#1146 P-3C AIP Orion
Purchased products will not feature the Squadron Prints watermark
Description
Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1146 - P-3C Orion, 162777, Patrol Squadron TWENTY SIX \'VP-26\', NAS Jacksonville, Florida.
Patrol Squadron 26 “Tridents’” history can be traced back to August 26, 1943. Tasked with convoy protection duty, Bombing Squadron 114, flying the PB4Y Liberator, helped win the crucial battle to resupply allied forces in Europe during World War II. In 1948, the squadron participated in the Berlin Airlift, flying tons of medical supplies to that isolated city. Following redesignation, Patrol Squadron 26 moved to Port Lyautey, Morocco until 1950. In 1951 the squadron received its second type of aircraft, the P-2V Neptune, and subsequently moved from Patuxent River, Maryland to Brunswick, Maine. In 1966 following transition to the P-3 Orion, the Tridents operated in Southeast Asia earning the Fleet Air Wing THREE Battle Efficiency Excellence ‘E’ Award. VP-26 played an integral role in the Vietnam War, participating in Operation Market Time and conducting surveillance of hostile traffic at sea and ashore. Two aircraft and their crews lost in combat during the conflict are memorialized by a college scholarship established by the squadron. The Tridents participated in numerous North Atlantic and Mediterranean deployments from 1968 to 1980 earning various awards, commendations and medals. In 1979, VP-26 transitioned to the P-3C Update II. In the 1980’s, VP-26 deployed to Iceland, Spain, the Azores, England, Turkey, Africa, and the Ascension Islands and in 1989 received a second consecutive Battle Excellence “E” Award. As the world scene changed in the 1990’s, VP-26 faced new challenges. With the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the Tridents conducted three consecutive deployments to Sigonella, Italy with detachments sent to Saudi Arabia to monitor the UN embargo against Iraq. In January 1995, the Tridents began an intense seven month transition to retrofit P-3C Update III aircraft. VP-26 continued to set records during their 1996-97 tri-site deployment to Iceland, Puerto Rico and Panama. They cued the highest drug interdiction rate ever, set a record for “real world” submarine contact and earned the 1996 COMNAVAIRLANT Battle Excellence “E” Award. In August 2002, Patrol Squadron Twenty-Six began a six-month, split-site deployment to NAS Keflavik, Iceland and NAS Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. Efforts in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific led to interdiction of 12,641 kg’s of cocaine with a street value of over 3.4 billion dollars. In January 2004, VP-26 began a six-month deployment to Sigonella, Sicily. During their time in Sigonella the Tridents participated in Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOR and sent two crews to participate in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. In 2009 the squadron began a six-month Tri-Site Deployment to Sigonella, El’ Salvador and Northern Africa and conducted a homeport change from NAS Brunswick to NAS Jacksonville, Florida following the deployment. The squadron recently surpassed 47 years of mishap free flying totaling over 330,000 hours. In the years ahead, ‘Team Trident’ anticipates more challenging worldwide deployments to guard liberty and protect our nation’s interests.