1950s in flight off Taiwan 1958
Fighter Squadron Two One Three (VF-213) was established on 22 June 1955 at
NAS Moffett Field,
California. The first cruise was aboard flying the
F2H Banshee. When they returned, they transitioned to the
F4D Skyray which they flew for two deployments on . They then transitioned to the
F3H Demon, which gave the squadron the capability to fire the newly deployed
AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile. VF-213 deployed next for a third cruise aboard USS
Lexington.
1960s on in 1968 In June 1961, VF-213 moved to
NAS Miramar, which became their home for the next 36 years. Three years later, in February 1964, VF-213 accepting the first of their new
F-4B Phantom IIs.
Vietnam War In November 1965, VFA-213 joined
Attack Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW-11) and made 9 deployments to Vietnam and the Western Pacific aboard as follows: • From 17 October 1963 to 20 July 1964, equipped with F-4Bs. • From 19 October 1965 to 13 June 1966. On 28 April F-4B #150645 was hit by antiaircraft fire over
North Vietnam, both crewmen ejected successfully and were rescued. On 18 May F-4B #152257 was hit by antiaircraft fire near the
Mu Gia Pass, both crewmen ejected successfully and were rescued. • From 18 November 1967 to 28 June 1968. • From 30 December 1968 to 4 September 1969. On 3 July F-4B #153015 was lost, both crewmen ejected successfully and were rescued. and 1981.
1980s In December 1981, VF-213 added a new mission as they began training with the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (
TARPS) and in September 1982, VF-213 deployed aboard . During
Indian Ocean operations, the squadron achieved a new milestone by flying the longest Tomcat flight from a carrier on a TARPS mission. In 1985, they were mobilized for the filming of
Top Gun on the for takeoffs & landings and
AIM-9 Sidewinder &
AIM-7 Sparrow firing scenes. On 24 January 1986 they were deployed with to the Western Pacific and the
Indian Ocean, where VF-213 often intercepted
Soviet and Indian aircraft. During this deployment, tensions between the U.S. and
Libya escalated, necessitating the decision to move USS
Enterprise through the
Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea. Upon arrival in the
Gulf of Sidra CVW-11 aircraft flew patrols for two months, although encounters with Libyan aircraft were rare. The ship transited the
Strait of Gibraltar and around the
Cape of Good Hope before continuing onto
Perth,
Australia and across the Pacific to their home port. 1988 saw VF-213 flying cover over
reflagged oil tankers in the
Persian Gulf and participating in
Operation Praying Mantis. In 1990 VF-213 and the rest of the air wing switched aircraft carriers to . The first cruise on USS
Abraham Lincoln was a six-week transit from
NAS Norfolk to
NAS Alameda, via
Cape Horn. The squadron won the "BOOLA BOOLA" award in March 1989 for their professional completion of all missile test firings. In late 1989, VF-213 and CVW-11 went around the world on USS
Enterprise for a WESTPAC deployment ending at NAS Norfolk for refurbishment. In December 1989, the squadron participated in
Operation Classic Resolve on the
Enterprise, providing support for the Philippine government during a coup attempt.
1990s carrying a
LANTIRN pod The squadron deployed to WestPac on USS
Abraham Lincoln in May 1991 in support of UN
sanctions against Iraq. VF-213 flew combat air patrol and TARPS missions, recording the devastation of Kuwait oil fields. In 1993, VF-213 became the sole F-14 squadron on
Abraham Lincoln. That same year, VF-213 flew in support of
Operation Restore Hope in
Somalia and
Operation Southern Watch over Iraq.
Kara Hultgreen, the first qualified female F-14 pilot in the US Navy, was assigned to VF-213, and on 25 October 1994, her F-14 crashed while on approach to USS
Abraham Lincoln. Both she and her
RIO ejected, but only the RIO survived. The 1995 WestPac cruise again saw the squadron flying over the skies of southern Iraq. In 1996, VF-213 moved to USS
Kitty Hawk for the 1996–1997 WESTPAC deployment. During this deployment VF-213 fired twenty six
AIM-54 Phoenix and six
AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, including one event where six planes launched twelve Phoenix missiles. These mass firings were conducted to reduce the numbers of older Phoenix missiles in inventory, as they were being removed from service. After the 1997 cruise, VF-213 moved from
NAS Miramar to
NAS Oceana and transitioned to the F-14D Super Tomcat, becoming the fourth F-14 squadron to receive the D model. In 1998 they moved to , and began work-ups for their next cruise. During the 1998-1999 deployment, VF-213 was the first squadron to fire an AIM-54C Phoenix with the aircrew on
night vision goggles. Two months into the deployment, VF-213 participated in
Operation Desert Fox, which was the Navy's largest combat evolution since the Gulf War. This successful deployment included the longest combat line period in over 25 years. F-14Ds from VF-213, as well as the rest of the embarked carrier air wing aboard USS
Carl Vinson, joined other US air assets in the final strikes of that operation. Highlights of the cruise included the execution of 19 strikes, dropping 20 laser-guided bombs, supporting 11 combined strikes, flying 70 missions, and logging 230 combat sorties, including 45 reconnaissance missions imaging more than 580 targets. On 5 January 1999, two F-14Ds on patrol over Iraq were directed to intercept two Iraqi
MiG-25s south of the "no fly zone". The Tomcats fired two AIM-54 missiles, the first ever Phoenix combat-launch by the US Navy. The Iraqi jets turned north and the missiles fell short of their targets. VF-213/CVW-11 returned home in the spring of 1999.
