Attack Squadron 163 (United States Navy)
| Attack Squadron 163 | |
|---|---|
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VA-163 Insignia
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| Active | September 1, 1960 - July 1, 1971 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Attack Squadron |
| Part of | Inactive |
| Garrison/HQ | NAS Cecil Field |
| Nickname(s) | "Saints" |
| Engagements | Vietnam War |
| Decorations | Navy Unit Commendation x 4 |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | A-4 Skyhawk |
Attack Squadron 163 (VA-163) Saints was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. VA-163 flew the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk from 1960 to 1969.
On September 1, 1960, Attack Squadron 163 was established at Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida. Shortly thereafter, the Saints moved to Naval Air Station Lemoore, California where they began training for their first deployment.
During her operational history, Attack Squadron 163 made six Pacific Fleet cruises, including four combat cruises during the Vietnam War. The first five were with Carrier Air Wing 16 in USS Oriskany between 1962 and 1968, and the last with Carrier Air Wing 21 in USS Hancock in 1968-1969.
In the first three WESTPAC combat cruises to SouthEast Asia (SEA) (1965–68), VA-163 sustained periods of heavy losses, including 14 aircraft destroyed by enemy action, with at least five pilots killed, five captured, and two severely wounded. The 'Saints' also lost two squadron Commanding Officers (CO) to combat action, with the first during the 1965 WESTPAC combat cruise, CDR Harry Jenkins, in November 1965 (shot down, and made a POW). The second was CDR Wynne Foster, who lost an arm to flak in July 1966, but ejected and was rescued. (Foster later recovered, and waged a successful battle to remain on active duty.)
These unit losses were then followed by the tragic at-sea USS Oriskany fire, in October 1966, which then claimed more unit personnel (among the total 44 men who were lost in the fire).
Among the four total WESTPAC combat cruises that VA-163 completed, the 1967-68 cruise was by far the costliest, in losses of both pilots and aircraft. During this cruise alone, five 'Saints' pilots were Killed In Action, or went Missing In Action, over North Vietnam. (As of mid-2009, of these five lost men, the remains of three have been found and recovered from their loss sites in Vietnam, and identified using DNA analysis. The remaining two men have not yet been accounted for.)
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