Fighter Squadron 194 (VF-194) was an aviation unit of the
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 of ...
. It was originally established as VF-91 on 26 March 1952, redesignated VF-194 on 1 August 1963 and disestablished on 1 March 1978. It was the third US Navy squadron to be designated VF-194.
Squadron lineage
The US Navy does not recognize the tradition of squadrons once they have been disestablished. Therefore, even if there is a squadron with the same designation and nickname, it is officially a totally new squadron. Four different squadrons have been designated VF-194 since 1948,
VF-194 ''Main Battery'' (1950–1955),
VF-194 ''Yellow Devils'' (1955–1958), VF-194 ''Red Lightnings'' (1952–1978) and
VF-194 ''Red Lightnings'' (1986–8), this page is focussed on the third VF-194.
Operational history
VF-91 was established on 26 March 1952 and equipped with the
Grumman F9F-2 Panther
The Grumman F9F Panther is one of the United States Navy's first successful carrier-based jet fighters, as well as Grumman’s first jet fighter. A single-engined, straight-winged day fighter, it was armed with four cannons and could carry a w ...
. The squadron was assigned to
Carrier Air Group 9 (CVG-9) and made its first deployment on from December 1952 to August 1953 to
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic of ...
and the Western Pacific.
In 1954 the squadron exchanged their Panthers for the swept wing
Grumman F9F-6 Cougar. Between 11 May 1954 and 12 December 1954 VF-91 circumnavigated the world aboard . From February to June 1956 VF-91 made its next deployment on as part of CVG-5, this time equipped with the F9F-8 Cougar.
The F9F-8s were replaced by the
North American FJ-3 Fury
The North American FJ-2 and FJ-3 Fury are a series of swept-wing carrier-capable fighters for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The FJ-2 resulted from an effort to navalize the North American F-86 Sabre operated by the United States Ai ...
in 1957 and the squadron made a Western Pacific cruise aboard between September 1957 and April 1958.
In 1959 VF-91 transitioned to the
Vought F-8C Crusader and made three deployments aboard between 1960 and 1963.
On 1 August 1963 VF-91 was redesignated VF-194 and reassigned to
Carrier Air Wing Nineteen. Between 1964 and 1973 VF-194 made eight deployments to the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...
, two aboard (1964, 1965/66), two aboard (1966/67, 1967/68) and the last four aboard . During these deployments the squadron flew the F-8E from 1965 to 1968 and then the F-8J. After the end of the US involvement in Vietnam in 1973, VF-194 made another two cruises to the Western Pacific aboard ''Oriskany''. VF-194 and its sister squadron
VF-191
Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. It was established in 1943 and disestablished in 1978. The squadron was nicknamed ''Satan's Kittens''. A second VF-191, bearing the same designation and nickname was est ...
were the last US Navy fighter squadrons equipped with the F-8 Crusader.
When USS ''Oriskany'' was retired as the last active , VF-194 received the
McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom in 1976. Together with VF-191 the squadron was reassigned to
Carrier Air Wing Fifteen
Carrier Air Wing Fifteen (CVW-15) is a former United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing that was decommissioned on March 31, 1995. It was previously known as Carrier Air Group Fifteen (CVG-15) before 1963 before being renamed in December of th ...
. However, after only one deployment aboard the squadron was disestablished on 1 March 1978.
Gallery
File:FJ-3 VF-91 CVA-14 1957.jpeg, An FJ-3 of VF-91 in 1957
File:F-8C Crusader VF-91 in flight c9162.jpg, An F-8C of VF-91 from USS ''Ranger'' in 1962
File:VF-194 F-8s.jpg, F-8Js of VF-194 in 1971
File:F-4J VF-194 CV-43 1977.jpg, An F-4J of VF-194 on USS ''Coral Sea'' in 1977
File:F-4J VF-194 Tu-95 1977.jpg, F-4Js intercepting a Soviet Tu-95 in 1977
See also
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History of the United States Navy
The history of the United States Navy divides into two major periods: the "Old Navy", a small but respected force of sailing ships that was notable for innovation in the use of ironclads during the American Civil War, and the "New Navy" the ...
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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 ...
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List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons
This is a list of active United States Navy aircraft squadrons. ''Deactivated'' or ''disestablished'' squadrons are listed in the List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons.
Navy aircraft squadrons are composed of several aircraft (fr ...
References
military.com: ''VF-194 : Fighter Squadron 194''
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Strike fighter squadrons of the United States Navy