2000s After the
September 11 attacks, USS
Carl Vinson with CVW-11 was the second carrier battle group after Enterprise on station in the North Arabian Sea, preparing for attacks against
Afghanistan. On 7 October 2001 during a CVW-11 strike, VF-213 dropped the first bombs of
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) on an
SA-3 site near
Kabul International Airport. VF-213 also conducted reconnaissance, utilizing their TARPS pods, and also provided laser weapon guidance for
F/A-18 Hornets and GPS weapons coordinates for Hornets and USAF strike aircraft. During the ten weeks VF-213 were supporting OEF they flew over 500 combat sorties, over 2600 combat flight hours and expended 435,000 pounds of ordnance and provided reconnaissance with their TARPS pods. VF-213 was also the first F-14 unit to use its internal
20 mm cannon in combat during the
Battle of Mazar e Sharif VF-213 received the 2001 Commander Naval Air Pacific Fleet Battle "E", Chief of Naval Operations (CNO)
Safety "S",
Clifton Award and the Commander Fighter Wing Atlantic Golden Wrench for their performance in 2001. VFA-213 became the first squadron to receive Dual-Cockpit Cueing System for both pilot and
naval flight officer, retrofitted with an aft cockpit
Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), on 18 May 2007. over in 2008 On 13 May 2008 an F/A-18F from the squadron operating from USS
Theodore Roosevelt accidentally dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb outside of the
Pinecastle bombing range near the
Ocala National Forest. The bomb explosion started a wildfire which burned of vegetation. No one was injured in the blaze, but the emergency response cost $342,946. A Navy investigation determined that technical misunderstandings and crew fatigue contributed to the mishap. The two crew members of the jet were later returned to flying status after a board review. VFA-213, along with CVW-8 and USS
Theodore Roosevelt, participated in Joint Task Force Exercise 08-4 Operation Brimstone off the coast of
North Carolina between 21 and 31 July 2008. The British carrier , the amphibious assault ship with associated units, the
Brazilian Navy frigate
Greenhalgh, and the French submarine also participated in the event. On 8 September 2008, VFA-213 and the rest of CVW-8 deployed on board USS
Theodore Roosevelt on a regularly scheduled deployment. On 4 October the
Roosevelt Carrier Group arrived in
Cape Town,
South Africa, the first visit by a US aircraft carrier since 1967 and three days later the carrier left Cape Town. CVW-8 and CVN-71 supported Operation Enduring Freedom and flew more than 3,100 sorties and dropped more than 59,500 pounds of ordnance while providing close air support for
ISAF-forces in Afghanistan.
2010s On 11 May 2011, the squadrons of CVW-8 embarked on 's maiden deployment, scheduled to conduct operations in the US
5th and
6th Fleet areas of operations. On 27 January 2017, VFA-213 departed on a combat deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), embarked on board USS
George H. W. Bush. From 10 February 2017 to 9 March 2017, the command conducted OIR combat operations from the Mediterranean Sea. VFA-213 resumed combat operations on 23 March 2017 from the Persian Gulf until 22 May 2017. In January 2018, VFA-213 participated in the initial flight deck certification for the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier, . On 14 March 2018, a Super Hornet from VFA-213 crashed near Key West killing the pilot and naval flight officer. During April and May 2018, the squadrons of CVW-8 conducted joint operations with French Naval Forces out of NAS Oceana. Following those operations, the air wing and French aircraft embarked on USS
George H. W. Bush, conducting strike missions. In September 2018, VFA-213 attended the Naval Weapons Systems Evaluation Program (NWSEP) out of
Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, with a five aircraft detachment. During the detachment, VFA-213 employed 19 air-to-air missiles, including nine AIM-7 Sparrows, seven AIM-9M Sidewinders, one AIM-9X Sidewinder, and two AIM-9X Block II Sidewinders. Subsequently, the command earned the 2018 Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic Grand Slam award for demonstrating the highest capability to maintain and utilize air-to-air missile weapons systems.
2020s In November 2025, VFA-213 within CVW-8 onboard the USS Gerald R Ford were re-tasked from their scheduled deployment in the Mediterranean and sent to the Caribbean to support Operation Southern Spear. After completing their support of Southern Spear in early February 2026, VFA-31 and CVW-8 were again deployed across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean to support potential combat operations against Iran. In late Feb 2026, VFA-213 and their F/A-18Fs undertook combat sorties within Operation Epic Fury against Iran. Combat sorties off the Ford began from the Eastern Mediterranean and moved to the Red Sea after close to a week of combat. ==In popular culture==