VMCJ-1

Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron 1
VMCJ-1 insignia
Active	31 Jul 1958 - 1 Sep 1975
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Role	Reconnaissance
Part of	Inactive
Tail Code	RM
Engagements	Korean War Vietnam War
Aircraft flown
Attack	AD-2Q Skyraider
Fighter	F4U-5P Corsair F2H-P Banshees F7F-2P Tigercats F9F-2P Panther F3D-2Q Skyknight F8U-1P Crusader

Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron 1(VMCJ-1) was an aviation squadron of theUnited States Marine Corpsthat providedaerial photographic reconnaissanceandelectronic countermeasuresis support of theFleet Marine Force.The squadron was formed in 1958 with the merger of Marine Composite Squadron 1 (VMC-1) and Marine Photo Reconnaissance 1 (VMJ-1). The squadron's support to theVietnam Warbegan in 1964 flying offYankee Stationand ended with sorties in support ofOperation Frequent Windduring thefall of Saigon.VMCJ-1 was decommissioned in 1975 as the Marine Corps further consolidated its aerial photo reconnaissance assets after the Vietnam War.

VMJ-1 History

Marine Photo Reconnaissance Squadron 1(VMJ-1) was commissioned on 25 February 1952, atK-3 airfieldnear Pohang, Korea. The formation of the squadron brought together all of the photo reconnaissance assets that had been operating under the1st Marine Aircraft Wing'sHeadquarters squadron (1stMAW HEDRON) andMarine Aircraft Group 33'sHeadquarters Squadron since the beginning of theKorean Warin July 1950. The squadron's initial complement of eleven aircraft consisted of fiveF2H-P Banshees,fourF7F-2P Tigercats,oneF9F-2P Pantherand oneF4U-5P Corsair.At the time of its commissioning, VMJ-1 also had the highest number of enlisted pilots in the Marine Corps.

Following the war in 1954 the squadron moved toNaval Air Station Atsugi.In 1955 they were tasked by the commander ofUnited States Seventh Fleetto provide aerial reconnaissance overFujian Province, Republic of Chinato determine if thePeople's Liberation Armywere building up forces for a possible invasion of Taiwan.

VMC-1 History

VMC-1 insignia

Marine Composite Squadron 1was formed on 15 September 1952, at K-3 Pohang. It was the first Marine Corps squadron with the mission ofAirborne early warning and control(AEW) and employingelectronic countermeasures(ECM) as part ofelectronic warfare(EW). At the time of their formation the squadron only had one aircraft, aAD-2Q Skyraiderwith an AN/APA-17 Direction finder. Early challenges for the squadron included fielding various models of the Skyraider and not having a training pipeline for the ECM operators. The squadron flew their first combat mission on 18 September 1952, but flew very sparingly in their first few months due to lack of airframes and trained crew. By the end of the war the squadron consisted of 29 officer and 167 enlisted. They remained in Korea after the war and eventually moved toMarine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay,Hawaiiin 1955 leaving their old aircraft in Japan along the way. In Hawaii they picked up AD-5Ns and AD-5Ws with the Guppy Radar. During their time in Hawaii the squadron lost three aircraft during training with the loss of four Marines. In July 1958 they moved toMarine Corps Air Station El Toro,Californiain preparation for their merge with VMJ-1.

VMCJ-1 History

VMCJ-1 was commissioned on 31 July 1958, at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro.This newly formed squadron was the result of a merger between VMJ-1 and VMC-1. It was the last of the VMCJs to commission and the squadron initially flew theF8U-1P,an unarmed reconnaissance variant of theVought F-8 Crusaderand theF3D-2Q,an electronic warfare version of theDouglas F3D Skyknight.The squadron departed the United States in November 1959 as part of theUnit Deployment Program.It relievedVMCJ-3atMarine Corps Air Station Iwakuni,Japan while also taking control of VMCJ-3'sEF-10Bs.From November 1959 through April 1965, VMCJ-1 flew Sharkfin Electronic Reconnaissance Missions in support of the Peacetime Aerial Reconnaissance Program while also supporting Marine Corps training throughout the Pacific.

Beginning in 1964, the squadron began supportingTask Force 77deployments toYankee Stationin theGulf of Tonkinaugmenting the Navy's photoreconnaissance squadrons. That year, the squadron also had one third of its pilots recommended forDistinguished Flying Crossesby the Navy for flying photo flights overCubaand was awarded theCommandant'sAviation Efficiency Trophy for outstanding accomplishment of all assigned tasks.

Vietnam War

EF-10B Skyknight of VMCJ-1

A VMCJ-1 Grumman EA-6A Intruder ECM-aircraft (BuNo 156986) at Da Nang, South Vietnam in June 1970.

VMCJ-1 was one of the first Marine Corps squadrons into South Vietnam in April 1965. The squadron providedElectronic countermeasuresupport forUnited States Air ForceandUnited States Navyaircraft conducting missions over North Vietnam.The first VMCJ-1 aircraft lost in combat occurred on 13 August 1965, when an RF-8A from the Yankee Team detachment flying from theUSSCoral Sea,was critically damaged byanti-aircraft artillerywhile photographing aNorth Vietnamese Navyradar installation. The pilot was able to eject out to sea.The squadron would departDa Nang Air Baseon 15 July 1970, after five years of combat in Vietnam having flown over 25,000 sorties with four different aircraft types (EF-10B, RF-8A, EA-6A, RF-4B), the last 11,297 hours accident free. In addition, over 1000 RF-8A sorties were flown during 1964-65 fromTask Force 77aircraft carriers in theGulf of Tonkin.

