342

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1984-Contin ued

12 March A Beech Aircraft AQM-37 variant target

was flown to Mach 4.2 (2,775 mph) at 102,000 feet

at the Navy's Pacific Missile Test Center, Point

Mugu, Calif.

12 March ComPatWingsPac, Commodore Daniel J.

Wolkensdorfer presented the Air Force Commendation

Medal to VP-40 for the squadron's participation in the

search for survivors of Korean Air Lines flight 007,

shot down by a Soviet SU-17 Flagon interceptor. VP-

40, during the midst of its deployment to northern

Japan, provided P-3 Orions which served as the pri-

mary search platform, while the USAF maintained

operational control of the effort.

14 March The last T-28 in the Training Command,

BuNo 137796, departed for Naval District Washington

to be displayed permanently at NS Anacostia, D.C.

20 March Lieutenant Catherine H. Osman was the

first female pilot to land a helicopter (HH-46A) aboard

the battleship Iowa (BB 61).

26 April The first EA-6B ICAP-2 Prowler, BuNo

161776, was delivered to the Navy. Fifteen EXCAP

models already with the fleet would be upgraded.

28 April The first MAU was established at NAS

Brunswick, Maine. Similar in composition to a reserve

VP squadron, the MAU's purpose was to train Naval

Reserve personnel in the same type of aircraft being

operated by active duty patrol squadrons so that the

reserve flight crews could rapidly augment those

squadrons in an emergency. Squadron augment units,

predecessors of the MAUs, were scheduled to consoli-

date into the MAUs when they were established.

8 May The first aviation supply wings were present-

ed at the 73rd annual Aviation Ball by Vice Admiral

Robert F. Schoultz, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations

(Air Warfare), to: Vice Admiral Eugene A. Grinstead,

Jr., SC, USN; Rear Admiral Andrew A. Giordano, SC,

USN (Ret); and Commodore John H. Ruehlin, SC, USN,

Commanding Officer, Aviation Supply Office,

Philadelphia, Pa. Plans for the establishment of a

Naval Aviation Supply Officer Program and the autho-

rization of a breast insignia (wings) for qualifying

Supply Corps officers had been in progress since 1982.

2 July CVWR-20 concluded its first at-sea deploy-

ment since 1978 when it returned from a week aboard

Dwight D. Eisenhower. This also marked the first time

in four years that CVWR-20 operated as a complete air

wing and the first deployment of the A-7E Corsair II

with a reserve squadron, VA-203.

21 July World War II Marine Corps ace Joseph J.

Foss was among four individuals enshrined in the

National Aviation Hall of Fame to recognize their out-

standing contributions to aviation and their achieve-

ments in air and space technology.

J

This T-28B displayed at NS Anacostia marked the end of the era for the Trojan in the Training Command when it was transfelTed from VT-27.