Made in 1955, MALTA REVISITED shows the men of a Naval Air Reserve Training Unit departing on a cruise to Malta. The unit featured is VP-741 (now VP-16). R5-D Skymaster and P2V Harpoon anti-submarine warfare aircraft are shown operating out of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida and flying to Europe on the exercise, via the Azores, Morocco, Lisbon, Gibraltar, and finally Malta.

At the 8 minute mark, British jet aircraft are seen operating out of Malta, conducting ASW patrols.

The journey of the unit continues after the 10 minute mark, with a visit to Istanbul, Athens, Naples, Rome, and England. Admiral Cassidy is seen at the 13 minute mark in London.

The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) was a Maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon, and being replaced in turn with the Lockheed P-3 Orion. Designed as a land-based aircraft, the Neptune never made a carrier landing, although a small number of aircraft were converted and deployed as carrier launched stop-gap nuclear bombers which would have to ditch or recover at land bases. The type was successful in export and saw service with several armed forces.

VP-16, nicknamed the War Eagles, is an active Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. It has been based at NAS Jacksonville, Florida since its founding in 1953. The squadron’s mission is to operate Maritime patrol aircraft to the fleet in support of national interests. It is the third squadron to have held the VP-16 designation.

VP-906 was established in May 1946 as a reserve squadron, home-ported at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, under the operational control of FAW-11 and administratively under Naval Air Reserve Training Command. The squadron was one of 21 reserve patrol squadrons established after the war to accommodate the large number of aircrews recently released from active duty, utilize the enormous stocks of aircraft in the inventory and serve as a pool of experienced manpower in the event that the new Cold War tensions erupted into actual war. VP-906 flew the Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon and the amphibious Consolidated PBY-5A/6A Catalina.

On 15 November 1946 VP-906 was redesignated VP-ML-56 while at Cecil Field, Florida. Under the new designation system, reserve squadron number designations began with the number 51 and regular Navy squadrons began with 1. All reserve patrol squadrons were designated as ML. The ML designation used by the reserves stood for either Medium Patrol Squadrons flying the twin-engine PV-2 Harpoon or Medium Seaplane Squadrons flying the amphibious PBY-5A Catalina. Regular Navy patrol squadrons flying the PV-2 were designated ML also, but those flying the PBY-5A were designated AM for Amphibian.

In February 1950 VP-ML-56 was redesignated VP-741 during the reorganization of Naval Aviation reserve units. On 1 Mar 1951 VP-741 was recalled to active duty, the last of the nine reserve patrol squadrons recalled for service during the Korean War. In February 1953 the decision was made to augment all of the nine reserve patrol squadrons activated during 1950 to 1951 as part of the regular Navy. VP-741 was redesignated VP-16.

On 10 Nov 1956, the squadron deployed to Keflavik, Iceland. During the Middle East Crisis, sparked by the seizure of the Suez Canal, the squadron was flying around the clock to protect NATO’s northern flank. After the situation was defused, VP-16 conducted a series of goodwill tours to several European countries before returning to the U.S. in April 1957.

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