VMO-155 Detachment USS Nassau (CVE-16) History

VMO-155, nicknamed the “Ready Teddy” squadron, was commissioned on 1 October 1942 but all but a small cadre of personnel were sent to Guadalcanal as replacements in December. The remaining cadre at Camp Kearny (Miramar) California formed the nucleus of a new squadron equipped with F4F-3P photo reconnaissance aircraft. As part of its training the squadron’s aircrews were carrier qualified. In April 1943 a 3 plane detachment was embarked aboard the USS Nassau (CVE-16) to provide the photo reconnaissance capability for the deployed Navy air wing which was to tasked to be the main air support ship for the US Army’s landing on Attu island in the Aleutians. (Operation Landcrab). The detachment had six officers and one enlisted pilot and eight enlisted maintenance personnel.

The USS Nassau and its embarked air wing provided close air support for the landings on 11 May and operations ashore for the next few days until the island was reclaimed from the Japanese. Air operations were hampered by severe weather which limited its effectiveness. The ship returned to San Diego in June and the VMO detachment left the ship and rejoined the squadron at El Centro. From that point on the squadron was mainly trained as a fighter/attack squadron and was redesignated VMF-155 in January of 1945.

The VMO-155 detachment’s cruise aboard the USS Nassau was the first carrier deployment by a USMC unit in WW II to see combat and the only squadron to support operations in the Northern Pacific theater. It was the third USMC photo reconnaissance unit deployed in WW II following VMO-251 and VMD-154.

Waldo P Breeden, Jr