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The Navy’s most recent VU-1 began in 1951, when Utility Squadron One (VU-1) was established at NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii. From its beginning, the second VU-1 assumed the traditions of its Pacific Fleet utility unit predecessor, VJ-1 (VU-1 after 1946), established 5 October 1925 at NAS San Diego, California.
VJ-1 provided such fleet services as gunnery triangulation and target towing. One of the squadron’s first major assignments was the 1926 aerial mapping of Alaska, followed by a second Alaskan survey in 1934. VJ-1 was based at NAS Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack on 7 Decern- ° c cvmss ber 1941. VJ-1 pilots launched from Ford Island in their plodding J2F and JRS amphibians in search of the enemy ships. One JRS approached within 50 miles of the Japanese task force before being driven back by enemy fighters, crediting VJ-1 as the first U.S. unit to counterattack the Japanese.
With the onset of war, VJ-1 expanded to keep up with the training demands of the Pacific Fleet units, and in 1944, a permanent detachment was set up at Majuro Atoll
in the Marshall Islands. A Navywide reorganization of its aviation units caused a 15 November 1946 redesignation of VJ-1 to VU-1. However, postwar reductions forced the disestablishment of the squadron on 30 April 1949.
In response to demands of the Korean War, a new VU-1 was established at Barbers Point on 20 July 1951. VU-1 provided training and support for fleet units in the 14th Naval District. On 1 July 1965, VU-1 was redesignated VC-1, Composite Squadron One (not to be confused with the ASW VC squadrons of World War II) and carried this designation until its demise on 30 September 1992. In its later years, VC-1 was known as the “Blue Alii,” a reference to Hawaiian royalty.
Both VJ-1 and VC-1 flew a multitude of fixed-wing and helicopter aircraft types. The aircraft operated longest of either era, however, was the A-4 Skyhawk, which VC-1 used in target towing, electronic calibration, threat simulation, and—perhaps its favorite—air combat maneuvering.