VX-3

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{{Infobox military unit

|unit_name=Air Development Squadron 3

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|dates= 20 November 1948 – 1 March 1960

|country= United States

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|branch= United States Navy

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Air Development Squadron 3 or VX-3 was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron established on 20 November 1948 and disestablished on 1 March 1960.{{cite book|last=Ginter|first=Steve|title=Vought's F-8 Crusader – Navy Fighter Squadrons|publisher=Naval Fighters|year=1990|isbn=9780942612196|page=15}}

Operational history

File:F7U-3 Cutlass of VX-3 in flight c1955.jpg

File:F8U-1 VX-3 landing on USS Saratoga (CVA-60).jpeg lands on {{USS|Saratoga|CVA-60|6}} c.1957]]

VX-3 was established by the merger of the assets of VA-1L and VF-1L and based at NAS Atlantic City, its aircraft carried the tail code "XC".{{cite book|last=Grossnick|first=Roy|title= Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Volume 1, Chapter 2, Section 1: Attack Squadron Histories for VA-1E to VA-23|publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy|year=1995|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/dictionary-of-american-naval-aviation-squadrons-volume-1/chapter-2-attack-squadron-histories-for-va-1e-to-va-23.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123033139/http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/dictionary-of-american-naval-aviation-squadrons-volume-1/chapter-2-attack-squadron-histories-for-va-1e-to-va-23.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 January 2015|page=18}}

In late 1949 VX-3 received the F6U Pirate which it operated for a short period before sending them into storage at NAS Quonset Point.{{cite book|last=Thomason|first=Tommy|title=U.S. Naval Air Superiority: Development of Shipborne Jet Fighters – 1943-1962|publisher=Specialty Press|year=2008|isbn=9781580071109|page=45}}

In March 1953 VX-3 began operational trials of probe and drogue aerial refueling using AJ-1 Savage bombers.{{rp|197}}

In late 1954 VX-3 carrier-qualified the F9F-8 Cougar aboard the {{USS|Midway|CV-41|6}}.{{rp|135}}

In August 1955 VX-3 F9F-8s successfully tested the first mirror landing system aboard {{USS|Bennington|CV-20|6}}.{{rp|184}}

VX-3 received the first F8U-1 Crusaders in December 1956 and conducted carrier qualifications of the Crusader aboard the {{USS|Franklin D. Roosevelt|CV-42|6}} in April 1957. During testing of the Crusader two aircraft and pilots were lost. On 6 June 1957 a VX-3 Crusader set a US coast to coast speed record of three hours and twenty-eight minutes, launching from {{USS|Bon Homme Richard|CV-31|6}} on the West Coast and landing on {{USS|Saratoga|CVA-60|6}} on the East Coast.

Notable former members

See also

References

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Category:Test squadrons of the United States Navy