On 3 April 1972, after the launch of theEaster Offensiveby theVietnam People's ArmyVMCJ-1 was ordered by the commanding general of the1st Marine Aircraft Wingto deploy toNaval Air Station Cubi Pointin thePhilippinesto support Task Force 77 operations as part ofPresident Nixon'sresponse codenamedOperation Freedom Train.The squadron flew their first combat missions on 7 April and remained at NAS Cubi Point for an extended period flying in support ofOperation Linebacker.

Post-Vietnam and deactivation

Upon leaving Vietnam, the squadron moved toMarine Corps Air Station Iwakunifalling under the command ofMarine Aircraft Group 12(MAG-12). In February 1971, VMCJ-1 was sent toSydney,Australia to support Fleet Anti-Air-Warfare Exercise. This was the first USMC squadron deployment to Australia sinceWorld War II.Following the exercises in Taiwan and Australia the squadron was transferred to the control ofMarine Aircraft Group 15(MAG-15) on 1 July 1971.

In April 1972 the squadron's EA-6As were deployed toNaval Air Station Cubi Pointin thePhilippinesto support Task Force 77 in OperationsLinebacker IandIIagainst heavily defended targets aroundHanoiandHaiphong.Later augmented by a four plane detachment from VMCJ-2, these detachments flew 2,496 sorties covering 5,356 hours while losing one EA-6A to enemy action.The squadron's aircraft returned to MCAS Iwakuni in January 1973. In October 1973 the EA-6As began supporting operations from on theUSS Midway (CV-41).Aircraft detailed to this support were called "Detachment 101." In April 1975, a three-plane detachment from the squadron, flying from theUSS Coral Sea (CV-43),flew cover duringOperation Frequent Wind,the evacuation ofSaigon.As the only fixed wing squadron supporting thefall of Saigonit flew the last EA-6A mission over Vietnam on 30 April 1975.

Immediately after the end of the Vietnam War, the Marine Corps consolidated its photo reconnaissance assets in to two units -VMFP-3at MCAS El Toro andVMAQ-2at MCAS Cherry Point. VMCJ-1 was officially decommissioned on 2 September 1975.

Squadron accidents

• October 22, 1973- U.S. NavyCarrier Air Wing Fivesuffers six fatalities in night operations this date whenLing-Temco-Vought A-7A-4b-CV Corsair IIBuNo153204,'NF-412', ofVA-56,flown by Lt (jg) Everett E. Goodrow, andGrumman EA-6A Prowler,BuNo156980,c/n I-449, 'RM-611', of USMC VMCJ-1 Detachment 101,crewed by 1st Lts. Jot Eve and David L. Moody, fly into the sea 127 miles (204 km) east ofOkinawa11 miles (18 km) aft ofUSSMidwayduring CVW-5's initial night qualification period. "Attempting to undertake a no-radio, no navigational aids (NORDO/NONAV) approach in bad weather, the crew found themselves struggling to find 'the boat'. On hearing their radio transmissions, Lt (jg) Goodrow found the EA-6A and had the jet form up on his wing for the approach back to the ship. They shot a teardrop pattern directly over the carrier and had turned inbound to the vessel on its course when both simultaneously disappeared from radar screens. None of the aircrew attempted to eject and there were no radio transmissions made from either jet. It was subsequently assumed that both pilots had flown into the water or collided and then hit the water at about the time they would have slowed to extend their flaps, slats, and landing gear." Subsequently, in a search attempt, an H-3 'Angel',Sikorsky SH-3G Sea King,BuNo149893,launches forward of the island, contrary toNATOPSstandards, as there was no point of reference in the dark, and at high power flies straight into the water. Three of four crewmen, Lt (jg)s William J. Bates and George A. Wildridge and ADJ1 Richard H. Hall, are lost.This was the last USMC EA-6A loss.

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. VMCJ-1 was presented with the following awards:

Streamer	Award	Year(s)	Additional Info
	Presidential Unit Citation Streamer (Navy)	1965-1967	Vietnam
	Navy Unit Commendation Streamerw/ two Bronze Stars	17 Apr-1 Nov 1965, 18- 23Aug 1965	Vietnam
	Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamerwith two Bronze Stars	1967, 1968, 1973	Vietnam
	National Defense Service Streamerw one Bronze Star	1961–1974	Vietnam War
	Korean Service Streamerwith two Bronze Stars		Korea
	Vietnam Service Streamerw two Silver and three Bronze Stars	1965-1973
	Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Streamer	1965–1971
	Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation Civil Actions Streamer	1965–1971

See also

• United States Marine Corps Aviation
• List of decommissioned United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Campbell, Douglas E. (2014).Flight, Camera, Action! The History of U.S. Naval Aviation Photography and Photo-Reconnaissance.Lulu.com.ISBN978-1-304-47173-4.
• O'Brien, J.T. (2004).Top Secret.Equidata.ISBN0-97141-853-5.

Web

• VMCJ-1 Command Chronologies from the Vietnam War