VigilanteVigilanteRVAH NAVY NewsletterRVAH NAVY Newsletter May, 2016

NAS Key West, FLA

HistoryIn 1815, the Spanish governor in Havana, Cuba, deededthe island of Key West, Florida, to Juan Pablo Salas ofSaint Augustine, Fla. After Florida was transferred to theUnited States, Salas sold Key West to U.S. businessmanJohn W. Simonton for $2,000 in 1821. Simonton lobbiedthe U.S. government to establish a naval base on KeyWest, both to take advantage of its strategic location andto bring law and order to the Key West town.On March 25, 1822, Naval officer Matthew C. Perry sailedthe schooner Shark to Key West and planted the U.S. flagclaiming the Keys as United States property. A naval basewas established a year later at what is now known asMallory Square.Piracy in the Caribbean angered the Americangovernment, and the losses of American ships increased.President Monroe authorized the establishment of ananti-pirate squadron and on Dec. 20, 1822, Secretary ofthe Navy Smith Thompson appointed Captain David Porter“to command the vessels-of-war of the United States onthe West India station...for the suppression of piracy.”Porter organized his command and set out for Key West.His ships were referred to as the “Mosquito Fleet” due tothe small and shallow-drafted vessels used. It allowedthem to easily maneuver over the shallow areas and reefsin the Keys. He arrived here in April 1823 with steam

The Key West naval base expanded more during theSpanish-American War. In 1898, the battleship Mainesailed from Key West to Havana, Cuba, where it sank. Thesinking of the Maine contributed to a United Statesdeclaration of war on Spain, and the entire U.S. AtlanticFleet moved to Key West for the duration. Following thewar, the naval presence in the Keys was withdrawn untilWorld War I.World War I brought greater expansion to the Navyfootprint in Key West. Year-round ideal weather fortraining and the island's strategic location led to theestablishment of a Navy submarine base at what is nowTruman Annex. The nation's southernmost Naval Basealso proved to be an ideal training facility for the Navy'sfledgling aviation force. Naval Air Station Key West wasestablished when ground was broken for construction of asmall coastal air patrol station on July 13, 1917, at what isnow Trumbo Point, on land leased from the Florida EastCoast Railroad Company. The project involved dredging,erection of station buildings, three seaplane ramps, adirigible hangar, a hydro generator plant, and temporarybarracks.On Sept. 22 of that year, the base's log book recorded thefirst naval flight ever made from Key West - a Curtis N-9sea plane flown by Coast Guard Lt. Stanley Parker. Aboutthree months later, on Dec. 18, Naval Air Base Key Westin the Keys. He arrived here in April 1823 with steam

ships, schooners, a transport ship, barges and sloops-of-war, and even a decoy merchant ship armed with hiddenguns, as well as 1,100 men. He patrolled Caribbean watersand the Gulf of Mexico, striking pirates and escortingAmerican ships to safety.By 1860, illegal slavers were a serious problem and thefederal government declared slave trading as piracy. Onceagain, the U.S. Navy was dispatched to Key West to patrollocal waters and arrest American vessels taking part in thetrade. During the short period in which they were activebefore the Civil War, the Navy squadron captured threeships and brought 1,432 captive Africans in to Key West -the closest American port. These people were freed andeventually sent to Liberia.With the start of the Civil War, the Navy organized ablockade squadron in Key West. Dozens of Navy shipspatrolled from here to prevent the import of Confederatewar supplies from overseas ports. Army troops assignedto Fort Zachary Taylor also boarded Navy transport shipsand launched attacks into south Florida to cut offConfederate supply lines. Key West was the lone southernport that did not fall under Confederate control. TheUnion's strategic hold on Key West is said to haveshortened the war by several years due to the South'sinability to maintain open supply lines.

three months later, on Dec. 18, Naval Air Base Key Westwas commissioned and Lt. Parker became the firstcommanding officer.

U.S. Navy N-9s and Curtiss Model Fs at Naval AirStation Key West. The Curtiss N-9 was a floatplane

variant of the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" military trainer usedduring World War I by the United States Navy.

