#1571 P-8A Poseidon
Description
Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1572 - 169343, P-8A Poseidon, Patrol Squadron ONE - VP-1, Nas Whidbey Island, Washington.
Patrol Squadron ONE (VP-1) “Screaming Eagles” are one of Naval Aviation’s oldest and most storied ASW squadrons. VP-1 was commissioned out of Deland, Florida on 15 February 1943 as Bombing Squadron 128 (VB-128) and was task with flying coastal convoy protection and anti-submarine warfare out of Floyd Bennett Field, New York. Six months after its inception, the squadron experienced its first significant ASW event when it encountered a German U-boat 300 miles off the coast of Norfolk. VB-128’s first confirmed kill occurred after its relocation to Reykjavik, Iceland when the squadron was credited with a U-boat kill after they sank a German U-279. Roughly one year later, the squadron underwent its first name change to VPB-128 (Patrol Bombing Squadron) and repositioned to the Philippines where it was credited with sinking two Japanese midget submarines during the bombing, anti-shipping, and anti-submarine missions during World War II. Shortly after VJ Day, the squadron changed homeports to Okinawa, Japan where it remained until 1947, changing its name to VP-ML-1 (Patrol Medium/Land Squadron). Subsequent years would see the squadron undergo several name and homeport changes before settling in NAS Whidbey Island in 1948. It was then that the squadron became designated “the Screaming Eagles”. The next 50 years added significantly to VP-1’s growing history. 1966 saw the squadron establish a footprint in the Republic of Vietnam in support of the Vietnam War. While executing tasking in support of Operation MARKET TIME, the squadron became the first patrol squadron to suffer casualties in the Vietnam War when its air base was attacked. At the end of the conflict, VP-1 returned stateside and transitioned to the P-3B and soon after executed its first P-3 deployment. That deployment ended with another homeport change as the squadron relocated to NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii where it remained for the next 25 years. Following years of successful operation out of Barber’s Point, VP-1 completed its final homeport change to NAS Whidbey Island, Washington, where the squadron is currently based. The turn of the century added new chapters to VP-1 lore as the squadron became significantly involved in global combat operations. In 1996, VP-1 became the first maritime patrol squadron to conduct armed surveillance missions in the Arabian Gulf. After an upgrade to the P-3C Anti-Surface Warfare Improvement Program (AIP) aircraft in 1999, VP-1 was heavily relied upon during their 2002 deployment as the squadron entered the War on Terror, executing flights in direct support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Throughout the last decade, VP-1 has been called upon to carry out tactical requirements in direct support of Operations MARTILLO, IRAQI FREEDOM, and ENDURING FREEDOM. In 2010, VP-1 demonstrated its flexibility yet again supporting the emerging requirements created after the launch of Operation NEW DAWN. In 2019, VP-1 transitioned from the P-3C Orion to the Navy’s newest ASW platform the P-8A Poseidon and embarked on its first P-8A deployment in the spring of 2020. Throughout VP-1’s storied history, one constant has stood the test of time since commissioning in 1943; the Screaming Eagles rise up to meet all challenges encountered and in doing so will continue to set the standard for all other maritime patrol squadrons to emulate.
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