VAH-21, nicknamed the Roadrunners, was a short-lived Heavy Attack Squadron of the U.S. Navy, based at Naval Station Sangley Point, Philippines. The squadron flew the specialized AP-2H version of the Lockheed P-2 Neptune aircraft, of which four examples were converted from standard SP-2H airframes.[1]
| Heavy Attack Squadron 21 | |
|---|---|
 VAH-21 patch | |
| Active | 1 September 1968-16 June 1969 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Role | Attack |
| Part of | Inactive |
| Nickname(s) | Roadrunners |
| Engagements | Vietnam War |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | AP-2H Neptune |
Operations
editThe squadron was established on 1 September 1968, as the first squadron in the Navy with a night interdiction mission using new electronic surveillance equipment. Its mission was to interdict logistics moving over land or sea. A detachment of VAH-21 was immediately established at a Navy facility associated with Cam Ranh Air Base, South Vietnam. The detachment had been a Naval Air Test Center Project TRIM Detachment (TRIM: Trails Roads Interdiction Multi-sensor) prior to becoming a VAH-21 detachment. VAH-21 was disestablished on 16 June 1969.[1]
See also
editReferences
editThis article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons.
- ^ a b Grossnick, Roy A. (1995). "VAH-21" (pdf). Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center. p. 300.