Since its inception, the squadron has flown 23 different type aircraft, had its designation changed 14 times, operated from 20 different aircraft carriers and several battleships, and had 92 commanding officers (the 93rd is now in command). Over the years, the squadron has been assigned many different missions, including patrol and observation in its early years, and scouting, attack, fighter, bombing, and forward air control missions when it became associated with carrier-based operations. The squadron adopted the classic Top Hat as its squadron patch and called themselves the "High Hats." The squadron's callsign
"Camelot" came about because an old
skipper liked
King Arthur so his wife suggested that the squadron take the callsign of the King's legendary castle,
Camelot.
Early years The squadron began carrier operations on board the Navy's first aircraft carrier in 1926. The squadron, then designated Fighter Plane Squadron One, set the record for carrier landings in a single day. Flying the
TS-1, they logged 127 traps by the end of flight operations. In 1929, the squadron was assigned to , where it began as a fighter squadron and transitioned to a bomber squadron. Throughout the 1930s, it flew the
Boeing FB-5,
Boeing F2B,
Boeing F4B,
Curtiss F11C Goshawk,
Curtiss SBC Helldiver and the
SB2U-1 Vindicator. In 1939, while flying the Vindicator, the squadron was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet and .
1940s in 1947 While on
Ranger, the squadron provided air support for the
Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942. During the four days of 8 – 11 November, the pilots destroyed 16 enemy aircraft. Flying the
Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber, the squadron participated in
Operation Leader, the only American naval air strike against German forces in
Norway. In November 1944, the squadron transferred to the Pacific Fleet, and participated in the
Leyte Campaign while attached to . After transferring to , the squadron bombed fortifications on
Formosa in January 1945, supported the
assault on Iwo Jima in February, participated in the first naval carrier strike on Tokyo, and completed Pacific combat operations with
strikes on Okinawa in early March 1945. After the war's end, VB-4 made four cruises aboard , including a world cruise between 28 September 1948 and 21 February 1949, after which the squadron was based on the US East Coast. On 15 November 1946 VB-4 became Attack Squadron 1A (VA-1A), and in August 1948 the squadron was again redesignated Attack Squadron 14 (VA-14) and transitioned from the
SB2C-5 Helldiver to the
F4U-4 Corsair. In December 1949 VA-14 was redesignated Fighter Squadron 14 (VF-14).
1950s on the , in 1962–63 In 1951 and 1952, VF-14 made two deployments to the Mediterranean Sea aboard the modernized , still flying the F4U Corsair. In 1953, they deployed in on another Med cruise with Air Task Group (ATG-201), (which included VF-11, VA-12, VF-13, AND VA-15). In 1954, VF-14 took on the role of all-weather interceptor when they transitioned to the
F3D-2 Skyknight, but only made a three-months deployment aboard in late 1954. As the F3D proved unsuitable for carrier operations, the squadron transitioned to the
F3H-2N Demon in 1955. VF-14 made two deployments aboard in 1957. The squadron was then re-equipped with F3H-2s. VF-14 and its parent
CVG-1 were then reassigned to
Franklin D. Roosevelt and made eight deployments to the Mediterranean Sea up to 1969.
1960s landing on in 1968 In May 1963, the squadron transitioned to the
F-4B Phantom II and on 23 January 1964 they became the first Phantom squadron to operate onboard
Franklin D. Roosevelt. In June 1966, after moving to
NAS Oceana, the squadron deployed to the
South China Sea to conduct air strikes and support missions against military targets in
North Vietnam. During this combat deployment, the squadron flew 1,688 hours on 967 combat sorties and delivered 651,624 pounds of ordnance, in addition to flying its traditional combat air patrol and fighter escort missions. When
Franklin D. Roosevelt entered the
Norfolk Naval Shipyard for modernization, CVW-1 and VF-14 were reassigned to in 1969 and stayed with it for nine deployments until 1982.
