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VA-195 Dambusters USS Ticonderoga A-4C Model, 1/27th Scale, Mahogany, Navy

$319.00

  • Length – 18 inches
  • Made from Mahogany
  • US Veteran Owned Business
  • The product is not intended to be used by children 12 years and younger.

Available on backorder

Description

VA-195 Dambusters USS Ticonderoga A-4C Skyhawk Model

Fly with the VA-195 Dambusters USS Ticonderoga in this handcrafted A-4C Skyhawk Model. Each model is carved from wood and hand painted to provide a piece you’ll love.

  • Length – 18 inches
  • Made from Mahogany
  • US Veteran Owned Business
  • The product is not intended to be used by children 12 years and younger.
By USN – U.S. Navy photo [1] from the USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) 1967-1968 cruise book available at Navysite.de, Public Domain,
The squadron, originally known as the Tigers, had its first insignia approved by Chief of Naval Operations on 4 March 1944, consisting of a lion cub riding a torpedo. Bob Burns gave the squadron a lion cub. On the patch the cub is holding the musical “bazooka” that Burns used in his act, while riding a torpedo. The lion went to the Los Angeles Zoo. A new design replaced the cub with a tiger and parrot on the torpedo, and was approved on 18 April 1949.

Sometime in the 1950s, the squadron adopted a shield insignia that featured an eagle’s head and a torpedo. On 1 May 1951, squadron aircraft disabled the heavily defended Hwacheon Dam in North Korea, earning them the nickname Dambusters, echoing the original Dam Busters of No. 617 Squadron RAF. Destruction of the dam had been previously attempted by other units many times.

In August 1985, the squadron adopted the stylized eagle on green background insignia in use today.

1940s
A TBM-3E of VT-19 in 1946.
VFA-195 was originally established as Torpedo Squadron 19 (VT-19), at NAAS Los Alamitos, California on 15 August 1943, flying the TBM-1 Avenger.

As unit of Carrier Air Group 19 during World War II, it was a part of Admiral Bull Halsey’s Naval Task Force. On 18 July 1944, the squadron flew its first combat mission when it conducted pre-invasion strikes against Guam.

The squadron participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and in the landings at Palau, Morotai and Leyte (see also Battle of Leyte Gulf). Squadron pilots also flew strikes against the Carolines, Philippines, Bonin Islands, Okinawa, Mindanao, Luzon, and Formosa while embarked on USS Lexington (CV-16).

In October 1944, squadron aircraft participated in strikes against the Central Japanese Task Force in the Sibuyan Sea, which included the super battleship Musashi. Three of the squadron’s personnel were awarded the Silver Star for their actions during this strike. Squadron aircraft also participated in the Battle Off Cape Engano, strikes against the Japanese Northern Force composed primarily of carriers, resulting in 25 Navy Cross awards. On 5 November 1944, squadron aircraft participated in the sinking of the Nachi, a Japanese heavy cruiser, which was making a sortie out of Manila Bay.

The squadron changed homeports several times during the Second World War, first to NAS San Diego, then to NAS Alameda, NAAS Santa Rosa, California, and NAS Barbers Point before finally ending up back at NAS Alameda in August 1946. VT-19 also upgraded their Avengers throughout the war, to the TBM-3 in February 1945, the TBM-3E in April 1945, and finally the TBM-3Q.

On 15 November 1946, the squadron was redesignated Attack Squadron 20A (VA-20A). In May 1947, the squadron transitioned to the AD-1 Skyraider. In August 1948, VA-20A upgraded to the AD-2 and was redesignated Attack Squadron 195 (VA-195). In January 1949, the squadron upgraded again to the AD-3.

1950s[edit] VA-195 upgraded to the AD-4 in July 1950, and served in the Korean War while embarked on USS Princeton (CV-37). On 5 December 1950, the squadron flew its first combat mission since the end of World War II, flying close air support missions for U.S. Marines near Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.

VA-195 “Kitchen Sink Bomb” on an AD-4 in August 1952.
On May 1, 1951, the squadron’s Skyraiders, making precise low level runs, delivered aerial torpedoes on the heavily defended and strategically positioned Hwacheon Dam in North Korea. Destruction of the dam had been attempted by Air Force and Navy bombers but was finally accomplished by VA-195, earning them the nickname the Dambusters.

The squadron upgraded to the AD-4L, and on 23 June 1952, the squadron conducted coordinated air strikes against the Suiho hydroelectric plant on the Yalu River and the Kyosen Number Three hydroelectric plant. Squadron aircraft participated in attacks against other hydroelectric plants the following day. On 11 July 1952, Dambuster aircraft participated in one of the major joint U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps air strikes of the war, hitting industrial targets in North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang.

In November 1952, the squadron relocated to NAS Moffett Field, and upgraded to the AD-4B and AD-4NA in early 1953. VA-195 received AD-6s in May 1954, and finally moved to the jet age with A4D-2 Skyhawks (later designated A-4B) in July 1959.

1960s

A-4Cs of VA-195 on the USS Bon Homme Richard, 1961.
In December 1961, the squadron moved to NAS Lemoore, California, (USA). As the Vietnam war flared in the fall of 1964, the squadron made their fourth consecutive deployments on the USS Bon Homme Richard with the U.S. Seventh Fleet. During the next five years, while operating various models of the A-4 from the decks of the Bon Homme Richard and USS Ticonderoga, the squadron logged more combat flight hours and sorties than any other squadron in Carrier Air Wing 19.

On 20 April 1967, the squadron’s executive officer was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in planning and executing a successful strike against a Haiphong thermal power plant, accomplishing the mission without the loss of a single aircraft.

In March 1968, VA-195, along with other squadrons in CVW-19, conducted flight operations from Ticonderoga in the Sea of Japan following the capture of USS Pueblo (AGER-2) by North Korea. In September 1968, the squadron upgraded to the A-4E.

1970s

A VA-195 A-7E over North Vietnam, 1970.
In the spring of 1970 VA-195 passed another milestone, transitioning to the A-7E Corsair II. As a unit of Carrier Air Wing 11 on USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), the squadron deployed in the fall of 1970, marking its fourth consecutive decade of involvement in foreign conflicts. In May 1972, Dambusters participated in the mining of North Vietnamese harbours and Linebacker I operations, concentrated air strikes against targets in North Vietnam above the 20th parallel. On July 19, 1972 the squadron delivered the first data link version of the television guided Walleye Glide Bomb down the throat of a cave storage area causing its complete destruction. Later the same day, they destroyed the Ninh Binh railroad bridge, also with a single weapon.

In November 1973, VA-195 deployed with CVW-11 embarked on Kitty Hawk as part of the first CV concept air wing deployment on the west coast. This concept consolidated all aspects of carrier aviation warfare into one air wing deployed on an aircraft carrier. The most important difference was the integration of the anti-submarine squadrons (VS) into the former Attack Carrier Air Wing, as the old Essex-class anti-submarine carriers (CVS) and their Anti-Submarine Carrier Air Groups (CVSG) were retired. Between 1970 and 1981 VA-195 made seven deployments with CVW-11 aboard the Kitty Hawk. The 1979 deployment led CVW-11 in unfamiliar waters, as it was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, followed by the 1981 cruise to the same area and the Indian Ocean.

 

 

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