332

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1981-Continued

Admiral John H. Towers; Eugene B. Ely; Lieutenant

Colonel Alfred A. Cunningham; Rear Admiral Richard

E. Byrd, Jr.; Commander Theodore G. Ellyson; Glenn

H. Curtiss; Vice Admiral Patrick N. L. Bellinger; Rear

Admiral William A. Moffett; Rear Admiral Albert C.

Read; Lieutenant Commander Godfrey deC. Chevalier;

Captain Holden C. Richardson; and Warrant Officer

Floyd Bennett.

6 January The LAMPS MK III ASW system went to

sea for the first time. Off the northeastern coast of

Florida, the SH-60B Seahawk landed aboard

McInerney (FFG 8) underway by using the new RAST

gear. RAST was designed to recover a helicopter in

seas with ship movements up to a 28 degree roll, 5

degrees of pitch and heaving of 15 feet per second.

The primary mission of the SH-60B was antisubmarine

warfare. It also provided surveillance and targeting

information on surface vessels, performed search and

rescue (SAR) operations and was used for vertical

replenishment and gunfire support.

10 January Aircraft from the naval stations at

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Roosevelt Roads, P.R.,

responded to a request by the Jamaican government

for assistance in fighting a fuel oil storage tank fire in

the Montego Bay area. The aircraft flew in fire fighters,

equipment and light water.

-'

\

15 January A Tomahawk cruise missile was

launched from the submerged submarine Guitarro

(SSN 665) off the California coast and impacted the

target at a range of more than 100 miles. The test was

repeated six days later with the same results. In anoth-

er test conducted on 20 March, the missile hit the tar-

get at a range of more than 200 miles. These tests suc-

cessfully demonstrated the Tomahawk's capability to

search for, locate and attack a target at sea.

20 January Iran released 52 Americans who had

been held hostage since 4 November 1979, when the

American Embassy in Tehran was seized. Twelve

members of the hostage group were active duty Navy

and Marine Corps personnel. Commander Don A.

Sharer was the only member of the group from the

Naval Aviation community. A Naval Flight Officer, he

was a naval advisor at the time of the embassy

takeover and the senior member of the Navy and

Marine Corps hostages.

31 January The era of Enlisted Naval Aviators came

to a close when the last enlisted pilot, Master Chief

Robert K. Jones, retired after 38 years of naval service.

Enlisted pilots had performed their duties for over 61

years as Naval Aviators on combat missions, as trans-

port pilots and as instructors. The program for Enlisted

Naval Aviators officially ended in 1947.

Master Chief Air

Controlman

Robert K. Jones

(right foreground)

conducts a pre-

flight check of a

US-2B Tracker.

J