NAS Key West, FLANaval Air Base pilots flew seaplanes and blimps in search ofGerman submarines resting on the surface to rechargebatteries. Naval aviation anti-submarine warfare was born.From the first class of student flight officers on January 18,1918, until the end of the war, more than 500 aviators weretrained establishing NAS Key West as a premier training sitefor Naval aviators.Following World War I, the air station and submarine basewere closed and its personnel released. Most of the buildingson Trumbo Point were destroyed or dismantled and movedto other locations. A small Navy force maintained a radiowireless station at the Naval Station in Truman Annex andthe remaining facilities were used only occasionally during1920-1930 for seaplane training. International events and agrowing German submarine menace in nearby waters beganto revive Navy operations in the Keys during the late 1930s.Seaplanes operating from Trumbo Point led to the reopeningof NAS Key West on Dec. 15, 1940. Other satellite facilitieswere established in the local area to support the war effort.Meachum Field, which is now the Key West InternationalAirport, was used to support blimps flying anti-submarinepatrols. Monroe County provided a seldom-used countyairport on Boca Chica Key for Army fixed-wing aircraft. BocaChica Field was eventually transferred to the Navy andbecome a part of NAS Key West. Naval Station Key Westreopened and the Navy established a Sonar School at TrumanAnnex. By the end of the war, Key West was a homeport forsubmarines, destroyers and aircraft squadrons.

As in the past, the naval presence in the Keys wasreduced during the 1970s with the closure of the navalstation and eventual sale of the former base property tolocal developers. However, the superior, year-roundflying weather and strategic location of thesouthernmost air station was not overlooked. Despiterumors of closure, NAS Key West remained open andevolved into a state-of-the-art training facility for air-to-air combat fighter aircraft of all military services.

In 1973, Reconnaissance Attack Wing 1 (RECONATKWINGONE) began relocation from the closing NAS Albany,Georgia with its RA-5C Vigilante, TA-3B Skywarrior andTA-4F/J Skyhawk II aircraft. An operational/deployableFleet unit, the wing relocated Reconnaissance AttackSquadron THREE (RVAH-3), the single site RA-5C FleetReplacement Squadron (FRS), to NAS Key West, as wellas eight other deployable Vigilante squadrons (RVAH-1,RVAH-5, RVAH-6, RVAH-7, RVAH-9, RVAH-11, RVAH-12,RVAH-13) that routinely embarked with Atlantic Fleetand Pacific Fleet carrier air wings aboard FORRESTAL,KITTY HAWK, ENTERPRISE and NIMITZ class aircraftcarriers. All RVAH squadrons were in place at NAS KeyWest by late 1974 and all were eventuallydecommissioned over a six-year period that coincidedwith the phased retirement of the RA-5C. Followingdecommissioning of the last RA-5C squadron, RVAH-7,submarines, destroyers and aircraft squadrons.

After the war ended, NAS Key West was retained as atraining facility. The air station's strategic location provedvital during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Reconnaissanceand operational flights began Oct. 22, 1962, in support of theCuban blockade. President John F. Kennedy visited NAS KeyWest afterwards to thank service members and their familiesfor their contributions during the crisis.

decommissioning of the last RA-5C squadron, RVAH-7,Reconnaissance Attack Wing ONE subsequently stooddown in early 1980.

The Picture Page!

Control TowerNaval Air Station Key West, Fla.

RVAH-5, NAS Key West, 1975Courtesy: George Shattuck

Circa 1975. NAS Key West, RVAH-3 "Rooftop"photo from hangar. I can't remember the CO's

Name in the front seat.New skipper was going to be CDR A.R. Skelly

Courtesy: Russell H. Burkhard II

On Display at Key West

RA-5C (BuNo. 156632 / 304-GJ), RVAH-3'Sea Dragons' seen on take-off at NAS

Key West, Florida, 9/26/78.Awesome shot by Peter R. Foster

Air Traffic Control Training,Naval Air Station Key West, Fla.

Punisher (Atlanta)Country-fried smoked rib meat slathered in a

Monster energy drink-infused BBQ sauce, toppedwith a fresh cut beer-battered onion and "slawsa,"tucked between a toasted and buttered Hawaiianbun and pinned in place with two slices of bacon.

Champions Alley Burger and dog (Kansas City)Burger: cheese-stuffed, tempura-battered, cheddar

bacon burger with sweet slaw, chipotle ketchupand fried pickle on a local roll. * Dog: bacon-

wrapped, tempura-battered, foot-long hot dogwith sweet slaw and chipotle ketchup on a local

pretzel bun.

Spring is here and that means BASEBALL – and stadium food! I admit that even though I survived a heart attack, Istill (occasionally) like to eat something that’s incredibly bad for me and below are some of the most incredible

foods available at minor league stadiums across the country. I’m not saying you should eat these but if you happento be in the area of one or more, it’s worth trying… I especially would like to try the… Burgerizza…

Pizza AND Burgers… what a concept!!

Tator Tot Chop (Atlanta)Starts with a layer of Tater Tots pressed in a waffleiron, loaded with bacon, melted cheese andjalapenos, topped with a second tater tot waffleand served with Coca Cola-infused ketchup.

Burgerizza (Atlanta)A 20-ounce patty, five slices of cheddar with bacon,

served between two 8-inch pepperoni pizzas.

