Lest We Forget: Airborne Early Warning Barrier Squadron Pacific (AEWBarRonpac)

For 11 years during the Cold War, Navy ships and aircraft participated in the air defense of the continental United States. Lockheed WV-2 (EC-121K) Warning Star ("Willie Victor") aircraft flew long and usually uneventful patrols over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, vigilant for approaching Soviet bombers.

Airborne Early Warning Barrier Squadron Pacific (AEWBarRonpac) was established on 1 February 1960 as a consolidation of Airborne Early Warning Squadrons 12 and 14 and, in May 1960, the unit that provided and maintained the aircraft for their crews, Airborne Barrier Support Squadron 2. With approximately 30 Willie Victors and very large crews, AEWBarRonpac became the largest squadron in U.S. naval aviation history. The squadron also operated several R7V-1 Constellations for training and transport duties.

AEWBarRonpac's primary mission was to maintain 24-hour radar coverage over the northern Pacific as seaward extension of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, the Pacific Contiguous Barrier. Beginning in 1961, the squadron maintained a detachment on Midway. Four or five aircraft were kept airborne at all times to maintain the integrity of the barrier. Willie Victors would stage to Midway from Barbers Point and carry out their 16-hour patrols over the northern Pacific. Patrols sometimes would terminate in Kodiak, Alaska, for turnaround.

By 1965, the need for the Navy to participate in the continental air-defense role had diminished because of improvements in the Air Force's surveillance radar system. During its five years of operations, AEWBarRonpac lost only one aircraft and six crewmen to a mishap. The squadron flew its last barrier patrol on 30 April 1965 and was disestablished on 30 June 1965.