Attack Squadron 36
VA-36 squadron insignia
Active	1 May 1952 – 1 August 1970
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Role	Attack
Part of	Inactive
Nickname	Roadrunners
Engagements	Vietnam War
Aircraft flown
Attack	FG-1D Corsair F9F-5/B/8-B/T Panther A4D-2/C/E Skyhawk

VA-36, nicknamed theRoadrunners, was anAttack Squadron of theUnited States Navy. It was established asFighter Squadron VF-102 on 1 May 1952, redesignatedVA-36 on 1 July 1955, and disestablished on 1 August 1970. It was the first squadron to be designated VA-36, thesecond VA-36 was established on 6 March 1987 and disestablished on 1 April 1994.^[1]

• November 1953 – September 1954: During the squadron's world cruise aboardUSS Tarawa, it visited 14 different ports in 10 foreign countries and transited theSuez andPanama Canals.
• July–August 1961: While deployed on a training cruise aboardUSS Saratoga in theCaribbean Sea, the squadron was on an alert status due to theBay of Pigs Invasion.
• 2 December 1965: The squadron conducted its first combat operations, flying fromUSS Enterprise onDixie Station in theSouth China Sea off the coast ofVietnam. This marked the first time anuclear powered ship had engaged in combat.
• December 1965 – June 1966: During this period of combat operations squadron personnel were awarded over 170Air Medals.
• May–June 1967: VA-36, embarked onUSS America, was on station in the easternMediterranean during theSix-Day War between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Units ofAmerica's air wing were launched to provide air cover forUSS Liberty when it came underattack by Israeli forces.^[1]

The squadron was assigned to these home ports, effective on the dates shown:^[1]

• NAAS Cecil Field – 1 May 1952
• NAS Jacksonville – July 1955
• NAS Cecil Field – April 1956

The squadron first received the following aircraft in the months shown:^[1]

• FG-1D Corsair – May 1952
• F9F-5 Panther – Oct 1952
• F9F-8 & F9F-8B Panther – 2 Nov 1956
• F9F-8T Panther – 14 Apr 1957
• A4D-2 Skyhawk – 11 Sep 1958
• A4D-2N/A-4C Skyhawk – 21 Mar 1961 (The A4D-2N designation changed to A-4C in 1962.)
• A-4E Skyhawk – Oct 1967 (The squadron began its transition to A-4Es in October 1967 and in November 1967 transitioned back to A-4Cs)

• Attack aircraft
• History of the United States Navy
• List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons

This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons.

• Attack squadrons of the United States Navy

• Use dmy dates from February 2025
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons