the berlin crisis and operation dominic
VP-872 weekend warriors
Rising international tensions brought on by the construction of a wall separating East Berlin from West Berlin resulted in the recall of several naval reserve squadrons to meet the possible threat of further Russian aggression. Five of these squadrons were reserve patrol Squadrons, one from the West Coast, VP-872 and four from the East Coast (VP-661, VP-741, VP-832 and VP-933). All of the squadrons were recalled On 13 September 1961 with a 1 October reporting date, for a period of duty not to exceed 12 Months.
VP-872 accepted their first P2V-5F Neptune on October 3, 1961 and would fly the first ASW barrier patrol from NAS Alameda 9 days later. By November 1, 1961, VP-872 was brought up to full strength, augmented by personnel from VP-701 and VP-703 of NAS Dallas and VP-875 of NARTU Alameda, along with reservists and TARS from NAS Dallas and NARTU Alameda.
On September 1, 1961, the Soviet Union, in defiance of a 34 month nuclear testing moratorium, commenced a series of atmospheric nuclear tests. Official U.S. action on convening its own atmospheric series did not begin until 10 October 1961 when President Kennedy approved plans for the testing. Final approval was given on 2 March 1962, 7 weeks in advance of the first planned test. Operation Dominic would ultimately include 36 nuclear tests consisting of 29 airdrops, five rocket launched tests and 2 tests of operational systems of the Polaris submarine launched ballistic missile and the ASROC anti-submarine rocket.
In February 1962, VP-872 received it's orders to deploy to Barbers Point and MIDPAC. In April 1962, VP-872 was placed under the operational command of Joint Task Force 8 and began flying barrier patrols for Operation Dominic.
On April 9, 1962, VP-872 Crew 6 discovered the Peruvian cargo ship SS Iquitos adrift in the restricted nuclear test area near Christmas Island. The Iquitos had been abandoned by her crew nearly 4 months earlier, 300 miles southeast of Acapulco, Mexico. The ships 4000 mile voyage had been propelled by the Humboldt Current, the same current that had carried Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki raft on it's epic journey from the coast of South America to the Polynesian Islands 1947. After determining that the appearance of the abandoned cargo ship was not a deliberate menace, the Iquitos was declared a navigational hazard and the USS Gurke DD 783 was ordered to sink the still burning vessel.
VP-872 would return to NAS Alameda in June 1962 and the squadron was finally deactivated on August 1, 1962. VP-872 had flown over 4,900 hours, 750,000 miles all the while maintaining a perfect safety record!