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COMMAND SUPPORT/AMpHIBIOUS FORCES/SEALTEAMS/FLEETS/FLOTILLAS/GROUPS
MICHAEL L. ROBERTS
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Schiffer Military/Aviation History
Atglen, PA
FOREWORD
I nsignias are the modern form of heraldry of the knights of old. In
the armed services insignias serve as a form ofshorthand that iden
tifies an individual's service, rank, authority, specialty and organi
zation. The organizational insignia, from the plain to very involved de
sign, expresses a pride in oneselfand his or her organization. From this
pride springs self-discipline, the essence ofrespect for self, for service
and for country.
The first semi-official Navy organizational insignias began to ap
pear in the fledging NavalAeronautical Organization in the early twen
ties with the establishment ofthe Bureau ofAeronautics in 1921 and a
year later the formation offighting, scouting, observation, seaplane pa
trol and torpedo plane squadrons. By 1927, the now familiar High Hat,
Felix the Cat and VF-2's Flying Chiefs squadron insignias began ap
pearing onthe sides ofthe Navy's nimble, brightlycoloredbiplanefight
Acknowledgements
The following are honorably mentioned for giving me the encour ers. By thebeginning ofWorldWarII all Navy aviation squadrons, most
agement neededfor thisproject: Naval and Reserve air stations, and even aircraftcarriers had distinctive
. . .
mSlgruas.
DavidBernstein KeithMorey During the SecondWorld War aviation squadrons, surface ships and
RobertBiondi J.L. PeteMorgan
submarines, and shore establishment organizational insignias abound,
WilliamCain DaveRobinson
RobertDugger JamesTownley establishing a high esprit de corps within each individual in that unit.
Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and a host ofother charac
Thepatchesdepicted inthisbookarefrom theauthor'spersonalcol
lectionandarepresentedforhistoricalpurposesonly,and toserveas ters truly went to war with all branches of the armed services on the
aguidefor historians, collectors, and designers.
sides of tanks, planes and ships bridges. In fact in 1943, the Navy told
This book is not intended to be the complete authority on the
subject.Itdepictsover1150patchesfromWorldWarIItothepresent. its squadrons to knock off using Donald Duck so often for proposed
The images on pages 6, the front coverand endsheets are offi . . .
mSlgruas.
cial U.S. Navy photographs.
I remember all the displays of insignias in Life Magazine ads and
collecting bottle caps and stickers from boxes of cereal during the war
that had aviation insignias on them. We all knew what the insignias of
BookDesignbyMichaelL.Roberts& RobertBiondi.
the Flying Tigers, Eagle squadron, 94th Fighter and VF-31 squadrons
Copyright© 1996byMichaelL.Roberts.
LibraryofCongressCatalogNumber:96-67361 looked like, what kind of planes they flew and how they performed in
All rightsreserved. Nopartofthiswork maybereproducedorusedinany formsorbyany means combat. When I grew up I was able turn my childhood dream into real
graphic,electronicor mechanical, including photocopyingorinformation storageand retrieval sys
ity when Ibecame aNavalAviator. Acquiring thatfirst patchinTraining
tems- withoutwrittenpermissionfromthecopyrightholder.
Squadron One and having it sewn on my flight jacket meant I had ar
PrintedinChina.
ISBN:0-7643-0068-7
rived and was truly a part ofthat unit. As my career progressed, so did
Weareinterestedin hearingfromauthorswithbookideasonrelatedtopics.
the number ofpatches on my flight jacket until I ran out ofroom. Each
patch on my jacket, as well as those that adorn thejackets ofmy"fellow
PublishedbySchifferPublishingLtd. NavalAviators, aircrew, andsquadron/shipmates haveaspecialmemory
77LowerValley Road
Atglen, PA 19310 and, in many cases, a long history behind them.
Pleasewl;teforafreecatalog.
Thisbookmaybepurchasedfromthepublisher. My interest in insignias is historical and I was fortunate to be able to
Pleaseinclude$2.95postage.
