World War II • 10 January 1942: Torpedo Squadron FOUR (VT-4) was established aboard while the ship was in port at Grassy Bay,
Bermuda.The squadron initially flew the
TBD Devastator and was assigned to protect the sea lanes between
Bermuda and
Newfoundland from their homeport of
Naval Air Station Quonset Point,
Rhode Island. • August 1942, VT-4 transitioned from the TBD to the
TBF Avenger. taking off from in 1942. • 8 August 1943: Ranger, with VT-4 aboard, met the convoy with the liner
Queen Mary, which was bringing
Winston Churchill to North America for the
Quebec Conference. • August–November 1943: VT-4, while deployed aboard
Ranger, operated as part of the British Home Fleet. • 4 October 1943: The squadron participated in
Operation Leader and struck at shipping targets around Kunna Head, Norway, while other elements of CVG-4 struck targets at
Bodø, Norway. The squadron's TBF-1s, along with its escort of
F4Fs, destroyed a German freighter and a small coaster and damaged a troop transport. • October 1943: VT-4, flying from
Ranger, operated with the British Second Battle Squadron and patrolled the waters of the Norwegian Sea. • 1 May 1944: CVG-4 reformed as a spare air group with a composition that was designed to include 36 fighter aircraft (
F6F), 36 scout-bomber aircraft (
SB2C) and 18 torpedo aircraft (TBF/TBM). This air group composition was organized to operate from the large deck carriers of the
Essex class. Squadrons in CVG-4 included VT-4, VF-4 and VB-4. This change also brought an end to Air Group FOUR's operations aboard
Ranger. • July 1944: VT-4 and CVG-4 transferred from Atlantic to Pacific Fleet. • 15–21 July 1944: VT-4 aboard en route to Pearl Harbor from San Diego. • 21 September 1944: During a pre-dawn sortie involving simulated torpedo tactics, three of the squadron's aircraft collided with each other, resulting in the loss of nine personnel, including the squadron's commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Homer H. Hutcheson. • 4–17 November 1944: CVG-4 and VT-4 were temporarily embarked on for operations in support of
landings at Leyte. The squadron participated in combat strikes at Ormoc Bay, Cavite and Clark Field. • December 1944: The squadron participated in combat operations in support of landings on
Mindoro. • January 1945: While operating from , the squadron struck targets on
Formosa,
Luzon,
Hainan and the
Ryukyu Island chain as well as in
French Indochina (Vietnam). Operations in Vietnam were around
Saigon and Camranh Bay. These operations were in support of the continued assault against the Japanese in the Philippines. • 16 February 1945: The squadron conducted its first strikes against the home islands of Japan, hitting Mawatari airfield on
Honshu. Other strikes against targets on Honshu were conducted on 17 and 25 February. • 19–22 February 1945: CVG-4 provided support for the
Battle of Iwo Jima. • 1 March 1945: The airfield, facilities and shipping at Naha, Okinawa, were hit by squadron aircraft. • 4 March 1945: VT-4 disembarked from
Essex at Ulithi, completing the squadron's last combat cruise during World War II. • 9–23 March 1945: CVG-4 aboard for passage from Ulithi to Pearl Harbor. VT-4 eventually returned to the States in April 1945 for reforming following its combat cruise.
Postwar • 15 February–15 April 1946: VT-4 along with other squadrons in CVG-4 participated in 's shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea following the ship's commissioning in December 1945. • November 1946: Some squadron aircraft were fitted with sonobuoy gear and personnel were trained in antisubmarine missions as well as their normal torpedo-attack requirements. • March 1949: the squadron moved to
NAS Cecil Field, Florida and transitioned to the
AD Skyraider.
1950s landing on the in 1957 • 22 May 1950: VA-15, along with the other squadrons in CVG-1, were designated as training squadrons and CVG-1 as a training air group. The squadron's primary mission was the training of fleet pilots in attack aircraft. VA-15's training syllabus emphasized glide bombing, dive-bombing, rocket firing, day-and-night tactics and carrier qualifications in the AD Skyraider. • 19 September 1951: the
CNO approved the squadron insignia, which was a modification of an earlier one depicting a lion riding a torpedo. The lion was retained to represent the strong attack capabilities of the squadron and the torpedo was replaced by a missile. • 13–23 September 1952: VA-15, while deployed aboard , participated in the first
NATO naval operation, Operation Mainbrace, conducted in the North Atlantic. • February 1955: While deployed aboard , the squadron supported the evacuation of Chinese Nationalist civilians and military personnel from the Tachen Islands which were being bombarded by the
People's Republic of China. • November–December 1956: As a result of the
Suez Crisis, VA-15 deployed aboard and operated in the vicinity of the
Azores. • 12 Sep 1958: VA-15 was assigned the additional mission of
Aerial refuelling.
1960s aboard in 1967. • 14–28 November 1960: VA-15, temporarily assigned to CVG-10, deployed aboard to the Caribbean Sea to guard against possible infiltration into
Guatemala and
Nicaragua by insurgent organizations that were believed to have ties to
Cuba. • 21–27 November 1961: VA-15, embarked on , operated off the coast of the
Dominican Republic to support the newly established democratic government. • March–April 1962: VA-15 deployed aboard to the Caribbean and participated in the shakedown cruise of the world's first nuclear powered carrier. • August 1965: Although scheduled to transition to the
A-6 Intruder, VA-15 began training under VA-44 for transition to the
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. • 4 April–21 November 1966: VA-15 deployed to Vietnam as a component of CVW-10 embarked on . CVW-10 was an all-attack air wing composed of four attack squadrons, two squadrons flying A-4 Skyhawks and two squadrons with
A-1 Skyraiders. • 15 May 1966: The squadron flew its first combat mission since March 1945 when it was designated VT- 4 and a member of Carrier Air Group 4. • 1967: VA-15 again returned to Southeast Asia on the USS
Intrepid • 1968-9: the squadron deployed to the Mediterranean on after she was restored from the disastrous
fire. ==Home port assignments==