Attack Squadron 65 (VA-65), nicknamed The World Famous Fighting Tigers, was an attack squadron of the United States Navy. The squadron was established as Torpedo Squadron VT-74 in 1945, redesignated as VA-2B in 1946, as VA-25 on 1 September 1948, and finally redesignated VA-65 on 1 July 1959. It was disestablished in 1993. Known as "The World Famous Fighting Tigers", VA-65 was one of the last medium attack squadrons to fly the A-6 Intruder and the A-1 Skyraider. It was the second squadron to be designated VA-65, the first VA-65 was redesignated from VA-6B on 27 July 1948 and would be redesignated as VA-25 on 1 July 1959.

History

7 November 1945: Squadron embarked on for her shakedown cruise. The squadron had originally been established for the purpose of being part of the Midway Air Group. July–August 1948: The squadron participated in operation CAMID III, close air support for amphibious landings. During this operation the squadron became the first VA unit in the Atlantic Fleet to fire Tiny Tim rockets. 1–20 June 1961: Following a four-hour notice for an emergency deployment, VA-65 deployed to the Caribbean Sea aboard due to unsettled conditions in the Dominican Republic following the assassination of Rafael Trujillo. 3 August–11 October 1962: VA-65 was aboard for the maiden cruise of the , during her deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. 19 October–6 December 1962: VA-65 was back at sea aboard Enterprise one week after returning from a Med cruise and headed for the Caribbean Sea due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The squadron participated in the naval quarantine of Cuba. 31 July–3 October 1964: The squadron participated in Operation Sea Orbit as part of Carrier Air Wing Six aboard Enterprise. This operation was an around-the-world voyage of a task force composed of all nuclear powered ships. 15 Jun 1966: VA-65 conducted its first combat sortie during the Vietnam War flying from 1 July 1966: VA-65's aircraft joined other Carrier Air Wing Fifteen aircraft in attacking and sinking three North Vietnamese patrol vessels that were approaching at high speed. 25–31 October 1966: Due to the inclement weather, the squadron's all-weather A-6As flew 37 percent of all Yankee Team sorties against North Vietnam. 29 July 1967: VA-65 personnel were among those killed or injured during the USS Forrestal fire July–December 1967: Due to the fire on the and her departure from combat duty on Yankee Station, VA-65 sent a detachment (Det-64) to the Constellation to augment VA-196 for the remainder of the ship's 1967 combat tour in Vietnam. May–June 1969: , with VA-65 aboard, relieved Enterprise in the Sea of Japan. Enterprise had been ordered to operate in the area as a result of the shoot down of a Navy EC-121 reconnaissance aircraft by the North Koreans. VA-65 conducted operations in the area during this two-month period. 9 September–5 October 1970: VA-65 operated from on Bravo Station off the coast of Israel as a result of the crisis in Jordan and the hijacking of three commercial airliners. 7 October–3 November & 9–21 November 1973: After the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, VA-65 operated from Independence in an area southwest of Crete and provided tanker support to fighter aircraft escorting Air Force One on Secretary of State Kissinger's mission to Israel as well as tanker support for A-4 Skyhawks being ferried to Israel from the United States. 4–22 August 1974: Independence, with VA-65 embarked, operated between Crete and Cyprus in response to the 1974 Cypriot coup d'état and the death of the American Ambassador to Cyprus at the hands of anti- American demonstrators. 12 March 1975: During exercises in the Caribbean Sea, VA-65 conducted cross deck operations with . November 1975: During the NATO exercise Ocean Safari in the North Atlantic, the squadron once again conducted cross deck operations with HMS Ark Royal. 15 April 1980: VA-65 deployed aboard to the Indian Ocean after Iranians took the American Embassy personnel hostage. 22 December 1980: VA-65 returned from its deployment that included only one port visit of five days in duration and a total of 246 days at sea. 24 June 1982: VA-65 provided support during the evacuation of American and foreign civilians from Beirut, Lebanon. 7 March 1985: VA-65 and Dwight D. Eisenhower cut short a port visit to Palma, Spain and departed on a high speed transit to the Eastern Mediterranean due to the increased tension in Lebanon. The squadron operated in the vicinity of Lebanon until early April. 1 September 1986: VA-65 was assigned to CVW-13 and as part of the Coral Sea Concept whereby two A-6 Intruder squadrons would be part of the air wing and share a common aircraft maintenance department. The concept was intended to reduce the number of personnel needed to support the squadrons. 29 September 1987: VA-65 deployed to the Mediterranean Sea aboard Coral Sea as the first Night Vision Goggle (NVG) capable A-6 squadron. August–September 1989: Coral Sea, with VA-65 embarked, was ordered to operate off the coast of Lebanon following terrorist claims to have killed an American hostage, Lieutenant Colonel William R. Higgins, and the capture of Sheik Obeid from Lebanon by Israeli forces. The unstable situation in Lebanon ultimately led to the evacuation of the American Embassy. Squadron aircraft flew missions in support of the evacuation. January–February 1990: The squadron was embarked on for her shakedown cruise. January–February 1991: Deployed aboard the , the squadron participated in Operation Desert Storm, the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi forces. Squadron aircraft struck targets in Iraq, Iraqi forces in Kuwait, and Iraqi naval units. The squadron claimed the destruction (sinking) of 22 Iraqi naval vessels during the conflict. April–May 1991: VA-65 participated in Operation Provide Comfort, flying close air support sorties over Northern Iraq in support of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's mission to aid the Kurdish refugees in Iraq. On the final cruise, a "final checker" was sucked into an engine inlet, and was caught on the carrier close circuit TV. Subsequently, this video was shown on multiple TV video shows. The crew member survived, as his shoulder jammed into the "bullet" of the engine, and due to the quick thinking and training of the aircrew and deck crew, they were able to shut down before he was sucked down through the blades. His cranial and radio equipment were sucked in, and destroyed the engine. Later that night bandaged and bruised he appeared on the closed circuit TV station with the Roosevelts CO, and discussed his ordeal. 26 March 1993: The squadron held a disestablishment ceremony at NAS Oceana, it was officially disestablished on 31 March 1993.

