page_title: Second VA-65 (U.S. Navy)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Second VA-65 (U.S. Navy) / History
caption_attribution_description: Two U.S. Navy Grumman A-6E Intruder (BuNo 158531, 158533) from Attack Squadron VA-65 Tigers in flight in August 1972. VA-65 was assigend to Carrier Air Wing 7 (CVW-7) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence (CVA-62) and had transitioned from the A-6A to the A-6E variant after returning from a deployment in 1972.
context_page_description: Attack Squadron 65, nicknamed The World Famous Fighting Tigers, was an attack squadron of the United States Navy. The squadron was established as Torpedo Squadron VT-74 in 1945, redesignated as VA-2B in 1946, as VA-25 on 1 September 1948, and finally redesignated VA-65 on 1 July 1959. It was disestablished in 1993. Known as "The World Famous Fighting Tigers", VA-65 was one of the last medium attack squadrons to fly the A-6 Intruder and the A-1 Skyraider. It was the second squadron to be designated VA-65, the first VA-65 was redesignated from VA-6B on 27 July 1948 and would be redesignated as VA-25 on 1 July 1959.
context_section_description: 7 November 1945: Squadron embarked on USS Midway for her shakedown cruise. The squadron had originally been established for the purpose of being part of the Midway Air Group.
  July–August 1948: The squadron participated in operation CAMID III, close air support for amphibious landings. During this operation the squadron became the first VA unit in the Atlantic Fleet to fire Tiny Tim rockets.
  1–20 June 1961: Following a four-hour notice for an emergency deployment, VA-65 deployed to the Caribbean Sea aboard USS Intrepid due to unsettled conditions in the Dominican Republic following the assassination of Rafael Trujillo.
  3 August–11 October 1962: VA-65 was aboard for the maiden cruise of the USS Enterprise, during her deployment to the Mediterranean Sea.
  19 October–6 December 1962: VA-65 was back at sea aboard Enterprise one week after returning from a Med cruise and headed for the Caribbean Sea due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The squadron participated in the naval quarantine of Cuba.
  31 July–3 October 1964: The squadron participated in Operation Sea Orbit as part of Carrier Air Wing Six aboard Enterprise. This operation was an around-the-world voyage of a task force composed of all nuclear powered ships.
  15 Jun 1966: VA-65 conducted its first combat sortie during the Vietnam War flying from USS Constellation
  1 July 1966: VA-65's aircraft joined other Carrier Air Wing Fifteen aircraft in attacking and sinking three North Vietnamese patrol vessels that were approaching USS Coontz at high speed.
  25–31 October 1966: Due to the inclement weather, the squadron's all-weather A-6As flew 37 percent of all Yankee Team sorties against North Vietnam.
  29 July 1967: VA-65 personnel were among those killed or injured during the USS Forrestal fire
  July–December 1967: Due to the fire on the USS Forrestal and her departure from combat duty on Yankee Station, VA-65 sent a detachment (Det-64) to the Constellation to augment VA-196 for the remainder of the ship's 1967 combat tour in Vietnam.
  May–June 1969: USS Kitty Hawk, with VA-65 aboard, relieved Enterprise in the Sea of Japan. Enterprise had been ordered to operate in the area as a result of the shoot down of a Navy EC-121 reconnaissance aircraft by the North Koreans. VA-65 conducted operations in the area during this two-month period.
  9 September–5 October 1970: VA-65 operated from USS Independence on Bravo Station off the coast of Israel as a result of the crisis in Jordan and the hijacking of three commercial airliners.
  7 October–3 November & 9–21 November 1973: After the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, VA-65 operated from Independence in an area southwest of Crete and provided tanker support to fighter aircraft escorting Air Force One on Secretary of State Kissinger's mission to Israel as well as tanker support for A-4 Skyhawks being ferried to Israel from the United States.
  4–22 August 1974: Independence, with VA-65 embarked, operated between Crete and Cyprus in response to the 1974 Cypriot coup d'état and the death of the American Ambassador to Cyprus at the hands of anti- American demonstrators.
  12 March 1975: During exercises in the Caribbean Sea, VA-65 conducted cross deck operations with HMS Ark Royal.
  November 1975: During the NATO exercise Ocean Safari in the North Atlantic, the squadron once again conducted cross deck operations with HMS Ark Royal.
  15 April 1980: VA-65 deployed aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to the Indian Ocean after Iranians took the American Embassy personnel hostage.
  22 December 1980: VA-65 returned from its deployment that included only one port visit of five days in duration and a total of 246 days at sea.
  24 June 1982: VA-65 provided support during the evacuation of American and foreign civilians from Beirut, Lebanon.
  7 March 1985: VA-65 and Dwight D. Eisenhower cut short a port visit to Palma, Spain and departed on a high speed transit to the Eastern Mediterranean due to the increased tension in Lebanon. The squadron operated in the vicinity of Lebanon until early April.
  1 September 1986: VA-65 was assigned to CVW-13 and USS Coral Sea as part of the C
caption: VA-65 A-6Es in 1972
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