1970s in 1975 In January 1974, after four
Mediterranean deployments, the squadron transitioned to the Navy's newest fighter, the
F-14A Tomcat at
NAS Miramar and was teamed with
VF-32 as the first two Tomcat squadrons to arrive at NAS Oceana. In June 1975 they became the first Atlantic squadron to deploy with the F-14A alongside VF-32 aboard USS
John F. Kennedy. In October 1978, the squadron set an all-time F-14 flight hour record when they flew 977 hours in one month while deployed in the Mediterranean. In 1976, VF-14 launched the 100th
AIM-54 Phoenix missile against a simulated cruise missile at a range of , killing it at a range of from
John F. Kennedy. During the same cruise, VF-14 intercepted a Soviet
Tu-95 on 21 July. VF-14 escorted the bomber for around 45 minutes, during which the Soviet bomber made two passes over
John F. Kennedy.
1980s In August 1980, the squadron deployed to the
Mediterranean Sea on
John F Kennedy. During this deployment, VF-14 won the Silver Anchor Award and the Battle "E" Award for combat readiness, for the second year in a row. The achievements that contributed to the awards included 3 missile firing exercises with a 100% kill ratio, first East Coast TCS installations and 26,500 accident free flying hours over the space of 8 years. In June 1982 VF-14 was reassigned to
Carrier Air Wing 6 aboard , and in July was named the "Best Fighter Squadron" for its performance in the Fleet Fighter Air Combat Readiness Program (FFARP). In October and early November 1983 the squadron supported Operation Urgent Fury the American-led
Invasion of Grenada to protect approximately 1,000 American medical students following a violent Marxist coup, eliminate a growing Cuban/Soviet military presence in the Caribbean, and restore political stability after the assassination of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. Following this, VF-14 proceeded east to the Mediterranean to participate in contingency operations off the coast of
Lebanon. In early December 1983, the Tophatters were again called upon to provide combat air support for the elements of the
multi-national forces in Beirut. On 1 April 1985, the squadron returned to
John F. Kennedy, where they spent the rest of the year on a turnaround-training schedule, which included eleven detachments to various parts of the United States and Canada. Although again aboard
John F. Kennedy, VF-14 was now assigned to
Carrier Air Wing 3. On 18 April 1986, the squadron departed for the Mediterranean once again and were extended on deployment due to the
Lebanon hostage crisis. Upon their return to the United States, the squadron was again proclaimed the "Best Fighter Squadron" by winning the 1987 FFARP award. In 1989, VF-14 was presented with the "Grand Slam" award in recognition of their perfect missile firing record. The squadron entered 1990 conducting workups for deployment and making portcalls in Portland, Mayport, New York City and Boston. During exercises off Puerto Rico, the squadron operated against French
Super Étendard and
F-8 Crusaders from the .
1990s On 10 August 1990, eight days after the
Iraqi
Invasion of Kuwait, the squadron was ordered to emergency deploy to the
Red Sea aboard
John F. Kennedy to take part in
Operation Desert Shield. During the months leading up to the war, the squadron assisted in enforcing the Iraqi embargo flying combat air patrol (CAP) and standing alert duty continuously. On the morning of 17 January 1991, the squadron once again flew into combat when they joined United Nations forces in the air assault on Iraq. VF-14 and VF-32 flew CAP and fighter escort missions for CVW-3 strike and support aircraft throughout Desert Storm operating in Western and Central Iraq initially and then conducting long range barrier CAP missions in eastern Iraq near the Iranian border with other Tomcat squadrons from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf that lasted an unprecedented 7–8 hours. After combat operations ended,
John F. Kennedy remained briefly in the Red Sea stopping off the coast of Egypt for a portcall before returning to NAS Oceana after eight months at sea. In December 1991, VF-14 became one of the first squadrons to begin training for the Tomcat's new air-to-ground mission. After low altitude flight training and several strike-related schools, the squadron put their new skills to the test during Air Wing work-ups in
Fallon, Nevada. In October 1992, the squadron again headed east for a Mediterranean deployment. Once past the
