America (CV 66) - Naval Cruise Book

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CDR J. Peterson 23 Dec 82 06 Jun 84 I VA-46 CLANSMEN The CLANSMEN of VA-46 were commissioned as an attack squadron in July 1955 at Cecil Field, Florida. The first commanding officer, Cdr C. A. McDougal, lent his Scottish background to the Squadron which adopted the McDougal tartan as its squadron colors. Ever since, the CLANSMEN have proudly adopted the McDougal tartan as its own and emblazoned it on its aircraft and squadron surroundings. The squadron received A-4B skyhawks in 1958 deploying on board the USS INTERPID in February of 1959 to the Mediterranean. Following a WESTPAC cruise in 1960, the squadron transitioned to the newer A-4C SKYHAWK. The A- 4C became the squadron ' s mainstay until June 1968 when it then traded in its trusty SKYHAWKS for the A-7B CORSAIR II Embarking aboard (JSS SARATOGA in 1968. VA-46 be- came the first A-7 squadron to deploy to the Med. In 1976 VA-46 set a record of 25,129.8 accident free hours for Navy single seat aircraft. Safety became a VA-46 hallmark as it won its fourth award in 1980. Safety was not the squadron ' s only claim to fame as it won its second COMNAVAIRLANT Battle E in 3 years in 1981. The CLANSMEN brought the latest model of the A-7 CORSAIR II (the E or Echo version) on the 82-83 deploy ment. During the 1984 deployment the squadron continued its proud tradition and still maintains that Light Attack is where it ' s at! 476

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VA-46 301 AHCAtnA JAVY

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CDR D. Hendrickson 06 Jun 1984 — Present CDR R. Klosterman CDR D. Graham LC i T • »n LCDR B. Darwin LCDR C. Henderson Photograph Not Available . v %■ LCDR P. Mulvany LT M. Bradley LT L. Dyky 477