1980-Contin ued

23 June The Navy granted approval for service use

for two advanced sonobuoys. The AN/SSQ-2

Directional Command Active Sonobuoy System and

the AN/SSQ-77 Vertical Line Array mFAR represented

the first major improvements in the sonobuoy field

since the AN/SSQ-53 mFAR was introduced in 1968.

These sonobuoys reinforced their article's unique posi-

tion as the vital link between the search aircraft and

"enemy in liquid space." They provided a three-to-five

fold improvement over existing active and passive air-

borne sensors.

8 July The Navy terminated its support operations at

Key West, Fla., for the Cuban refugees. Eleven Navy

ships as well as P-3 Orion patrol aircraft assisted the

unofficial freedom flotilla which involved civilian

boats crossing the Florida Straits to transfer Cuban

refugees to the U.S. Over 115,500 had arrived from

Mariel, Cuba, since the freedom flotilla began.

18 July Charles "Pete" Conrad, former Navy pilot

and NASA astronaut, became the twelfth former Naval

Aviator to be enshrined in the prestigious Aviation Hall

of Fame, Dayton, Ohio.

30 July An automatic parachute release system

developed by Vought Corporation was designed to

save the lives of pilots who ejected from their aircraft

under adverse conditions. The new system, developed

with U.S. Navy funding, was called SEAPAC. It had sea-

water activated switches which automatically released

the parachute harness when a pilot entered the water.

31 July A T-2C Buckeye was launched successfully

from a fixed-angle, three-degree ski jump at Naval Air

Test Center, Patuxent River, Md. This launch was the

first part of feasibility demonstrations to evaluate the

use of ramps for takeoffs by conventional, as opposed

to V/STOL, aircraft.

31 July A Limited Duty Officer aviator program for

second class, first class and chief petty officers, pay

grades E-5 through E-7, was established, with the first

35 enlisted personnel selected and scheduled to report

to NAS Pensacola, Fla., in April 1981. After completing

aviation officer indoctrination, primary flight and mar-

itime (prop) training, the new officers were assigned

to an initial three-year tour as primary flight instruc-

tors. Major objectives of the program were to improve

utilization and retention of aviators, provide further

upward mobility for enlisted personnel, improve the

flight instructor program and provide for replacement

of aviators in selected shipboard billets.

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

327

17 August Midway relieved Constellation to begin

another Indian Ocean deployment and complement

the Dwight D. Eisenhower task group still on contin-

gency duty in the Arabian Sea.

22 September Dwight D. Eisenhower and Midway

continued contingency operations in the northern

Arabian Sea as war erupted between Iraq and Iran.

12 October Ships of the Amphibious Force, Sixth

Fleet, including Guadalcanal, began assisting the vic-

tims of a massive earthquake which devastated the

Algerian city of Al Asnam. The ships took up positions

20-25 miles offshore to render helicopter support in

the disaster relief efforts.

6 November Ranger and accompanying ships of

her task group relieved Midway in the northern

Arabian Sea. Midway thus completed her second

Indian Ocean deployment in connection with the

Iranian crisis, for a total of 157 days on the line.

11 November For the first time, the LAMPS SH-60B

Seahawk worked with the RAST system aboard a ship

underway. The guided-missile frigate McInerney (FFG

8) conducted the shipboard aspect of the exercise

which included mainly electronic communications and

not an actual landing. This test was conducted from

the Bath Ironworks and Yard at Bath, Maine.

13 November VFA-125, the Navy's first F/A-18

Hornet squadron, was established at NAS Lemoore,

Calif. The new squadron would train Navy and Marine

Corps personnel to fly and maintain the new fighter-

attack aircraft.

22 November Aircraft carrier suitability tests of the

Tomahawk II medium range air-to-surface missile

were completed.

25 November RH-53D Sea Stallions from VR-24,

together with units of the U.S. Army and Air Force,

began disaster relief assistance to victims of the devas-

tating earthquake at Avellino, Italy, on 23 November

which killed over 3,000 persons and made many more

homeless. Commander, Fleet Air Mediterranean, head-

quartered at Naples, was director of U.S. military sup-

port efforts.

8 December Independence and her escort ships

relieved Dwight D. Eisenhower and her task force

which had been involved in Iranian contingency oper-

ations since 8 May. Dwight D. Eisenhower returned to

Norfolk, Va., on 22 December after a 251-day deploy-

ment, the longest underway deployment for a Navy