Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101), also known as the "Grim Reapers", was a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) based at
Eglin AFB, Florida. After the West Coast FRS for the
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...
,
VF-124
Fighter Squadron 124 or VF-124 ''Gunfighters'' was a fleet replacement squadron (FRS) of the United States Navy. Originally established on 16 August 1948 as VF-53, it was redesignated VF-124 at NAS Moffett Field on 11 April 1958 due to a need for ...
, was disestablished in the mid-1990s, VF-101 became the sole F-14 FRS. At the time it was based at
NAS Oceana in Virginia. With the retirement of the F-14, VF-101 was deactivated in 2005. It was reactivated in 2012 and redesignated Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101). It was one of two
F-35C Lightning II FRS before being deactivated in 2019.
It was based at
Eglin AFB, Florida with the joint
33d Fighter Wing
The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant un ...
(33 FW),
[ ] as a subordinate unit of the U.S. Navy's Strike Fighter Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
History
Two distinct squadrons have been called the ''Grim Reapers'',
VF-10
Fighting Squadron 10 (VF-10), also known as the "Grim Reapers", was an aviation unit of the United States Navy, established on 3 June 1942 and disestablished on 26 November 1945.
Operational history
VF-10 was established at NAS San Diego flying ...
and later VF-101, which is the main subject of this article. Officially, the US Navy does not recognize a direct lineage with disestablished squadrons if a new squadron is formed with the same designation or nickname. Often, the new squadron will assume the nickname, insignia, and traditions of the earlier squadrons.
1950s
On 1 May 1952, VF-101 was established at
NAS Cecil Field, Florida. This new squadron assumed the nickname and traditions of the previous ''Grim Reapers'' and flew the
FG-1D Corsair in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Later in 1952, VF-101 received the jet-powered
F2H-2 Banshee. The squadron was assigned to
Carrier Air Group 1 aboard the and circumnavigated the globe between 27 December 1954 and 14 July 1955.
In 1956, VF-101 transitioned to the
F4D-1 Skyray, their first radar-equipped aircraft. The squadron was only once deployed for a short time during
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Operation Strikeback
Exercise Strikeback was a major naval exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that took place over a ten-day period in September 1957.
As part of a series of exercises to simulate an all-out Soviet attack on NATO, Exercise S ...
from 3 September to 22 October 1957, this time being assigned to
Carrier Air Group 7 aboard the . In April 1958, VF-101 was merged with the Fleet All Weather Training Unit Atlantic and began to train all weather fighter pilots on both the F4D-1 and the
F3H-2 Demon. In becoming part of the training structure, VF-101 became part of Readiness Attack Carrier Air Wing 4 and ceased to be a deployable unit.
1960s
In June 1960, VF-101 established “Detachment A” at NAS Oceana which operated the
F4H-1 Phantom II. By the end of 1962, the Skyray and the Demon had been phased out in favor of the F-4. Detachment A was disestablished and F-4 training moved to
NAS Key West, Florida. On 1 May 1966, a new detachment was formed at NAS Oceana primarily to train replacement pilots and
Radar Intercept Officers in the areas of
aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...
,
carrier qualification and conventional weapons. The Key West unit concentrated on
air-to-air combat, missile firing and radar intercept techniques. In August 1967, VF-101 received the F-4J.
1970s
VF-101’s administrative command, Readiness Attack Carrier Air Wing 4, was disestablished on 1 June 1970, with VF-101 shifting control of Command to Fleet Air Key West. This moved lasted only a year, and the squadron moved from NAS Key West to NAS Oceana under the command of Commander Fighter Wing One. A detachment remained at Key West until the 2000s. From 6 July to 16 December 1971, VF-101 Det.66 was assigned to
Carrier Air Wing 8
Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier
Mission
To conduct carrier air warfare operations and assist in the ...
aboard the for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea.
In January 1976, VF-101 began operating and instructing aircrews and maintainers in the F-14 Tomcat. In 1975 and 1976 the squadron was awarded the
CNO Aviation Safety Award The Chief of Naval Operations Aviation Safety Award, also known as the Safety "S", is awarded annually to U.S. Navy and United States Marine Corps aviation units operating under Navy chains of command.
Selection
One squadron from each type of ...
and in November 1976 the unit received its fourth Safety Citation due to 36 continuous months without accident. On 5 August 1977, the F-4 training department of VF-101 was split into a separate new squadron,
VF-171
Fighter Squadron 171 or VF-171 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established as Fighter Squadron 82 (VF-82) on 1 April 1944, it was redesignated VF-17A on 15 November 1946, redesignated as VF-171 on 11 August 1948 and dises ...
, which continued to train F-4 crews until disestablishment in 1984 after the last two Oceana F-4 squadrons (
VF-74 and
VF-103) began to transition to the Tomcat. VF-101 continued to train F-14 crews.
1980s
In 1986, VF-101 had completed 3 years of accident free operations earning them another Safety Citation, and in March 1988 they received a third CNO Safety Award. The same year, VF-101 began to receive the F-14A+ (later redesignated F-14B), which upgraded the F-14A's underpowered and troublesome engines with new engines that improved fuel economy and added 14,600 pounds-force (65,000
newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
s) of thrust over the F-14A. The new fuel economy gave the F-14B one third more time on-station and sixty percent more range.
