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UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995
1953-Contin ued
Captain Samuel G. Mitchell, the ship's commanding
officer, landed aboard in an SNJ. During the next four
days, six aircraft models made landings, touch-and-go
landings, night landings, and takeoffs in winds of
varying force and direction.
18 January A P2V of VP-22, conducting patrol of
Formosa Strait, was shot down off Swatow, China, by
Communist Chinese antiaircraft fire. Rescue operations
were hampered by shore battery gunfire and high
seas, the latter causing the Coast Guard rescue plane
to crash on takeoff. Total losses from the incident
were 11 men, 7 of them from the P2V crew.
9-10 February A maximum effort strike against sup-
ply concentrations and transport targets from Wonsan
through Songjin to Chongjin was launched by the car-
riers of Task Force 77.
13 February The first full guidance flight of a
Sparrow III missile was conducted at the Naval Air
Missile Test Center.
1 March Aircraft from Task Force 77 heavily dam-
aged the hydroelectric plant at Chosen and four days
later repeated the attack, cutting the penstocks and
destroying sections of the main power plant.
6 March Tunny (SSG 284), outfitted at the Mare Island
Naval Shipyard, San Fransico Bay, Calif., to launch
Regulus surface-to-air missiles, was commissioned.
19 March Task Force 77 launched a heavy strike
against the city of Chongjin, North Korea, completely
ravaging the industrial section of the city.
20 March The ZP2N-l (later ZPG-2) airship made its
first flight at Akron, Ohio. The airship was the produc-
tion model of the nonrigid N class but with an envelope
of 975,000 cubic feet. It was originally designed for mid-
ocean antisubmarine warfare and convoy-escort opera-
tions and contained provisions for inflight refueling,
reprovisioning and servicing. A total of 17 of these air-
ships were procured in ASW and AEW configurations.
The AEW configured airships were designated ZPG-2W.
9 April The XF2Y-l Sea Dart, an experimental delta-
wing jet seaplane equipped with hydroskis, made its
first flight at San Diego, Calif.
3 May Commanding General, Far East Air Forces
listed 30 major North Korean airfields to be main-
tained unserviceable in order to limit Communist air
action and to prevent augmentation of their air arm
preceding the date of a possible armistice.
Responsibility for six of these fields was assigned to
Task Force 77 and the naval air campaign featured
periodic attacks upon them until the end of the war.
21 May An AD-4 Skyraider took off from NAS
Dallas, Tex., with a bomb load of 10,500 pounds.
Combined with the weight of its guns, ammunition,
fuel and pilot, its total useful load of 14,491 pounds
was 3,143 pounds more than the weight of the aircraft.
7-19June The major effort of carrier air was directed on
a round-the-clock basis against the Communist front line
and supporting positions to counter an apparent effort by
the enemy to gain ground prior to a possible armistice.
23 June Lieutenant Commander George H. Whisler,
Jr., while attached to VR-31, completed the first
transcontinental round-trip solo flight between sunrise
and sunset. Lieutenant Commander Whisler departed
NAS Norfolk, Va., at 0518 in an F9F-6 Cougar (BuNo
127432) and landed at NAS North Island, Calif., at
0905 local time, after stops at NAS Memphis, Tenn.,
and Webb AFB, Texas. After 50 minutes on the ground
Lieutenant Commander Whisler departed NAS North
Island, Calif., in an F3D-2 Skyknight (BuNo 127076)
headed for NAS Norfolk, Va. He refueled at NAS Dallas
and arrived at NAS Norfolk, Va., at 1921, local time.
25 June Task Force 77 deployed four F4U-5N
Corsairs to Kimpo to operate under the 5th AF for an
indefinite period. The purpose was to intercept night
attacks being made on the field by aircraft flying too
slowly to be intercepted by jets.
30 June The Research and Development Board and
three other activities of the Department of Defense
were abolished as the president's Reorganization Plan
No.6 became effective. The functions of these activi-
ties were assigned to the Secretary of Defense, six
new Assistant Secretaries of Defense were created, and
the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was given
managerial control of the Joint Chiefs.
8 July The designation Antisubmarine Support Air-
craft Carrier (CVS) was established for attack carriers
assigned to antisubmarine warfare, and five CVAs
assigned the new mission were redesignated effective
one month from date.
10 July The Naval Air Development Unit was estab-
lished at South Weymouth, Mass., to participate in
development and testing of equipment designed for
antisubmarine warfare and air defense.

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