Tryyourbookstorefirst. continue to gather information on Navy and Marine Corps aviation or-
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CONTENTS
ganizations whileIwasinthe Navy. Frequenttrips toWashington, D.C.,
allowed me to spend considerable time at the NavalAirand Operational
Histories offices where I collected as much information as I could on
Activities 7
Navy/Marine squadrons. I have been lucky to be able to be in a position
Bases 14
to share much of this information as insignia editor for THE HOOK
Battalions/Regiments 16
magazine, the Tailhook Association's quarterly journal of carrier avia
Centers : 23
tion. In this capacity I have produced the magazine's patch page, a fea
Clubs 34
ture for 16 years, and answered all insignia inquiries. I quickly learned
Commands 37
that it is next to impossible to identify every insignia because there are
Commanders 40
so many, and many are unidentifiable, even with the help ofthe histori
Communications 41
ans at theNavalAirHistory office where all Navy aviation insignias are Cruises 46
supposed to be officially approved. Depots 47
This book serves as a valuable guide for the insignia collector and Desert ShieldlDesert Storm 48
lovers of Navy patches in providing color pictures of past and present Divisions 50
active and Reserve Navy aviation squadrons, ships, aircraft and shore Facilities 52
organizations. Itwill help the serious collectors and those getting started Fields 61
to identify patches in their collections. Mike's collection ofNavy insig Fleets 62
nias is vast and I thank him for sharing his collectionwith all ofus. Flotillas 63
Forces 64
Doug Siegfried, CDR USN (Ret) Groups 71
Medical 81
THE HOOK Magazine
Missiles 85
Insignia Editor
Schools.· 87
Shipyards 92
Squadrons 94
Stations 108
Teams 126
Units 131
Miscellaneous 138
Index 149
Glossary 157
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CruiseMissileSupportActivity; U.S.AtlanticCommand FleetCombatDirectionSystemsSupportActivity;Dam Neck,VA
FleetActivities;Sasebo,Japan
FleetCombatDirectionSystemsSupportActivity;SanDiego,CA NavalActivities; United Kingdom
HeadquartersSupportActivity;Taipei,Taiwan
Naval ElectronicSystemsEngineeringActivity;St.Inigoes,MD NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Adak,AK
NavalIntelligenceProcessingSystemSupportActivity
ACTIVITIES
---------------------------10)1-------------------------
NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Anchorage,AK NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Augsburg,Germany NavalSecurityGroupActivity; Guam NavalSecurityGroupActivity;HomesteadAFB
NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Athens,Greece NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Hanza,Okinawa
NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Augsburg, Germany NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Bremerhaven,Germany NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Kami,Japan NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Kamiseya,Japan
NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Azores NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Kamiseya,Japan
NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Edzell,Scotland NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Groton,CT NavalSecurityGroupActivity; Keflavik, Iceland NavalSecurity GroupActivity;Misawa,Japan
NavalSecurityGroupActivity;GaletaIsland NavalSecurityGroupActivity;KeyWest,FL
ACTIVITIES ACTIVITIES
---------------------------10)1------------------------- -----------------------lG)I------------------------
NavalSecurityGroupActivity; Naples, Italy NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Panama <IvaiSecu'rityGroupActivity;WinterHarbor, ME NavalSecurityGroupActivity Department;DiegoGarcia, B.I.O.T .
NavalSecurityGroupActivity; NorthwestChesapeake,Virginia NavalSecurityGroupActivity;WinterHarbor, ME
NavalSecurityGroupActivity;Philippines NavalSecurityGroupActivity; SanVetoDeiNormanni,Italy <IvaiSecurityGroupActivityDetachment;Atsugi,Japan NavalSecurityGroupActivity Detachment;Atsugi,Japan
NavalSecurityGroupActivity Detachment;Atsugi,Japan
NavalSecurityGroupActivity;SanVeto DeiNormanni,Italy NavalSecurityGroupActivity;SkaggsIsland,CA
<IvaiSecurityGroupActivityDetachment;Bahrain,SaudiArabia NavalSecurityGroupActivityDetachment;SugarGrove,WV
NavalSecurityGroupActivity Detachment;PyongTaek,Korea
ACTIVITIES ACTIVITIES
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NavalSecurityGroupActivityDetachment;Yokosuka,Japan NavalSupportActivity;DaNang,Vietnam avalSupportActivityDetachment; Gaeta,Italy NavyEuropeanOperationsSupportActivity; London,UK
NavalSecurityGroupReserve311;Tulsa,OK <IvyPersonnelSupportActivity;SanFransisco,CA ShoreIntermediateMaintenanceActivity; LongBeach,CA
NavalSupportActivity; Naples,Italy NavalSupportActivity;Philadelphia,PA NavyTacticalInteroperabilitySupportActivity;SandDiego,CA
NavalSupportActivity;NewOrleans,LA
ShoreIntermediateMaintenanceActivity;Philadelphia,PA ShoreIntermediateMaintenanceActivity;SanDiego,CA
NavalSupportActivity;Seattle,WA NavalSupportActivity;SoudaBay,Crete
NavalSupportActivity;SoudaBay,Crete
ACTIVITIES ACTIVITIES
------------------------.,@}---------------------- ----------------------{@r---------------------
MotorTorpedoBoatBase9 MotorTorpedoBoatBase17;SamarIS. MotorTorpedoBoatBase21 avalBase;Rota,Spain Naval Base;Yokosuka,Japan Naval ReserveAdvanceSupplyBase
MotorTorpedoBoatBase25 NavalAmphibiousBase;Coronado,CA NavalAmphibiousBase;Coronado,CA avalSubmarineBase;Bangor,ME NavalSubmarineBase;Groton,CT NavalSubmarineBase;KingsBay,GA
NavalAmphibiousBase; LittleCreek,VA NavalBase;GuantanamoBay,Cuba NavalBase;GuantanamoBay,Cuba NavalSubmarineBase;NewLondon; Groton,CT NavalSubmarineBase;PearlHarbor,HI NavalSubmarineBase;SanDiego,CA
BASES BASES
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NavalCargoHandlingandPortGroup NavalCargoHandlingBattalion1 NavalCargoHandlingBattalion4 Seabees Seabees
NavalCargoHandlingBattalion6 NavalCargoHandlingBattalion320 NavalCargoHandlingBattalion407 Seabees Seabees Seabees
NavalCargoHandlingBattalion522 NavalCargoHandlingBattalion602 Seabees Seabees;50thAnniversary 1942-1992
BATTALIONS/REGIMENTS BATTALIONS/REGIMENTS
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