1950s On 20 July 1950, VF-884 (the previous name of VA-52) was called to active duty as a result of the
Korean War. On the 28th, the squadron reported for active duty at
NAS San Diego. In the later part of March 1951, VF-884 aircraft conducted their first combat operations, flying close air support missions along
Korea’s eastern coast from . VF-884's first Commanding Officer, LCDR. G. F. Carmichael, died after parachuting from his
F4U which had been hit by enemy ground fire on 24 May 1951. Later, on 4 October 1951, LT. E. F. Johnson was attacked and shot down by enemy
MiG-15 aircraft. This was the first VF-884 and CVG-101 aircraft shot down by enemy aircraft. LCDR. Bowen, VF-884's third Commanding Officer, was listed as missing in action when his aircraft crashed near
Pyongyang, North Korea on November 8, 1951. On 4 February 1953: VF-884 was redesignated VF-144 during its second combat tour in Korea aboard . In this change, the reserve squadron number was replaced by an active squadron number. On 21 February 1953: VF-144 completed the last line period of its second combat tour in Korea. Its primary missions had been close air support of ground troops, interdiction of enemy main supply routes, and the destruction of military supplies, vehicles and troops. On 18 August 1958, the squadron returned to
NAS Miramar following 's first major deployment. The cruise took the squadron from
Virginia to
California, via
Cape Horn, transferring
Ranger from the
Atlantic Fleet to the
Pacific Fleet. The squadron's mission was changed to attack and it was redesignated VA-52 on 23 February 1959.
1960s From 13 July to 1 August 1964, VA-52 aircraft participated in Yankee Team operations in
South Vietnam and
Laos, involving
aerial reconnaissance to detect
Communist military presence and operations. Other missions included weather reconnaissance and
Search and Rescue. Between the 2nd and 4 August 1964, during a Desoto Patrol mission (intelligence collection missions begun in 1962), was attacked by three
motor torpedo boats off the coast of
North Vietnam. Following this incident the squadron flew 44 sorties in support of the destroyers on the Desoto Patrol. On the 4th of August, During the night, two destroyers on Desoto Patrol, and USS
Maddox, believing themselves under attack by North Vietnamese motor torpedo boats, called for air support. Several
A-1H Skyraiders from the squadron, along with several
F-8 Crusaders, were launched from . Commander George H. Edmondson and Lieutenant Jere A. Barton reported gun flashes and bursts of light at their altitude which they felt came from enemy antiaircraft fire. Following this, on 5 August 1964, four VA-52 A-1Hs, piloted by Commander L. T. McAdams, Lieutenant Commander L. E. Brumbach and Lieutenant (jg)s R. E. Moore and P. A. Carter, participated in
Operation Pierce Arrow, retaliatory strikes against North Vietnam. Along with other aircraft from CVG-5, they struck the
Vinh oil storage facilities and destroyed about ninety percent of the complex. The four aircraft returned with no battle damage. Between 6–29 October 1964: The squadron conducted rescue
combat air patrol missions in support of "Yankee Team" operations.On 7 February 1966, LTJG. Harvey M. Browne was awarded the
Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity during rescue missions in the
Republic of Vietnam. On 13 April 1966, CDR. John C. Mape was killed in action, becoming the third VA-52 commanding officer to be lost in combat action. The squadron soon completed its second combat tour of duty in Vietnam on the 21st of April, having participated in
Operation Rolling Thunder, designed to interdict the enemy's lines of communication into Laos and South Vietnam. On 9 March 1967, CDR. John F. Wanamaker received the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity during operations against North Vietnam. VA-52 completed its last day of line operations during its 1967 and third combat tour to Vietnamon April 27. During this deployment, squadron operations included rescue combat air patrol missions, coastal reconnaissance,
Operation Steel Tiger missions and
Operation Sea Dragon operations.
Steel Tiger involved concentrated strikes in southern Laos.
Sea Dragon involved spotting for
naval gunfire support against waterborne cargo and coastal radar and gun battery sites. On 7 September 1968: VA-52 deployed aboard . This was the first
A-6 Intruder deployment aboard a .
