flies over
Capri in 1958 prepares to launch from in 1966
VC-9 VC-9 was established at
Naval Auxiliary Air Station Sanford, Florida in January 1953 and was initially equipped with the
AJ-2 Savage, receiving its first aircraft in June 1953. In 1953, while operating from the , VC-9 conducted the Navy's first inflight refueling operations. In preparation for the arrival of the
A3D Skywarrior heavy attack jet aircraft as the designated airframe to replace the
AJ Savage in the carrier-based nuclear strike role, NAAS Sanford was subject to significant improvements during the mid and late 1950s in order to upgrade the installation to full
naval air station status as a Master Jet Base. Following completion of these improvements, the base was renamed
Naval Air Station Sanford. Also in preparation for the arrival of the
A3D, VC-9 was redesignated as VAH-9 on 1 November 1955, receiving its first Skywarriors 14 months later in early 1957.
VAH-9 VAH-9 reequipped with the
A3D-2 Skywarrior in early 1957 and flew the A3D-2 for eight years thereafter, making several Mediterranean deployments aboard . In September 1962, with the implementation of a common aircraft designation system throughout the Department of Defense, the A3D-2 was redesignated as the
A-3B Skywarrior. The intended follow-on aircraft to the subsonic
A-3 Skywarrior in the heavy attack role was the Mach 2+
A-5 Vigilante in its
A-5A and
A-5B variants. As the submarine-launched ballistic missile became the primary Navy strategic deterrent, the Navy concluded that it no longer needed carrier-based strategic bombers and that Naval Aviation's strike arm would remain strictly a tactical force. Having been designed as a supersonic nuclear strike bomber, aircraft such as the A-5A and A-5B no longer had a mission, and in 1963, the Navy decided to halt any further procurement of the
A-5A and the follow-on
A-5B. However, in lieu of prematurely retiring the Vigilante, it was deemed that it would be reconfigured as a dedicated reconnaissance platform under the designation
RA-5C. VAH-9's transition to the
RA-5C Vigilante began in April 1964. The unit's designation was changed to RVAH-9 in June of that year and the last A-3B was transferred out on 4 August 1964.
RVAH-9 / Vietnam / Cold War • On 14 November 1964,
RA-5C BuNo 149308 assigned to RVAH-9 crashed at
Naval Air Station Sanford. Both crewmen, Lieutenant Commander Smith and ADJC Carolyers, were safely ejected. • 28 November 1964 – 12 July 1965, RVAH-9 embarked aboard for a Mediterranean deployment. • 10 December 1965 – 25 August 1966, following less than five months turnaround time at NAS Sanford, RVAH-9 embarked aboard for a Western Pacific (WESTPAC) and Vietnam deployment. • 16 January 1966, RA-5C BuNo 149312 failed to catch the arresting wire while landing aboard
Ranger. The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Charles Schoonover, applied power, but the starboard engine subsequently exploded and the aircraft crashed into the sea. Both Lieutenant Commander Schoonover and his reconnaissance attack navigator, Ensign Hal Hollingsworth, were listed as killed in action, bodies not recovered. • 2 May 1967 – 6 December 1967, RVAH-9 embarked aboard for a Mediterranean deployment. • 16 July 1975 – 24 Sep 1975, following less than five months turnaround time at their home station of Naval Air Station Key West, RVAH-9 embarked aboard the newly commissioned nuclear-powered aircraft carrier for a two-month Northern Atlantic deployment as part of the carrier's post-shakedown availability. ==Home station assignments==