Command History
Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40, also known as the “Rawhides,” provides Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) services to the Navy's 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th Fleets. Commissioned on July 1, 1960, and homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, VRC-40 operates the C-2A "Greyhound" and reports to Commander, Airborne Command & Control and Logistics Wing.
Maintaining and flying the squadron's 13 aircraft are over 350 enlisted personnel and 46 officers. Unlike most squadrons, VRC-40 does not deploy as a unit. Instead, it deploys five separate sea-going detachments with a two-plane compliment while maintaining a shore "Homeguard" to support local operational commitments. Based at remote forward logistics sites, these deployed detachments support Carrier Strike Groups by transporting high priority cargo and passengers between aircraft carriers and shore bases up to 1,000 miles away. VRC-40 operates as far north as Norway, down the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast, around Central and South America, across the Mediterranean, and throughout the Middle Eastern and Indo-Pacific theaters.
Originally flying the C-1A "Trader," VRC-40 completed its transition to the turboprop powered C-2A, marking the end of the reciprocating engine era in Naval Aviation. The first prototype C-2A flew in 1964, with production beginning in 1965. In 1984, a contract was awarded for 39 new C-2A aircraft to replace the earlier airframes. Dubbed the Reprocured C-2A (due to the similarity to the original aircraft), the new C-2A includes substantial airframe and avionics systems improvements. All older C-2As were phased out in 1987, with the last of the new models delivered in 1990.
Every year, VRC-40 transports approximately three million pounds of cargo and conducts over 1,000 arrested landings. The “Rawhides” played a vital role in support of combat missions during Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom and provided humanitarian relief to Haiti during Operation Unified Response. Astronauts Alan Shepard and Scott Carpenter, sports icons including Tiger Woods and Dale Earnhardt Jr., numerous Congressional and Cabinet members, business leaders, and entertainers such as Bruce Willis, Charlie Daniels, Jimmy Buffett, and Robin Williams have all flown with VRC-40.
While speed and efficiency are imperative to the squadron's mission, safety remains VRC-40’s priority. Among the squadron’s many achievements and accomplishments, the "Rawhides" recently reached one of the highest honors in Aviation Safety by successfully completing 12 years of Class "A" mishap free flying. VRC-40 was also awarded the Battle "E" for the 2023 calendar year. The “Rawhides” recently made history in 2024 with the first simultaneous deployment of all five detachments in support of operational Carrier Strike Groups. VRC-40's continuing mission is the safe transportation of high-priority passengers, mail, and cargo to and from aircraft carriers at sea.