Operating Grumman TS-2A Trackers, the squadron conducted advanced multiengine training for Student Naval Aviators destined for carrier-based A-1 Skyraider, S-2 Tracker and E-1 Tracer aircraft, and land-based naval aircraft and seaplanes, primarily those engaged in airborne early warning mission flying the EC-121 Warning Star, and those in the patrol and anti-submarine warfare mission, such as the P-2 Neptune, P5M Marlin, and the new P-3 Orion that began coming on line in the early 1960s.
[2][3][4] Approximately 1,000 military personnel and 100 civilian workers were stationed at NAAS New Iberia in 1964, including those assigned to VT-27.
Naval Auxiliary Air Station New Iberia continued to function until 1964 when the Navy began closing the facility.
On 29 September 1964, VT-27 transferred to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, with the squadron instructor pilots flying out the TS-2 Trackers.
Many helicopters and seaplanes utilize the airport in support of the offshore petroleum industry in the Gulf of Mexico.