 primary sources, VP-50 archive and VP-50 research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “VP-50”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from VP-50” 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.