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After sixty consecutive years of service, Sea Control Squadron 31 (VS-31), one of the last three US Navy units flying the S-3 Viking, was disestablished in ceremonies on 27 March at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. A crowd of nearly 400 people filled the hangar as more than a dozen former squadron commanders were piped aboard to open the festivities. The squadron, originally established in 1942, was re-formed in 1948 as the first carrier-based anti-submarine warfare, or ASW, unit. VS-31 later took the nickname Topcats. The Topcats were the first to receive the S-2 Tracker. VS-31, which converted to the S-3A Viking in 1973, was the first squadron to deploy with the improved S-3B in 1990.
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