Insignia and "The Beast" nickname The squadron's first insignia was approved by CNO on 9 August 1945. During the time when the squadron's insignia was approved, VT-74 was flying the SB2C which was nicknamed "The Beast". Consequently, the squadron's insignia took on the shape of a beast riding a torpedo. There is no record of the colors used for this insignia.

After VT-74 was redesignated VA-2B, it continued to use the old insignia until 17 April 1947 when CNO approved a new insignia for the squadron. The insignia adopted by VA-2B reflected the squadron's new attack mission. The horsehead chess piece was designed to relate the squadron's power to that of a medieval knight and the fleur-de-lis represented integrity. Colors for the insignia were: a yellow background; red scroll with yellow lettering, black banner with a black and white pole; white knight with a yellow collar; a white lightning bolt; and the Fleur-de-lis was red with a black band.

The Knight insignia continued as the official insignia for the squadron following its redesignation to VA-25 on 1 September 1948. A new insignia for VA-25 was approved by CNO on 4 April 1950. The new insignia was a front view of a tiger on the prowl. Colors were: yellow background; brown tiger with green eyes, and white teeth, whiskers and claws; and a red tongue and mouth. When VA-25 was redesignated VA-65''' in 1959 the tiger insignia was retained and remained VA-65's insignia until its disestablishment. Nickname: Tigers'' 1950–1993.

Home port assignments Naval Auxiliary Air Field Otis, Camp Edwards, Massachusetts 1 May 1945 Naval Air Station Norfolk October 1945 Naval Auxiliary Air Field Charlestown February 1946 Naval Air Station Oceana June 1946 Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City 20 November 1950 Naval Auxiliary Air Station/Naval Air Station Oceana* 20 September 1951 NAAS Oceana was redesignated NAS Oceana on 1 April 1952.

