190
UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION
1910-1995
1951-Continued
.
Sparrow I air-to-air missiles on wing of F3D 1023526
ment of bombing highways and lines of communica-
tion in northeast Korea, its responsibilities for interdic-
tion would occupy a major share of its attention until
the end of the war.
1 February
The first of two heavy attack wings,
HATWING-l, was established at Norfolk, Va., Captain
Robert Goldthwaite commanding. Its first squadron,
VC-5, reported for duty the next day.
5 February
Six AJ-l and three P2V-3C aircraft of VC-
5 departed Norfolk for Port Lyautey, French Morocco,
via Bermuda and the Azores. Completion of the flight
on the 8th by all but one AJ, which was grounded at
Lajes, Azores, by lack of spare parts, was the first
transatlantic flight by carrier-type aircraft.
8 February
Marine fighter squadrons returned to
Korea after a period in Japan, and began support
operations from the airfield at Pusan, South Korea.
6 March
A Talos missile, powered by a ramjet
engine, was launched by the Naval Ordnance Test
Station, and operated two minutes in the longest full-
scale ramjet flight yet achieved.
29 March
CVG-l 0 1, composed of Reserve
squadrons called to active duty from Dallas, Tex.;
Glenview, Ill.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Olathe, Kans.,
flew its first combat missions from
Boxer-the
first car-
rier strikes by Reserve units against North Korean
forces.
29 March
A Regulus XSSM-N-8 test vehicle, operat-
ing under airborne command, took off from the lake
bed at Edwards AFB, Muroc, Calif., circled the field,
and landed successfully.
31 March
A program for development of a pro-
peller-driven vertical takeoff fighter was initiated with
issuance of a contract to Convair for the XFY -1. A
somewhat similar aircraft, the XFO-l (later redesignat-
ed XFV-l), was ordered from Lockheed three weeks
later as an alternate solution to the design problems.
2 April
Two F9F-2B Panthers of VF-191, each loaded
with four 250- and two 100-pound general-purpose
bombs, were catapulted from
Princeton
for an attack
on a railroad bridge near Songjin, North Korea. This
was the first Navy use of a jet fighter as a bomber.
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Test of Regulus I surface-to-surface missile, JATO launches Bird and
main engine provide long range 1053792
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A submarine fires
a
Regulus I guided missile 636833
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