The VAQ-33 Firebirds


Knight Hawks
OCT52-16SEPT70
Knight Hawks
Drawn by Bud Southworth
VAQ-33 Firebirds
Drawn by Bud Southworth


JOIN The Skyhawks

The Squadron Duty Officer is the squadron contact point, who communicates
with former squadron members about squadron information, sea stories,
squadron pictures, scuttlebutt, and gathers information about squadron buddies.
Please contact the Squadron SDO as listed here.

The Table Of Content:
Patch:
  • 1949: insignia was a steel gauntlet crushing a submarine.
  • 1952: insignia was a shield, chess knight and a hawk.
  • 16 DEP 1970: insignia changed to a red bird riding a lightning bolt.

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Handle:
Aircraft:
Date Type First Received - - - - - - Type of Aircraft:
  • 1943 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - F4F Wildcats
  • 1943 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TBF Avenger
  • 1949 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - AD-5NL Skyraider
  • 1968 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - EA-1F Skyraider
  • 1968 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - RA-3B Skywarrior
  • 1968 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - F-4 Phantom II
  • 1968 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A-6 Intruder
  • 1968 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - EC-121 WV
  • 1968 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Douglas EA-4F Skyhawk

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Heritage:
  • JAN 1943 VC-33 established
  • NOV 1945 VC-33 disestablished
  • 31 MAY 1949 VC-33 re-established
  • 2 JUL 1956 VC-33 redesignated VA(AW)-33
  • 30 JUN 1959 VA(AW)-33 redesignated VAW-33
  • 1 FEB 1969 VAW-33 redesignated VAQ-33
  • 01 OCT 1993 VAQ-33 disestablished.

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Commanders:
Home Ports:
  • Date - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Location:
  • 1943 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NAS Alameda, CA.
  • 1949 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NAS Norfolk, VA.
  • 1950 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NAS Atlantic City, NJ.
  • 1956 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NAS Quonset Point, RI.
  • 01 FEB 1968 - - - - - - - - - - - NAS Norfolk, VA.
  • 01 OCT 1977 - - - - - - - - - - - NAS Norfolk and NAS Oceana VA.
  • 1980 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NAS Key West, FL.

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Photograph Albums:
Squadron Photograph Album
Off Duty Album (empty)
VAQ-33 Website

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Events:
  • JAN 1943:
    VC-33 established flying F4F Wildcats and TBF Avengers.

  • 31 MAY 1949:
    VC-33 serves as an antisubmarine squadron.

  • JUN 1950:
    Night Attack role.

  • OCT 1952: VC-33 provided detachments to carriers in the Atlantic Fleet, aboard USS Leyte, USS Bon Homme Richard, and USS Lake Champlain, for combat in Korea.

  • 01 FEB 1968:
    VAW-33 redesignated VAQ-33

  • JUN 1969:
    VAQ-33 relinquished all its aircraft, is transfered to NAS Norfolk and becomes a pert of the newly formed "FEWSG" (Fleet Electronic Warfare Support Group."
    The group's mission is to provide a electronic warfare aggression environment for fleet exercises.

  • 01 OCT 1977:
    VAQ-33 is split between NAS Norfolk and NAS Oceana to accommodate the diversity of their aircraft and to support their special mission.

  • 1980:
    VAQ-33 is transfered to NAS Key West and continured their FEWSG mission until they were disestablished on 1 October 1993.


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Awards:
Sources of VAQ-33 information:
  • Bud Southworth
  • Marsh Wise

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