Strike Fighter Squadron 81 (VFA-81), also known as the "Sunliners", is 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 ...

F/A-18E Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more ad ...

strike fighter squadron stationed at

Naval Air Station Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mil ...

. They are a part of

Carrier Air Wing One Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, with most of its various squadrons also home based at NAS Oceana. Additional squadrons are based at Naval Station Norfolk ...

, their radio callsign is ''Inferno'', and their tail code is ''AB''. Their mission is to conduct prompt and sustained combat operations from the sea. The squadron was originally designated VA-66 on 1 July 1955, was redesignated VF-81 the same day, redesignated VA-81 on 1 July 1959, and finally redesignated VFA-81 on 4 February 1988.

Insignia and nickname

The squadron was originally called ''Crusaders'' and their first insignia was approved by

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 ...

on December 16, 1955. The original insignia was a black cougar on a light blue background. On 21 November 1963, the squadron was renamed the ''Sunliners'' and a new insignia was approved consisting of a black background with the international orange "Sun Dial" design. They also adopted the motto "Anytime, Anyplace" at this time. When the squadron was redesignated VFA, a modification to the current design was made on March 30, 1988.

History

1950s

The squadron was originally established as Attack Squadron 66 (VA-66) on 1 July 1955. On the same day, they were redesignated Fighter Squadron 81 (VF-81), an all weather fighter interceptor squadron flying the F9F-8B Cougar. Their first deployment was with CVG-17 in late 1956 aboard in response to the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

. In 1958 VF-81 made a deployment as part of Air Task Group 181 (ATG-181) aboard to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. In the next year VF-81 went to sea with ATG-182 to the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

aboard . On 4 March 1959 VF-81 was reequipped with the A4D-2 Skyhawk and redesignated attack squadron VA-81 on 1 July 1959.

1960s

VA-81 was assigned to CVG-8 and made five deployments to the Mediterranean Sea aboard between 1960 and 1966. From October 1961 to February 1962, a detachment of VA-81 Skyhawks deployed to the North Atlantic embarked on . The detachment was provided air cover for

antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typic ...

units embarked on USS ''Essex'' with their

AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prov ...

missiles. The detachment was the first jet unit to function as part of an antisubmarine killer force. In April 1963 the squadron transitioned from the A-4B (A4D-2) to the A-4C Skyhawk. In 1966 and 1967, VA-81 was deployed with CVG-8 to the Mediterranean, this time aboard . For the 1967/68 deployment aboard the same carrier, the squadron flew the A-4C. In 1969 VA-81 A-4Cs made a single deployment to the Mediterranean aboard as part of CVW-1, operating for a time off the coast of

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

following the

1969 Libyan coup d'état The 1969 Libyan coup d'état, also known as the al-Fateh Revolution or the 1 September Revolution, was carried out by the Free Unionist Officers Movement, a group of military officers led by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, which led to the overthrow of K ...

1970s

In February 1970, the squadron won the Navy Battle "E" for East Coast A-4 squadrons. In May 1970, VA-81 transitioned to the

A-7E Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

and was reassigned to

CVW-17 Carrier Air Wing Seventeen (CVW-17), is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier . Mission To conduct carrier air warfare operations and assi ...

. Between 1971 and 1982 VA-81 made eight deployments to the 6th Fleet aboard USS ''Forrestal''. In December 1972, the squadron's A-7Es conducted cross-deck operations with the British carrier . From July to August 1974, VA-81 operated from USS ''Forrestal'' in the vicinity of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

following the coup and subsequent Turkish invasion. Surveillance and cover missions were flown by the squadron during the crisis.

1980s

VA-81 embarked on USS ''Forrestal'' from May to June 1981, operating in the eastern Mediterranean following Israeli reprisal raids against Syrian missile batteries located in southern Lebanon. In August 1981, the squadron participated a

Freedom of Navigation Freedom of navigation (FON) is a principle of law of the sea that ships flying the flag of any sovereign state shall not suffer interference from other states, apart from the exceptions provided for in international law. In the realm of internat ...

