Editing Neil Armstrong (section)

== Navy service ==
[[File:Neil Armstrong 23 May 1952 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Ensign Neil Armstrong on May 23, 1952|alt=A black-and-white image of a light-skinned man in his early 20s. He is looking off to his right. He has mid-colored hair parted to the right. He wears a light-colored military uniform with an eagle badge on the left chest. His epaulettes are dark and have a light bar and star. He has a white shirt and a dark necktie.]]
Armstrong's call-up from the Navy arrived on January 26, 1949, requiring him to report to [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]] in Florida for flight training with class 5-49. After passing the medical examinations, he became a [[midshipman]] on February 24, 1949.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=68–69}} Flight training was conducted in a [[North American T-6 Texan|North American SNJ trainer]], in which he soloed on September 9, 1949.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=71}} On March 2, 1950, he made his first [[aircraft carrier]] landing on {{USS|Cabot|CVL-28|6}}, an achievement he considered comparable to his first solo flight.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=71}} He was then sent to [[Naval Air Station Corpus Christi]] in Texas for training on the [[Grumman F8F Bearcat]], culminating in a carrier landing on {{USS|Wright|CVL-49|6}}. On August 16, 1950, Armstrong was informed by letter that he was a fully qualified [[United States Naval Aviator|naval aviator]]. His mother and sister attended his graduation ceremony on August 23, 1950.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=76–79}}

Armstrong was assigned to Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron{{nbsp}}7 (FASRON 7) at [[Naval Air Station North Island|NAS San Diego]] (now known as NAS North Island). On November 27, 1950, he was assigned to [[VF-51]], an all-jet squadron, becoming its youngest officer, and made his first flight in a jet, a [[Grumman F9F Panther]], on January 5, 1951. He was promoted to [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] on June 5, 1951, and made his first jet carrier landing on {{USS|Essex|CV-9|6}} two days later. On June 28, 1951, ''Essex'' had set sail for Korea, with VF-51 aboard to act as [[ground-attack aircraft]]. VF-51 flew ahead to [[Naval Air Station Barbers Point]] in Hawaii, where it conducted fighter-bomber training before rejoining the ship at the end of July.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=79–85}}

On August 29, 1951, Armstrong saw action in the [[Korean War]] as an escort for a photo [[reconnaissance]] plane over [[Songjin]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=90}} Five days later, on September 3, he flew armed reconnaissance over the primary transportation and storage facilities south of the village of Majon-ni, west of [[Wonsan]]. According to Armstrong, he was making a low bombing run at {{convert|350|mph|-1|abbr=on}} when {{convert|6|ft|m}} of his wing was torn off after it collided with a cable that was strung across the hills as a booby trap. He was flying {{convert|500|ft|m}} above the ground when he hit it. While there was heavy anti-aircraft fire in the area, none hit Armstrong's aircraft.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=94}} An initial report to the commanding officer of ''Essex'' said that Armstrong's F9F Panther was hit by [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft fire]]. The report indicated he was trying to regain control and collided with a pole, which sliced off {{convert|2|ft|m}} of the Panther's right wing. Further perversions of the story by different authors added that he was only {{convert|20|ft|m}} from the ground and that {{convert|3|ft|m}} of his wing was sheared off.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=92–93}}

[[File:F9F-2 Panthers VF-51 over Korea 1951.jpg|thumb|left|[[Grumman F9F Panther|F9F-2 Panthers]] over Korea, with Armstrong piloting S-116 (left)|alt=Two dark-blue-painted single-seat military jets flying from left to right in echelon. They wear the mark of the U.S. military on the nose, and a number. The nearer plane is 107 and the further is 116. On the fin is the letter 'S' and just in front the word NAVY. The planes have wingtip drop tanks and bubble canopies.]]
Armstrong flew the plane back to friendly territory, but because of the loss of the [[aileron]], [[ejection seat|ejection]] was his only safe option. He intended to eject over water and await rescue by Navy helicopters, but his parachute was blown back over land. A jeep driven by a roommate from flight school picked him up; it is unknown what happened to the wreckage of his aircraft, F9F-2 BuNo ''125122''.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=95–96}}

In all, Armstrong flew 78{{nbsp}}missions over Korea for a total of 121{{nbsp}}hours in the air, a third of them in January 1952, with the final mission on March 5, 1952. Of 492 U.S. Navy personnel killed in the Korean War, 27 of them were from  ''Essex'' on this war cruise. Armstrong received the [[Air Medal]] for 20 combat missions, two [[5/16 inch star|gold stars]] for the next 40, the [[Korean Service Medal]] and Engagement Star, the [[National Defense Service Medal]], and the [[United Nations Korea Medal]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=112}}

Armstrong's regular commission was terminated on February 25, 1952, and he became an ensign in the [[United States Navy Reserve]]. On completion of his combat tour with ''Essex'', he was assigned to a transport squadron, VR-32, in May 1952. He was released from active duty on August 23, 1952, but remained in the reserve, and was promoted to [[lieutenant (junior grade)]] on May 9, 1953.<ref name="USN record" /> As a reservist, he continued to fly, first with VF-724 at [[Naval Air Station Glenview]] in Illinois, and then, after moving to California, with VF-773 at [[Naval Air Station Los Alamitos]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=118}} He remained in the reserve for eight years before resigning his commission on October 21, 1960.<ref name="USN record">{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/bios/Armstrong-Neil/Armstrong_redacted_Redacted.pdf |title=Ex-Lieutenant (junior grade) Neil Alden Armstrong, U.S. Naval Reserve, Transcript of Naval Service |access-date=February 28, 2018 |publisher=United States Navy |date=March 27, 1967 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506025424/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/bios/Armstrong-Neil/Armstrong_redacted_Redacted.pdf |archive-date=May 6, 2017}}</ref>