Missions included flights extending out to 600 miles (970 km) to locate and successfully attack elements of Black Force.

The manufacturer began to incorporate better heating and cabin insulation in later models of the PBY, greatly improving crew comfort on long flights.

On 7 December 1941 upon receiving word of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, all squadron aircraft were put on alert and prepared for a move to Naval Air Station Tongue Point.

From 3–15 June 1942 VP-42 participated in the first attack on Japanese vessels and positions while based at Naval Air Facility Dutch Harbor, in the Aleutian Islands.

Lieutenant (junior grade) Lucius D. Campbell flew through a snow squall to make contact with a heavy enemy concentration south of Umnak Island.

On the same date orders were received returning the squadron to Seattle, for a refit at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, with new PV-1 Ventura medium bombers, the first to operate in the Pacific and Aleutians area.

The squadron began training on 24 February 1943 after a short leave for all hands, by 23 March VB-135 was en route to Naval Air Station Adak, Alaska, with its full complement of PV-1s, arriving on 12 April 1943.

On 19 April 1944 the squadron flew to Naval Air Station Adak, where special training began on the use of LORAN for long-distance navigation in the hostile environment of the far north.

The HEDRON installed the new LORAN gear in the aircraft during this period and on 4 May 1944 flew to Casco Field, Attu, to resume combat operations.

On 23 July 1944: Lieutenant Vivian attacked and sank a Japanese picket boat, but his aircraft was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire.

In this classic patch, the blindfolded fox carried a bomb underneath one arm and with the opposite hand held a cane to assist in navigating through the clouds.

A Soviet submarine was tracked for 24 hours at one point in the exercise, but finally surfaced and proceeded on its way after failing to shake the trackers.

On 12 January 1962, squadron Executive Officer Commander Norbert Kozak launched in LA-9 from Naval Air Station Keflavik for an ice patrol mission along the Greenland coast, in an apparent controlled flight into terrain, the aircraft crashed into the upslope of the Kronborg Glacier near the Denmark Strait, killing all twelve men aboard.

Yankee Station patrols provided night radar coverage of the Gulf of Tonkin as one measure in the defense of the fleet's strike carriers from attack by high-speed surface craft.

For its support to the Sixth Fleet during the evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization from Lebanon and the subsequent deployment of Marines into Beirut, the squadron was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal.

The hour-by-hour monitoring of the Soviet warship was continued until it sank beneath the waves, earning the squadron a recommendation for a Meritorious Unit Commendation from CINCLANTFLT.

Detached to bases in the Caribbean and South America, VP-5 played a key role in the interdiction effort spotting suspicious ships and aircraft in the patrol areas.

Ten different NATO countries were visited during this period, including the United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands, France, Germany and Canada.

Amassing over 6,000 flight hours through the six-month deployment, VP-5 contributed to a U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) year-long total interdiction effort valued at over one billion dollars.

Additionally, the squadron supported continued efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Balkans in Operations Deliberate Forge and Joint Guardian.

VP-5 conducted sorties over northern Iraq, operating in high-threat areas to provide real-time intelligence to U.S. forces engaged with the enemy.

They successfully prevented drug traffickers from delivering over 30.7 metric tons of illegal narcotics worth over 2.8 billion dollars to the shores of the United States.

VP-5 orchestrated and executed a bi-lateral ASW prosecution utilizing U.S. and Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) assets resulting in over 165 hours of contact time.

In response to many world events, VP-5 participated in major operations to include Odyssey Dawn, Unified Protector, Caper Focus and Enduring Freedom.

Bush Strike Group ASWEX), Greece, Sicily, and Spain (Enterprise ENCOUNTEREX) to support other United States assets and multi-nation exercises.

Bringing the first five C4ASW modified Orions seen in the theater, VP-5 immediately began providing timely and accurate Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), and ASW products to high level authorities in PACOM, all while practicing the ‘hub and two spoke’ method of detaching combat aircrews to Western Pacific Nations to build and foster relationships with allied countries in an ever important and dynamic region.

In July 2014 Patrol Squadron FIVE deployed to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and the Seventh Fleet Area of Responsibility.

As VP-5's inaugural P-8A Poseidon deployment, VP-5 executed over 20 detachments to countries and territories including Australia, Malaysia, Diego Garcia, Bangladesh, Guam, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the Republic of Korea.

While deployed, the squadron participated in a variety of major exercises including Valiant Shield, Keen Sword, GUAMEX, Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, TAMEX, Silent Banshee, and PHIBLEX 15.

[2] On 19 August 2014 a People's Liberation Army Air Force J11B Flanker flew in a very close and very dangerous manner around one of VP-5's P-8As in international waters near Hainan during the squadron's first deployment to Japan with the new aircraft.