Patrol Bombing Squadron 63 (VPB-63) was established as Patrol Squadron 63 (VP-63) on 19 September 1942. The squadron was a PBY-5A Catalina unit planned for "Black Cat" antishipping operations in the Southwest Pacific. VP-63 soon was testing new magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) gear and retro-firing rockets and began working up to deploy the antisubmarine warfare (ASW) systems.
In March 1943, VP-63 conducted ASW training and patrols in the Atlantic. The squadron moved via Iceland to RAF Pembroke Dock, South Wales, in June 1943, and became the first U.S. Navy patrol squadron to operate in the United Kingdom. On 1 August one VP-63 crew engaged in the first aerial combat between U.S. Navy aircraft and the Luftwaffe. The PBY-5A shot down one of eight attacking JU-88s before it in turn was shot down.
VP-63 was shifted to Port Lyautey, French Morocco, in December 1943. While en route, squadron aircraft encountered and drew fire from six German destroyers, three of which were sunk soon thereafter by the Royal Navy. In February 1944, the squadron established a barrier patrol in the Strait of Gibraltar. On 24 February, a VP-63 crew used its MAD gear to detect and assist in sinking U-761, the first kill of a submarine by a MAD-equipped aircraft. U-392 and U-731 also fell victim to the "Madcats" and assisting units in the next two months. The MAD barriers were so successful that Royal Navy Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham credited the squadron with turning the Mediterranean "into an Allied lake."
VP-63 was redesignated VPB-63 on 1 October 1944. As U-boat operations in the Mediterranean declined, VPB-63 sent a detachment to RNAS Dunkeswell, England, in January 1945, to establish a barrier patrol. In April 1945 it sunk U-1107. As the war ended, a Madcat crew accepted the surrender of U-541 off Gibraltar on 11 May 1945.
VPB-63 was disestablished on 2 July 1945.
Lest We Forget: Patrol Bombing Squadron 63 (VPB-63)
By Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, USN (Ret.)
—Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)