1970s From 8 December 1970 to 23 June 1971, VA-52's main emphasis was on operations in
Laos against the enemy's lines of communication and their transportation networks. On 23 November 1971, CDR. Lennart R. Salo became the first
Naval Flight Officer to command an A-6 Intruder squadron. VA-52 commenced line operations from
Yankee Station a few days earlier than scheduled on 3 April 1972, as a result of the
North Vietnamese invasion on 30 March. During this line period heavy air raids were conducted against North Vietnam. These were the first major heavy air raids into North Vietnam since October 1968 and became known as
Operation Freedom Train. On 16 April 1972, VA-52 conducted strikes in the
Haiphong, Vinh, and
Thanh Hoa as part of Operation Freedom Porch. VA-52's Intruders took part in
Operation Pocket Money, the mining of Haiphong harbor, on 9 May 1970. VA-52's Intruders actually took part in the diversionary attack at Phu Qui railroad yard while aircraft from
Coral Sea conducted the actual mining. On 10 May 1972:
Operation Linebacker operations began and involved concentrated air strikes against targets in North Vietnam above the
20th parallel north. During these operations VA-52's aircraft flew armed reconnaissance, Alpha strikes (large coordinated attacks), mine seeding operations, tanker operations, and
Standard ARM sorties (use of anti-radiation missiles to destroy missile radar sites). From 1 June until 27 June 1972, VA-52 flew special single aircraft night missions designated Sneaky Pete as part of Operation Linebacker operations. VA-52 once again deployed with
CVW-11 aboard on 23 November 1972, this time as part of the first CV concept air wing on the West Coast. VA-52's Intruders were equipped with new ASW electronic equipment, the Multi-Channel Jezebel Relay pods. Between July 24 and 28 1979, VA-52 and other elements of
CVW-15 participated in search and assistance operations to aid
Vietnamese boat people. A total of 114 people were rescued through the efforts of the air wing and
Kitty Hawk. These operations continued during August. On 27 October 1979,
South Korea’s President
Park Chung Hee was assassinated and
Kitty Hawk immediately departed the
Philippine Sea for the southwest coast of Korea, where they remained until 4 November. While in port at
Naval Station Subic Bay in the Philippines and preparing to return home from a seven-month WESTPAC deployment,
Kitty Hawk and its battle group (to include CVW-15 and VA-52) were indefinitely extended on deployment on 18 November 1979 in response to the
Iran hostage crisis and directed to proceed to the
Indian Ocean via the
Straits of Malacca and
Diego Garcia. Between 3 December 1979 and 23 January 1980, After the assault on the American Embassy in Tehran and the
Iran hostage crisis;
Kitty Hawk entered the
Indian Ocean and operated in the
Arabian Sea throughout this period. It was during this period on 29 December 1979, while conducting operations off
Kitty Hawk, the squadron's commanding officer, CDR. Walter D. Williams, and one of the squadron's department heads, Lieutenant Commander Bruce Miller, were lost at sea/CDR Williams body recovered, LCDR Miller was not, following a cold catapult shot off the bow in KA-6D Intruder,
NL-521 (BuNo 152632).
1980s On 8 February 1980, after brief port calls at NAVSTA Subic Bay and
NAVBASE Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
Kitty Hawk returns to its homeport of
NAS North Island in
San Diego, California and VA-52 returns to its home station of
NAS Whidbey Island, Washington. On 19 May 1981, while transiting the
South China Sea VA-52 aircraft spotted a small boat with 47 Vietnamese refugees on board and reported their location for rescue operations.
USS Carl Vinson CVN-70, with CVW-15 and VA-52, were kept on station in the
Sea of Japan between 10 and 12 October 1983, after the
attempted assassination of South Korea's president. Between 14 and 31 August 1986, VA-52 participated in the first carrier operations in the
Bering Sea since
World War II. Most of the squadron's 400 hours and 200 sorties were made under adverse weather conditions. From 20 January to 31 January 1987, VA-52 conducted its second period of operations in the Northern Pacific and Bering Sea. At one point the most effective means of clearing snow and ice from
Carl Vinson's flight deck was the jet exhaust from the squadron's aircraft. On 23 September 1987, during night operations off
Carl Vinson the squadron's Commanding Officer, CDR. Lloyd D. Sledge, was lost at sea. In August 1988, the squadron flew sorties in support of
Operation Earnest Will, the escorting of reflagged
Kuwait tankers in the
Persian Gulf.
1990s In 1991, the squadron became the first Pacific Fleet Intruder squadron to use night-vision goggles on the A-6 Intruder. That same year, CVW-15 moved back to Kitty Hawk Relieving the
Ranger on 18 December as part of JTF Somalia, VA-52 along VFA-27 and VFA-97 (which flew the F/A-18A) undertook
Close Air Support and Reconnaissance as part of
Operation Restore Hope. This included sending two of the squadron's Intruders to support
USMC and
Belgian paratroopers during an assault on
Kisamayu on 20 December 1992. On 27 December 1992, as a result of the shooting down of a
MiG-25 of the
Iraqi Air Force in the No-Fly Zone, the
Kitty Hawk, VA-52 and CVW-15 were redirected to the Persian Gulf to take part in
Operation Southern Watch. On the evening of January 13, 1993, eight A-6E SWIP Intruders from VA-52 loaded with
Paveway bombs attacked Iraqi Air Defence sites in Southern Iraq along with 110 other aircraft, 35 of them from CVW-15. During the strike, CMDR. Rick Hess from VA-52 was among one of four of the ''Kitty Hawk's'' pilots who reported seeing Iraqi SAMs. On January 19, 1993, VA-52 destroyed targets in Iraq in retaliation for AAA fire. In 1994, VA-52 deployed on its last WESTPAC deployment. During the deployment, it was diverted from going to the Persian Gulf, with the carrier instead being diverted to the
Korean Peninsula during a
crisis revolving around tensions between the two countries. On March 31, 1995, VA-52 Knightriders was disestablished. ==Home port assignments==