Aircraft assignment Curtiss SB2C-4E Helldiver May 1945 Curtiss SB2C-4E Helldiver July 1945 Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver February 1946 Grumman TBM-3E Avenger February 1946 Grumman SBW-5 Avenger 1946 North American SNJ-4 July 1947 Douglas AD-1 Skyraider July 1947 Douglas AD-4 Skyraider 1 December 1949 Douglas AD-6/A-1H Skyraider October 1953 Grumman A-6A Intruder March 1965 Grumman A-6B Intruder December 1968 Grumman KA-6D Intruder 1971 Grumman A-6E Intruder 3 May 1972

Major overseas deployments DepartureReturnAir WingCarrierAircraftArea of Operation29 October 194711 March 1948CVBG-1CVB 41AD-1Med3 May 194925 September 1949CVG-2CVB 43AD-1Med10 January 195118 May 1951CVG-6CVB 42AD-4Med9 January 19525 May 1952CVG-6CVB 41AD-4Med26 August 19528 October 1952CVG-6CVB 41AD-4NorLant1 December 195219 May 1953CVG-6CVA 41AD-4Med4 January 19544 August 1954CVG-6CVA 41AD-6Med9 October 195530 April 1956CVG-6CVA 39AD-6Med3 September 195721 October 1957CVG-6CVA 11AD-6NorLant12 February 195930 August 1959CVG-6CVA 11AD-6Med4 August 196017 February 1961CVG-6CVA 11AD-6Med3 August 19611 March 1962CVG-6CVA 11AD-6Med3 August 196211 October 1962CVG-6CVAN 65A-1HMed19 October 19626 December 1962CVG-6CVAN 65A-1HCarib6 February 19634 September 1963CVG-6CVAN 65A-1HMed8 February 19643 October 1964CVW-6CVAN 65A-1HMed/World Cruise12 May 19663 December 1966CVW-15CVA 64A-6AWestPac/Vietnam6 June 196715 September 1967CVW-17CVA 59A-6AWestPac/Vietnam30 December 19684 September 1969CVW-11CVA 63A-6A/BWestPac/Vietnam23 June 197031 January 1971CVW-7CVA 62A-6AMed16 September 197116 March 1972CVW-7CVA 62A-6A/KA-6DNorLant/Med21 June 197319 January 1974CVW-7CV 62A-6E/KA-6DMed19 July 197421 January 1975CVW-7CV 62A-6E/KA-6DMed15 October 19755 May 1976CVW-7CV 62A-6E/KA-6DNorLant/Med31 March 197721 October 1977CVW-7CV 62A-6E/KA-6DMed16 January 197913 July 1979CVW-7CVN 69A-6E/KA-6DMed15 April 198022 December 1980CVW-7CVN 69A-6E/KA-6DIO20 August 19817 October 1981CVW-7CVN 69A-6E/KA-6DNorLant5 January 198213 July 1982CVW-7CVN 69A-6E/KA-6DMed27 April 19832 December 1983CVW-7CVN 69A-6E/KA-6DMed8 May 198420 June 1984CVW-7CVN 69A-6E/KA-6DCarib/NorLant10 October 19848 May 1985CVW-7CVN 69A-6E/KA-6DMed8 July 198522 August 1985CVW-7CVN 69A-6E/KA-6DCarib29 September 198728 March 1988CVW-13CV 43A-6EMed31 May 198930 September 1989CVW-13CV 43A-6EMed28 December 199028 June 1991CVW-8CVN 71A-6EMed/Red Sea/Persian Gulf

Air Wing Assignments Air Wing Tail CodeAssignment DateCVG-741 May 1945CVBG-1* M15 November 1946CVG-2† M1 September 1948CVG-6 CAugust 1950CVG-6 AF‡CVG-6/CVW-6§ AE§ RCVW-4 AD1 January 1965COMFAIRNORFOLK5 June 1965CVW-15 NL20 February 1966COMFAIRNORFOLK3 December 1966CVW-17 AA22 December 1966COMFAIRNORFOLK15 September 1967CVW-11 NH1968COMFAIRNORFOLKSeptember 1969CVW-7 AGFebruary 1970CVW-13 AK1 September 1986CVW-8 AJ30 October 1989

 * CVG-74 was redesignated CVBG-1 on 15 November 1946.  † CVBG-1 was redesignated CVG-2 on 1 September 1948.  ‡ CVG-6’s tail code was changed from C to AF in the latter part of 1957. The effective date was most likely the beginning of FY 58 (1 July 1957).  § CVG-6’s tailcode was changed from AF to AE sometime in the latter part of 1962. Carrier Air Groups (CVG) were redesignated Carrier Air Wings (CVW) on 20 December 1963, hence, CVG-6 became CVW-6.

Unit Awards