page_title: VA-133 (U.S. Navy)
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: VA-133 (U.S. Navy) / Operational history
caption_attribution_description: English: A RIM-2 Terrier surface-to-air missile is fired by the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Constellation (CVA-64) during her shakedown cruise off Puerto Rico on 17 April 1962. In the forground are a Douglas A4D-2 Skyhawk (BuNo 142885) from Attack Squadron 133 (VA-133) "Blue Knights" and a McDonnell F3H-2 Demon (BuNo 145242) from Fighter Squadron 131 (VF-131) "Nightcappers". Both squadrons and their parent Carrier Air Group 13 (CVG-13, tail code "AE") were established on 21 August 1961 and disestablished again on 1 October 1962. The "AE" tail code was afterwards assigned to CVG-6.
context_page_description: VA-133 was a short-lived Attack Squadron of the U.S. Navy, nicknamed the Blue Knights. It was established on 21 August 1961 and disestablished a year later, on 1 October 1962. It was based at NAS Cecil Field and flew A4D-2 Skyhawk aircraft.
context_section_description: August 1961: The squadron was established as part of a new Air Group to increase the strength of the fleet as a result of the Berlin Crisis of 1961.
  8–19 February 1962: A squadron detachment was aboard USS Constellation for carrier trials and in a standby status for possible assistance during Project Mercury, the launching of Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, USMC, in Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7.
  March–May 1962: The squadron participated in Constellation’s shakedown cruise in the Caribbean.
caption: An RIM-2 Terrier SAM missile is fired by USS Constellation in 1962. In the foreground are aircraft from VF-131 and VA-133
exif: {}