Fighter Squadron Composite (VFC-13) ''Fighting Saints'' is a

US 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 ...

fighter squadron that provides adversary training for U.S. Navy air wings at

NAS Fallon Naval Air Station Fallon or NAS Fallon is the United States Navy's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility. It is located southeast of the city of Fallon, east of Reno in western Nevada. Since 1996, it has been home to the U.S. Na ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. VFC-13 uses "Bogey" as its main radio callsign.

Mission

VFC-13 provides adversary training for Navy and Marine Corps Active and Reserve fleet and replacement squadrons, carrier air wings and Marine aircraft groups,

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

units, to include

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

and

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

, and Canadian Forces. The squadron has received two consecutive CNO Safety Awards, the Golden Wrench Maintenance Award, and in 1994 and 2011, the Battle "E" award.

History

1970s

The squadron was established as Fleet Composite Squadron Thirteen (VC-13) on 1 September 1973 at

NAS New Orleans Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans is a base of the United States military located in Belle Chasse, unincorporated Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. NAS JRB New Orleans is home to a Navy Reserve strike fighter squadron ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

when the

reorganized the

US Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

and the Naval Air Reserve Force (NAVAIRESFOR). The squadron first flew the

F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the Frenc ...

, and had 17 officers and 127 enlisted men within its ranks, most were former members of VSF-76 and VSF-86. In April 1974, they made the transition to the

A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...

. The demand for West Coast adversary squadrons and other fleet support missions resulted in the squadron relocating to

NAS Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the avi ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in February 1976. In mid-1976, VC-13 added the two seat TA-4J to the single seat A-4L in their aircraft complement.

1980s

In 1983, the squadron returned to single-seat aircraft and transitioned to the A-4E. On 22 April 1988, the squadron was re-designated Fighter Composite Squadron Thirteen (VFC-13).

1990s

In 1993, the squadron transitioned to the

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twinjet, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, ...

, which further enhanced the squadron's ability to perform its adversary mission by providing an even more capable and realistic threat aircraft. VFC-13 transferred to NAS Fallon in April 1996 and also made the transition to F-5E Tiger IIs.

2010s

In 2011, the squadron received their second Battle "E" Efficiency Award.

2020s

In April 2022, plans to replace VFC-13's F-5s with Block 32

F-16 Fighting Falcons The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

which are being retired from USAF service became public. The squadron's F-5s will be transferred to

VFA-204 Fighter Squadron Composite 204 (VFC-204), also known as the "River Rattlers", is a United States Navy Reserve adversary squadron, slated to fly the F-5N/F Tiger II after having previously flown the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The squadron is based out of ...

, a US Navy adversary squadron currently operating F/A-18 Hornets. VFA-204, based at

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans is a base of the United States military located in Belle Chasse, unincorporated Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. NAS JRB New Orleans is home to a Navy Reserve strike fighter squadron ...

, is scheduled to retire its aging fleet of Hornets and will be redesignated VFC-204 by October 2022.

References

External links

Naval Air Station Fallon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vfc-13 Fleet fighter composite squadrons of the United States Navy