Rock of Gibraltar, VF-14 began flying air superiority and reconnaissance missions in the
Adriatic Sea in support of UN policies in the former
Yugoslavia. During this deployment, the squadron also participated in several exercises with
Egypt, Morocco and
Turkey, while continuing to support operations off the coast of the former
Yugoslavia and
Operation Provide Comfort in Iraq. In 1995, the squadron was the test bed for the Tomcat air-to-ground rockets program. The squadron was awarded the Fighter Fling Banner Blaster award for their superior performance in the air-to-air gunnery arena. In late 1995, the squadron was detached from CVW-3 when the Navy began reducing the number of Tomcat squadrons to carrier air wings from two to one and retaining the
TARPS-capable squadrons. As a non-TARPS squadron, VF-14 was originally slated for disestablishment and temporarily assigned to Fighter Wing One at NAS Oceana. The following year saw much uncertainty for many Tomcat squadrons, but a grassroots campaign to continue the lineage of the Navy's oldest squadron was successful in saving the squadron from extinction and the squadron was assigned to
Carrier Air Wing 8, which was losing
VF-84, with sister squadron
VF-41. In January 1996, the squadron once again rejoined
John F. Kennedy. In March, the squadron deployed on . In June the squadron took a 40-day cruise aboard
John F. Kennedy to Ireland and England. Next, VF-14 visited the Mediterranean and other areas. During March 1998, VF-14 changed its home to . In 1999, the squadron participated in
NATO's
Operation Allied Force and in
Operation Southern Watch. VF-14 dropped more than 395,000 pounds of ordnance on various targets in support of Operation Allied Force, and guided 190 different weapons fired from other aircraft onto targets, including laser guided bombs and laser guided AGM-65 Maverick missiles, scoring a 100% success rate while guiding AGM-65 Maverick missiles
2000s aboard In April 2001, VF-14 embarked on their final F-14 cruise on board , supporting Operation Southern Watch and
Operation Enduring Freedom. As the carrier headed for home and on its way to South Africa they were given order to head to the North Persian Gulf after the
September 11 attacks. USS
Enterprise/CVW-8 had been elected to be the night carrier during
Operation Enduring Freedom and thus did not see action until 8 October, VF-14 attacked a radar warning installation near
Kabul during CVW-8's initial strike, which had been envisioned to have a section of
F/A-18s, a section of F-14s from VF-14 and an
EA-6B from
VAQ-141, but due to insufficient fuel available for the Hornets, only the F-14s and the EA-6B pressed on. After their return to the US in November, VF-14 had dropped 173,324 lbs of ordnance (174 laser-guided bombs), VF-14 also buddy-lased 28
AGM-65s and 23 laser-guided bombs. During 2009 CVW-11 and the
Nimitz Strike Group conducted several training exercises off the coast of Southern California including composite unit training and joint task force training in anticipation for their 2009–2010 deployment. On 28 July it was reported that CVW-11 and the
Nimitz Strike Group was to depart for a seven-month deployment.
2010s in 2022 VFA-14 and VFA-41 changed air wings and carriers to CVW-9 and and on 27 July 2011 CVW-9 deployed on board USS
John C. Stennis to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, counter-piracy and maritime security operations. VFA-14 conducted combat flights in support of Operations
Inherent Resolve,
Resolute Support and
Freedom Sentinel over Afghanistan, Iraq, and
Syria. The squadron returned to NAS Lemoore, North Island, Point Mugu, and Whidbey Island in May 2019.
2020s VFA-14 participated in dual carrier operations in the South China Sea with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike, as well as joint exercise Valiant Shield in June 2022, and bilateral exercises Noble Fusion in February and Jungle Warfare in March, both with the Japanese Self-Defense Force, and, most recently, VFA-14 trained alongside 26 participating nations during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022 in July. In early August 2024, the squadron was deployed on the USS Abraham Lincoln in response to heightened tensions between Iran and Israel. While in the CENTCOM theater, VFA-14 conducted extensive combat operations. In late Feb 2026, as part of CVW 9, VFA-14 and their F/A-18Es operating off the USS Abraham Lincoln, undertook combat sorties within Operation Epic Fury against Iran. ==Notable members==