UTILITY SQUADRON SEVEN, VU-7 UTRON SEVEN

VU-7 F8U-1 143764 at NAS North Island on 8-25-62. Tail from above the numbers to below the fin cap is da-glo red and the "UH" is bordered by white. (Clay Jansson)

Utility Squadron Seven (VU-7) was commissioned on 4 December 1942 at NAS Alameda, California, with the mission of providing utility aircraft services to units of the Pacific Fleet. These services included the towing of aerial targets and launching of self-propelled drone targets for surface-to-air and air-to-air gunnery and missile firing; providing airborne targets for the fleet Anti-aircraft Warfare Training Center; radar calibrations; Electronic Countermeasure exercises; inflight refueling; and other utility and admin­istrative services within the cap­abilities of the assigned aircraft, which were F-8 Crusaders and A-4 Skyhawks.

F-8A on 11-19-62 towing a DELMAR target. Tail and wing flash are dark red and wing bracket was red. (USN)

UTRON SEVEN was based at

nine different locations during its twenty three years of existence. The squadron was based at Pearl Harbor from July 1944 until October 1945 with two detachments at Barbers Point, Hawaii, and Agana, Guam.

While flying the F-8, UTRON SEVEN was based at NAS Miramar, California. The squadron had been previously based there from April 1949 to September 1951, when Mira­mar was an Auxilliary Air Station.

VU-7 F-8A 145385 at NAS North Island on 5-2-64, with silver cable reel mounted on the fuselage and the wing mounted pylon
used exclusively for the HAYES target. The black dot under the wing was a cable pully. The cable ran from the pylon through
the pully to the wind driven cable reel. Notice pattern of the red folded wing tip. (Harry Gann)

VU-7 F-8C 146995 at Edwards AFB on 5-16.65. Vertical tail markings and fuselage rack are red. Pilot's steps are extend­ed and the speed brake is in its normal partially opened parked position. (William Swisher)

With the advent and implementa­tion of each new weapon to the fleet, VU-7 has had to provide a target for use in training of personnel for the operation of the new weapon and weapon system. Development of the

air-to-air missile, for instance, required a target technique which would simu­late fast, high flying enemy aircraft for missile target practice. The F-8 used the Hayes towed target and the AQM-37A rocket propelled target. With them VU-7 provided high alti­tude, supersonic targets for firing of live missiles even in darkness or in­strument flying weather.

In 1965 the squadron's assets consisted of four F-8As, fourteen F-8Cs, four DF-8Fs and nine A-4Bs. VU-7 was redesignated Fleet Com­posite Squadron Seven (VC-7) on 1 July 1965.

VU-7 DF-8F 143691 at NAS Miramar on 4-3-65. The fuselage is engine gray, and the tail is red-orange with a flat black fin cap, and the wings and horizontal tailplanes are yellow. Landing gear and interior doors are white. (William Swisher)