1990s
Following a year of dedicated fleet efforts, led primarily by
VF-24
Fighter Squadron 24 (VF-24), called the ''Fighting Renegades'' was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy. Originally established as Fighter Squadron 211 in June 1955, it was redesignated VF-24 on 9 March 1959 and disestablished on 31 August ...
at NAS Miramar, California, the first-ever bomb-dropping mission conducted by fleet Tomcats occurred on August 8, 1990 (a joint VF-24/
VF-211 division of aircraft). Following that, on 12 September 1990, a VF-101 Tomcat dropped bombs from a "fleet aircraft" for the first time on the east coast. Previously, although initially designed as both a fully capable fighter ''and'' strike aircraft, the Tomcat had been assigned strictly to the air-to-air role. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, and continuing to build on the earlier groundwork at both
VX-4
VX-4, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Four, (''AIRTEVRON FOUR''), commonly referred to by its nickname, ''The Evaluators'', was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California. Their tail co ...
and the west coast squadrons, VF-101 continued to add to its air-ground weapons training, eventually encompassing a whole range of air-to-ground weapons, from
general-purpose bomb
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings.
Characteristics ...
s,
cluster bomb
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...
s,
laser-guided bomb
A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly p ...
s,
air-launched decoys, and
JDAM.
VF-101's West Coast counterpart, VF-124 at
NAS Miramar, was disestablished in 1994, making VF-101 the sole F-14 FRS. A VF-101 detachment was created at Miramar to continue F-14 crews and ground personnel training. When NAS Miramar became Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar in 1996, all F-14 squadrons were moved to NAS Oceana and the VF-101 detachment was disestablished.
Around this period the squadron also receive their first group of F-14D airplanes, which was the penultimate version of the Tomcat.
2000s
As F-14 squadrons began to transition to the
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, VF-101's mission diminished. During this time, several VF-101 aircraft featured the markings of disestablished F-14 squadrons—among them were
VF-1
Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1) was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy. Originally established on 14 October 1972 it was disestablished on 30 September 1993. It was the fifth US Navy squadron to be designated VF-1. Known as the "Wolfpack" the ...
,
VF-21
Fighter Squadron 21 (VF-21) ''Freelancers'' was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established in 1944 as VF-81 it was redesignated VF-13A in 1946, redesignated VF-131 in 1948, redesignated VF-64 in 1950 and redesignated VF- ...
, VF-24,
VF-33
Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established on 11 October 1948 it was disestablished on 1 October 1993. It was the second U.S. Navy squadron to be designated VF-33.
VF-33 History Korean War ...
,
VF-74,
VF-84,
VF-111 and
VF-142
VF-142 ''Ghostriders'' was a US Navy Fighter aircraft, fighter squadron (aviation), squadron established on 24 August 1948 as VF-193, it was redesignated VF-142 on 15 October 1963, and disestablished on 30 April 1995.
History Late 1940s to the 19 ...
. As the only F-14 FRS until its disestablishment in 2005, VF-101 at one point had as many as 130 F-14s of all three variants, as well as a small number of
T-34 Mentors for currency training and range safety.
VF-101 was deactivated on 30 September 2005, at a ceremony at NAS Oceana. Honored guests at the ceremony were the surviving members of the
Flatley family (three generations of which were VF-101 pilots), who were presented with the squadron flag.
Reactivation and redesignation to "VFA-101" as F-35C Fleet Replacement Squadron
On 1 May 2012, the squadron was reactivated at
Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...
, Florida and redesignated Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101),
The "Grim Reapers" are still an FRS; this time for the
F-35C Lightning II, the aircraft carrier-capable variant of the F-35 that will serve in the U.S. Navy and selected carrier-deployable squadrons of the
U.S. Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...
. The squadron administratively fell under
Commander, Naval Air Forces
Commander, Naval Air Forces ( COMNAVAIRFOR, and CNAF; and dual-hatted as Commander, Naval Air Force, Pacific, and COMNAVAIRPAC) is the aviation Type Commander (TYCOM) for all United States Navy naval aviation units. Type Commanders are in Admini ...
and
Commander Strike Fighter Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet. In November 2014, VFA-101 passed 1,000 mishap-free flight hours in the F-35C.
Deactivation
On 10 September 2018, the
Chief of Naval Operations
The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...
promulgated a notice of the "Deactivation of Strike Fighter Squadron One Zero One."
.
On 23 May 2019, VFA-101 completed deactivation, and was consolidated into the remaining F-35C FRS,
VFA-125, the "Rough Raiders". Its assets and support personnel were moved to
NAS Lemoore, home of VFA-125.
See also
*
Naval aviation
*
Carrier-based aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...
*
List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons
*
List of Inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons
There are hundreds of US Navy aircraft squadrons which are not currently active dating back to before World War II (the U.S. Navy operated aircraft prior to World War I, but it did not organize them in squadrons until after that war). To be mo ...
Notes
External links
VF-101 History
{{US Navy navbox
Strike fighter squadrons of the United States Navy