| Unit Name: | Attack Squadron 12 |
| Dates: | 12 May 1945 – 1 October 1986 |
| Country: | United States |
| Branch: | United States Navy |
| Role: | Attack |
| Size: | Squadron |
| Nickname: | Flying Ubangis |
| Motto: | Kiss of death |
| Aircraft Attack: | A-4 Skyhawk A-7 Corsair II |
| Aircraft Fighter: | F4U Corsair F8F Bearcat F2H Banshee F7U Cutlass |
Attack Squadron 12 (VA-12), also known as the "Flying Ubangis" or "Clinchers", was an attack squadron of the United States Navy active during the Cold War. From their home port at Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Florida, the squadron made more than thirty major overseas deployments aboard aircraft carriers, primarily flying A-4 Skyhawk and later the A-7E Corsair II, including two combat tours in the Vietnam War.
The squadron was established on 12 May 1945, as Bomber-Fighter Squadron FOUR (VBF-4) and soon after was redesignated as part of the service-wide reorganization of aircraft squadrons as Fighter Squadron TWO (VF-2A) on 15 November 1946. Upon the Navy's return to its pre-1946 system of nomenclature, the squadron was again redesignated, this time as Fighter Squadron TWELVE (VF-12) on 2 August 1948. Fully embracing the attack role, the squadron was given its final designation Attack Squadron TWELVE (VA-12) on 1 August 1955.[1]
During WestPac in 1955, the squadron was part of the Navy's support of the evacuation of the Tachen Islands which were under bombardment by People's Republic of China forces. After returning from this cruise, the squadron re-equipped with the F7U Cutlass and its role was changed from air interception to ground attack with special weapons.
In 1960, VA-12 was part of airwing of the USS Shangri-La when that carrier was deployed to counter Cuban infiltration into Guatemala and Nicaragua. The next year, the squadron returned to the area aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt to support the government of the Dominican Republic.
In 1963 the squadron was deployed in detachments to the USS Essex and USS Intrepid for anti-submarine warfare exercises. In August of the next year, the squadron was again on board the Roosevelt when the carrier was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean in response to trouble between Greeks and Turks on the island of Cyprus.
The squadron saw combat in Vietnam twice, in 1966 and 1970. Later in 1971, the unit relinquished the A-4 for the A-7 Corsair. 1973 and 1974 saw further trouble in the Mediterranean. 1973 saw the Yom Kippur War and 1974 the assassination of the American ambassador to Cyprus. During the 1970s the squadron's home base was at Cecil Field Naval Air Station near Jacksonville, Florida. In 1980, the Iranian hostage crisis saw the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower with the squadron on board. The ship remained at sea for 254 days continuously. Trouble in Lebanon flared in 1983, and the squadron supported the peacekeeping force in the country.
On 1 October 1986, the squadron was disestablished, ending 31 years of service as an attack unit, and ten years prior to that as a fighter unit.
| Major overseas deployments by Attack Squadron 12 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departure | Return | Area of operations | Aircraft carrier | Air wing | Aircraft used | |
| 1946 June 28 | 1946 July 15 | Panama Canal transit | F4U-4 Corsair | |||
| 1946 August 1 | 1947 April 29 | USS Tarawa | Carrier Air Group Four Attack Carrier Air Group One | F4U-4 Corsair | ||
| 1948 October 1 | 1949 February 21 | World cruise | USS Tarawa | Carrier Air Group One | F8F-1 Bearcat | |
| 1951 March 20 | 1951 October 6 | Carrier Air Group One | F2H-2 Banshee | |||
| 1952 May 24 | 1952 October 11 | Carrier Air Group One | F2H-2 Banshee | |||
| 1953 June 11 | 1953 December 3 | Mediterranean | Carrier Air Group One | F2H-2 Banshee | ||
| 1954 December 27 | 1955 July 14 | World cruise | Carrier Air Group One | F2H-2 Banshee | ||
| 1958 September 2 | 1959 March 12 | Mediterranean | A4D-2 Skyhawk | |||
| 1960 September 6 | 1960 October 20 | North Atlantic | Carrier Air Group Ten | A4D-2 Skyhawk | ||
| 1960 November 4 | 1960 November 27 | USS Shangri-La | Carrier Air Group Ten | A4D-2 Skyhawk | ||
| 1961 February 15 | 1961 August 28 | Mediterranean | USS Franklin D. Roosevelt | Carrier Air Group One | A4D-2 Skyhawk | |
The squadron was assigned the following aircraft as of the dates shown:
The squadron was assigned to the following Air Wings as of the dates shown: