Two distinct squadrons have been designated VF-102. The
first VF-102 was established on 1 May 1952 and redesignated VA-36 on 1 July 1955. The second VF-102 was established in 1955, was eventually redesignated as VFA-102, and is the subject of the remainder of this article.
1950s in 1956 Fighter Squadron 102 (VF-102), was established as VA-36 on 1 July 1955, and was immediately redesignated VF-102 on the same day (at the time, squadron designations were associated with their assigned airwing). The squadron was based at
NAS Jacksonville flying the
F2H Banshee. The squadron's inaugural cruise took place aboard in July 1956. After returning from deployment, the squadron transitioned to the
F4D Skyray. In addition to four 20 mm internal cannons, the Skyray carried the new
AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.
1960s in 1960 The final cruise with the Skyray on
Forrestal was January through August 1961 after the squadron had moved to
NAS Oceana,
Virginia. It subsequently transitioned to the
F-4 Phantom beginning a 20-year association with the Phantom. In 1964 and 1966 VF-102 won the COMNAVAIRLANT Battle "E" efficiency awards. Highlights during this period included participation in
Operation Sea Orbit on board , and combat operations off
Vietnam in 1968.
1970s Tupolev TU-16 Badger over the
Mediterranean Sea on 12 January 1971. circa 1977 In 1975 and 1978, VF-102 conducted cross-deck operations aboard
HMS Ark Royal. In 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975: the squadron conducted four deployments to the Mediterranean Sea aboard USS
Independence as part of Carrier Air Wing Seven, including a port call in Athens, Greece, when they had a political coup; air cover operations during the
Yom Kippur War; and recovery of aircraft debris and bodies from
TWA Flight 841 that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea after a terrorist bomb exploded in the hold.
1980s attempting to shadow NATO maneuvers in 1985 In June 1981 the squadron flew their last Phantom during an
Indian Ocean cruise aboard . During the summer of 1981, the squadron transitioned to the
F-14A Tomcat. With the new aircraft, the squadron also received a new mission in addition to their traditional fighter role—photo reconnaissance using the
TARPS pod. The squadron deployed aboard in late 1982 to participate in the
NATO Exercise Northern Wedding that required high temperature operations in the heavy seas north of the British Isles, garnering considerable attention from Soviet
Tu-95D Bear reconnaissance aircraft. The first Tomcat deployment with
Carrier Air Wing One began in 1983 and took USS
America through the
Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean. Two VF-102 Tomcats, flying a routine
TARPS mission over
Somalia were fired upon by an
SA-2 SAM site and
AAA in April 1983. Both aircraft returned without damage. VF-102 deployed in 1984 with the first
KA-93 LOROP camera and
ARC-182 Have Quick radios, conducting
Operational Evaluation for both systems at sea. In 1985, USS
America participated in the NATO exercise Ocean Safari and again conducted operations in the challenging seas and low visibility conditions near the
Arctic Circle and inside Vestfjord, Norway. While operating northwest of Ireland, a VF-102 TARPS aircrew flew an unprecedented 1200 nm TARPS mission to locate a Soviet
Kynda Class Cruiser transiting the English Channel. In March 1986, the squadron deployed on board USS
America, headed for the
Gulf of Sidra joining and to challenge the Libyan proclaimed
Line of Death. A VF-102 Tomcat was first to be fired on by a Libyan
SA-5 and
AAA while flying Combat Air Patrol for
Operation Attain Document. A month later VF-102 flew cover for US Navy and US Air Force bombers in
Operation El Dorado Canyon.
1990s In late 1990, USS
America joined and
Saratoga in the
Red Sea as part of
Operation Desert Shield, arriving the day operations were to begin. USS
America remained part of the
Red Sea Battle Force until directed to join , and in the
Persian Gulf. In the six-week campaign, VF-102 logged more than 1400 combat flight hours. carrying
TARPS loadout including ECA and ALQ-167 The squadron embarked on USS
America again in December 1991 for a six-month deployment to the
Mediterranean and
Persian Gulf. In early August 1993, the squadron embarked on USS
America to begin their third Mediterranean deployment in three years. During this deployment the squadron conducted humanitarian operations off the coast of
Bosnia-Herzegovina supporting
Operation Provide Promise and
Operation Deny Flight. In late October the squadron supported
Operation Restore Hope off the coast of
Mogadishu, Somalia. By mid-December they were supporting
Operation Southern Watch in
Iraq. In June 1994, the squadron returned to NAS Oceana and transitioned to the
F-14B aircraft. The squadron's 1995–1996 Mediterranean cruise began with an emergency sortie to the
Adriatic Sea to take part in
Operation Deliberate Force. They then proceeded to the Persian Gulf in support of
Operation Southern Watch. Placement of U.S. ground forces in Bosnia, led to another
America emergency sortie back to the Adriatic in December. The squadron remained in the Adriatic for the remainder of the cruise, logging more than 4,000 hours and over 1,900 traps during the deployment. With the disestablishment
VF-33, VF-102 became
Americas sole F-14 unit, completing its final deployment on 24 February 1996. Upon
Americas
decommissioning in 1996, VF-102 (and the rest of CVW-1) was assigned to . In 1997, the squadron deployed aboard
George Washington. A port visit to
Haifa,
Israel was cut short late in November as the carrier battle group was ordered to the Persian Gulf in response to
Saddam Hussein's barring
UN weapon inspectors from carrying out their assigned tasks. As the crisis grew
George Washington joined and . VF-102 returned to Norfolk on 13 March 1998. In Autumn 1999, VF-102 deployed again to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch over southern Iraq. VF-102 carried out strikes on numerous anti-aircraft and radar sites and conducted numerous TARPS missions.
2000s On 19 September 2001 in the wake of the
September 11 attacks, VF-102 began a scheduled deployment to the
Arabian Sea as a part of
Operation Enduring Freedom and began combat operations. During that deployment VF-102 flew 5,000 combat hours and dropped 680 bombs as well as guiding more than 50,000 pounds of precision guided munitions launched by other aircraft, VF-102 dropped more ordnance and flew more combat hours than any other F-14 unit during the war in 2001 and 2002. In addition, as part of the USS
Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group they were at sea for 159 consecutive days, breaking a 20-year-old record. in 2013 Following the return from deployment, the squadron moved to
NAS Lemoore, California to begin transition training in the
F/A-18F. Upon completion, the squadron again changed homeport to
Naval Air Facility Atsugi,
Japan. VFA-102 deployed to the
Pacific Ocean aboard in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, taking part in several military exercises, including Orange Crush, Talisman Saber, Jasex, and Valiant Shield. In March 2008, VFA-102 was named the Pacific Fleet Battle "E" award winner for the calendar year of 2007, recognizing their readiness to perform wartime tasks amongst all F/A-18E/F squadrons in the Pacific Fleet. In March 2010, the squadron was again awarded the Pacific Fleet Battle "E". In the spring of 2008, VFA-102 embarked on USS
Kitty Hawk for her final deployment. Following a crossdeck in San Diego, the air wing is currently assigned to . In 2010, the squadron transitioned to Block II Super Hornets equipped with the
AN/APG-79 AESA radar. In 2021, VFA-102 flew combat missions into Afghanistan as part of the US's Afghanistan retrograde. In March of 2025, VFA-102's F/A-18F Block II's were replaced with modernized F/A-18F Block III's. ==References==