Sweet Potato Waffle Chicken Sandwich (Houston)Homemade sweet potato waffle with grilled

chicken breast, Greek yogurt, baby spinach andsliced tomatoes.

AZ's Canteen DogPiedmontese hot dog with roasted vegetable

mayo, house-made grain mustard, cabbage slawand pickled jalapenos, on a toasted bun. .

The Funny PageWhat are you gonna do? Take away my birthday?Because of a minor infraction, a sailor aboard the USSReeves, bound for Japan, was busted one rank, fined andgiven extra duty for three weeks. Looking forward tocelebrating his 21st birthday on July 22, he consoled himselfevery night during his extra duty by reciting, "They can bustme, they can fine me -- but they can't take away mybirthday.“As July 22 approached, his excitement increased. When hewent to bed on July 21, he happily repeated, "They can bustme, they can fine me -- but they can't take away mybirthday.“The next morning, he found out that the ship had crossed theinternational date line -- and it was July 23..**************************************************“The Chief and the Gunny”An old Chief and an old Gunny were sitting at the VFWarguing about who’d had the tougher career. “I did 30 yearsin the Corps,” the Gunny declared proudly, “and fought inthree of my country’s wars. Fresh out of boot camp I hit thebeach at Okinawa , clawed my way up the blood soakedsand, and eventually took out an entire enemy machine gunnest with a single grenade. “As a sergeant, I fought in Koreaalongside General Mac Arthur. We pushed back the enemyinch by bloody inch all the way up to the Chinese border,inch by bloody inch all the way up to the Chinese border,always under a barrage of artillery and small arms fire.“Finally, as a gunny sergeant, I did three consecutive combattours in Vietnam . We humped through the mud and razorgrass for 14 hours a day, plagued by rain and mosquitoes,ducking under sniper fire all day and mortar fire all night. In afire fight, we’d fire until our arms ached and our guns wereempty, then we’d charge the enemy with bayonets!”

“Ah,” said the Chief with a dismissive wave of his hand, “allshore duty, huh?”

Welcome to Our NewMembers!

Welcome to our new members of RecceNet!

Welcome aboard shipmates!“Now liberty call, liberty call. Liberty

commences for the port section. Libertyexpires on board, 0800 Monday

morning. Now liberty call'.

Brad Jones has created and now has a quantity of a"Fly Navy" Bumper Sticker if any are interested.Brad says, “Quantities are somewhat limited since Idon't know the interest level (if any). If demand issufficient I will have my print shop run off morecopies. “These are ONLY available with RVAH-11 markings.”Details are: (Picture below)Overall size is 2.9 X 15.5” > Material is Vinyl with acoating for durability> Aircraft markings are thoseof a 1967 RVAH-11 "Checkertails” aboard USSForrestal (CVA-59), in Air Wing CVW-17 (AA Tail)If interested, they are available for $3.75 Each PLUSPacking and First Class/Priority Mail Shippingcharge as shown below:1 - 10 Bumper Stickers = $ 5.00 * 11 - 20 BumperStickers = $ 7.00 21 or More Bumper Stickers =$ 13.00 * Please send your Check or Money orderwith your Order details and preferred MailingAddress to Brad at:Brad Jones, P.O. Box 77Tamassee, SC 29686Email: heavy11@reagan.comIf demand exceeds my stock, I'll let you know viaEmail.

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THE GEAR LOCKER IS MOVING!!Please keep an eye out for the new location

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Until then, the Gear Locker istemporarily closed!

Happy Mother’s Day to all youMothers Out There!!You know who you are…

May Birthdays!We are the last generation whose baby pictures WEREN’Ttaken on Smart Phones… and who’s birth was not tweetedor texted instantly…Congratulations… you are officially too old to die young!

HappyBirthday,Ya Swabs!

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John Songer 4-MayHans Kirsten 4-MayRonald J Rice 4-May

Daniel M. Farage 4-MayHarvey Brestle 4-MayHoward Love 4-May

Lester Diamond 5-MayDelbert W. Hayes 5-May

Gary Matthees 7-MayMartin Mankowski 7-MayCharles F. Eubanks 9-May

Jack R. Leonard 9-MayJim Roth 9-May

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Robert (Bob) Lee Drake, Jr. 17-MayBert Woodford (woody) 19-May

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Alton L. Williams 20-MayFrank Sercia 20-May

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Gerard J. Leygraaf 30-MayPeter Derose 30-MayTerry Fulton 30-May

Peter C. Derose 30-MayThomas Leonard 30-May

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J.K.Hall 31-MayRichard (Dick) W. Dighton 31-May