Officially Licensed US Navy RVAH-1 Smokin' Tigers Squadron Sticker

Officially Licensed US Navy RVAH-1 Smokin' Tigers Squadron Sticker — The First to Fly the Whale, the Vigilante, and the Combat Recon Mission

From the first A3D Skywarrior to the last RA-5C Vigilante, the Smokin' Tigers wrote the book on Navy heavy attack and reconnaissance.

Reconnaissance Attack Squadron 1 — the Smokin' Tigers — was established as Heavy Attack Squadron One (VAH-1) on 1 November 1955 at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. The Tigers immediately made history, becoming the first fleet unit to take delivery of the jet-powered nuclear bomber when they received five Douglas A3D-1 Skywarriors on 31 March 1956. Within months, the squadron was aboard USS Forrestal during the Suez Crisis, ready to enter the Mediterranean with carrier-based nuclear strike capability at a moment's notice. Early deployments took the Smokin' Tigers to the Mediterranean and North Atlantic aboard Forrestal and USS Independence, and in 1962 the squadron began transitioning to the North American A-5A Vigilante — becoming the first squadron to win a monthly bombing contest while flying the sleek new supersonic attack aircraft. After one deployment with the A-5A, VAH-1 transitioned to the RA-5C reconnaissance variant in 1964 and was redesignated RVAH-1 on 1 September 1964. The Smokin' Tigers flew their first combat reconnaissance mission over Southeast Asia on 30 June 1965, completing 308 combat missions on that first deployment aboard USS Independence. Over the next thirteen years, RVAH-1 alternated between Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, completing three additional combat cruises — including a WESTPAC aboard USS Enterprise during the Pueblo crisis, and emergency recall to Vietnam aboard USS Saratoga in 1972. Crewmen were shot down, captured, and held as POWs in North Vietnam for years. The squadron accumulated an extraordinary record of awards including the Navy Unit Commendation, the Norden Trophy for Bombing Excellence, the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy, and multiple Battle Efficiency Awards. After shifting homeports from NAS Sanford to NAS Albany to NAS Key West, the Smokin' Tigers flew their final reconnaissance missions and were disestablished on 29 January 1979 — the last RVAH squadron to stand down and close the book on the Vigilante era.