310
UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION
1910-1995
1974-Continued
28 August
The Chief of Naval Operations released a
formal VFAX operational requirement directing
NAVAIR to perform industrial solicitation and full-scale
development. The VFAX concept was by this time
under management by NAVAIR's PMA-265. The aircraft
that finally emerged from the VFAX concept was the
McDonnell Douglas F/ A-18 Hornet.
14 September
The SEU-3/ A Lightweight Ejection
Seat manufactured by the Stencel Aero Engineering
Company primarily for the AV-8A Harrier was
approved for service use.
17 September
Enterprise
sailed from San Francisco,
Calif., with VF-1 and -2 aboard. This event marked the
initial deployment of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the
Navy's newest fighter.
17 September
The prototype LAMPS MK-III H-2/SR
helicopter was delivered to the Kaman Aerospace
Corporation for flight certification tests. Prior to this
delivery, Naval Air Development Center, Warminster,
Pa., engineers completed extensive design modifica-
tions which were required to incorporate the LAMPS
MK-III developmental avionics package.
2 October
The Joint Logistics Commanders signed
an agreement making Dupont's HT-4 the standard fab-
ric for all flight suits.
19 November
The Central Treaty Organization
Exercise Midlink 74 got underway as the largest naval
exercise ever held in the Arabian Sea. Participating
were forces from the United States, United Kingdom,
Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.
Constellation
was part of
the eight-ship force from the United States.
2 December
The
Navy's Advanced Low Volume
Ramjet (ALVRJ) successfully completed its first free
flight at the Pacific Missile Range at Point Mugu, Calif.
The ALVRJ was a unique propulsion system designed
for high performance missiles. It was developed for
NAVAIR by LTV.
1975
3
January
The Association of Naval Aviation was
formally founded "to stimulate and extend apprecia-
tion of Naval Aviation... past, present and future."
The non-profit organization became open to any offi-
cer, enlisted person or civilian who contributed to, or
was interested in, U.S. Naval Aviation.
17 January
The first production model of Lockheed's
updated P-3C Orion was delivered to VX-1, the Navy's
antisubmarine warfare evaluation squadron at NAS
Patuxent River, Md. New avionics and software includ-
ed a versatile computer language, the Omega world-
wide navigation system, increased sound-processing
sensitivity, a tactical display scope, improved magnetic
tape transport, and a seven-fold increase in computer
memory capacity from 65,000 to 458,000 words.
21 January
Saratoga,
along with three other surface
vessels, was released from contingency response off
Cyprus.
Saratoga
had been maintaining a response
alert for possible assistance in the evacuation of
American citizens from the strife-torn island.
28 January
The
AIM-54 Phoenix missile was gIven
approval for service use.
9 February
Enterprise
responded to calls for disaster
relief from the island nation of Mauritius which was
struck on 6 February by Typhoon Cervaise. Arriving at
Port Louis on the 12th, carrier personnel spent more
than 10,000 man-hours rendering such assistance as
restoring water, power and telephone systems, clearing
roads and debris, and providing helicopter, medical,
food and potable water support to the stricken area.
15 February
The Sikorsky YCH-53E transport heli-
copter completed Navy Preliminary Evaluation con-
ducted by the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River,
Md., and HMX-l.
2 March
The F-14A Tomcat and the Phoenix Missile
system were given approval for service use.
17 March
The S-3A Viking was given approval for
servIce use.
18
March
NAVAIR established an Assistant
Commander for Test and Evaluation and assigned to
him the functions involving management of T & E and
its facilities. This important organizational development
had its direct origins in a decision by the Secretary of
Defense (SECDEF) made in mid-1960s which stressed
the need for adequate Test and Evaluation (T & E) data
to provide a basis for determining whether new equip-
ment was developed sufficiently to warrant procure-
ment for service use. In a much more historic sense,
the establishment of the Assistant Commander, Test
and Evaluation was part of Naval Aviation's long-stand-
ing commitment to a consolidation of T & E. This com-
mitment resulted, as early as 1942, in the creation of
NAS Patuxent River, Md., as a facility for testing experi-
mental airplanes, equipment, and material.
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