Exercise in the

Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra ( ar, خليج السدرة, Khalij as-Sidra, also known as the Gulf of Sirte ( ar, خليج سرت, Khalij Surt, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or ...

. During this exercise on August 18, two F-14A Tomcats from shot down two Libyan SU-22 Fitters. Tensions escalated, and VA-81 flew reconnaissance missions over potentially hostile Libyan ships. Between 1984 and 1987 VA-81 made three deployments with ''Saratoga''. On March 23, 1986, while operating off coast of

, aircraft from ''Saratoga'', and crossed what Libyan leader

Muammar al-Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

had called the "Line of Death" and this escalated into the

Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) In the Action in the Gulf of Sidra, codenamed Operation Prairie Fire, the United States Navy deployed aircraft carrier groups in the disputed Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea. Libya had claimed that the entire Gulf was their territory, a ...

. The next day, three U.S. Navy warships crossed the same 32° 30' North latitude line. Two hours later, Libyan forces fired SA-5 ''Gammon'' surface-to-air missiles from the coastal town of

Sirte Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar G ...

. The missiles missed their F-14 targets and fell harmlessly into the water. Later that afternoon, U.S. aircraft turned back two Libyan

MiG-25 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-25; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by th ...

fighter planes over the disputed

. In response an

A-6E Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 r ...

attacked a Libyan missile patrol boat operating on the "Line of Death." Later that night, VA-81 aircraft acted as the decoy group for VA-83's

HARM Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability *mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg gives an account of harm as setbacks to intere ...

strike against the Libyan missile radar site at Sirte. At the conclusion, three Libyan patrol boats and a radar site were destroyed by Navy aircraft. On February 4, 1988, VA-81 transitioned to the

F/A-18C Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now p ...

and was redesignated Strike Fighter Squadron 81 (VFA-81).

1990s

The squadron made three deployments aboard USS ''Saratoga'' between 1990 and 1994. On its first cruise operating the F/A-18, VFA-81 participated in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. On January 17, 1991, the first night of the war, LCDR Scott Speicher was shot down and killed while flying an F/A-18C, by a Mig-25PDS piloted by Lt. Zuhair Dawood, 84th Fighter Squadron of the

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...

, while flying a mission west of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. On the same day, the squadron scored the Navy's only two aerial victories over enemy fighters during the campaign by downing two Iraqi MiG-21s. VFA-81 returned to its homeport of

NAS Cecil Field Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area. NA ...

, Florida on 27 March 1991, following the swift coalition victory. The squadron also participated in the last Mediterranean deployment of USS ''Saratoga'', which was decommissioned in August 1994. In 1996 VFA-81 made a cruise with CVW-17 aboard , followed by a deployment aboard in 1998. Following this cruise, the squadron shifted its homeport to

NAS Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mill ...

, Virginia due to the BRAC-mandated closure of

in 1999.

2000s

In 2000, 2001 and 2002 VFA-81 made three deployments aboard to the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. In 2004 VFA-81 made a single deployment aboard USS ''John F. Kennedy''. In 2007 VFA-81 was reassigned to

CVW-11 Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier .Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

. Its last deployment ended on June 3, 2008, and the squadron began transition training from the F/A-18C Hornet to the F/A-18E Super Hornet. In 2011, the squadron was embarked with

for a Western Pacific and Persian Gulf deployment aboard . In 2012, the squadron completed a surge deployment with Carrier Air Wing 17 aboard USS ''Carl Vinson''. In 2014, the squadron was embarked with CVW-17 aboard USS ''Carl Vinson'' in support of

Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military's operational name for the International military intervention against IS, including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely-related campaign in Libya. Throu ...

and returned to NAS Oceana in 2015. In spring 2018, the squadron was embarked with CVW-1 aboard USS ''Harry S. Truman'' in support of

and returned to NAS Oceana in late summer 2018.

References

External links

VFA-81's Official Webpage