Two US Navy squadrons have held the designation VF-31. The first to be designated VF-31 was in existence from May 1943 to Oct 1945 and is
not related to the subject of this article. The second VF-31 has a direct lineage to the current VFA-31 " Tomcatters".
Early years VFA-31, was originally established as VF-1B on 1 July 1935, flying the
F4B, making it the second-oldest active US Navy squadron behind
VFA-14, which was originally established in 1919. On 1 July 1937, the squadron combined with VF-8B and was redesignated VF-6, flying the
F3F. Between the years 1937 and 1943 VF-6 flew the F3F-1 and two variants of the
F4F Wildcat and ended with the F4F-4. On 15 July 1943, VF-6 swapped designations with
VF-3 and began flying the
F6F Hellcat. Through the years the squadron and their predecessors have served on many of the Navy's early aircraft carriers, including the first, ; the second, ; and the sixth, . They were aboard
Enterprise during the
Attack on Pearl Harbor as well as the battles of
Wake Island,
Marcus Island,
Midway,
Guadalcanal, and the
Eastern Solomon Islands. The squadron also saw aerial combat over the
Philippines,
Formosa,
Okinawa, and
China. On 7 August 1948, VF-3A was redesignated VF-31. For almost four years, the squadron flew the
F9F Panther, the squadron's first jet aircraft.
1950s In 1952, the squadron transitioned to the
F2H Banshee, and then switched to the
F3H Demon in 1957, flying it through 1962.
1960s VF-31 transitioned to the
F-4 Phantom II in 1964, flying the B model for two years before transitioning to the F-4J.
1970s In 1972, squadron aircraft shot down a
MiG-21 over
North Vietnam with a F-4J Phantom and in doing so made VF-31 the only Navy fighter squadron to achieve aerial victories in three wars –
World War II, the
Korean War and the
Vietnam War.
1980s in 1978. In 1980, VF-31 and concluded a 24-year period of continuous service together, the longest in US naval history. VF-31 received the
F-14A Tomcat in early 1981. The squadron's first cruise was on board . In 1983, VF-31 embarked on its fourth cruise with
Kennedy. The cruise took the carrier and its air wing to the southern
Mediterranean off the
North African coast. VF-31 regularly flew over
Lebanese and
Syrian positions in support of
multi-national peacekeeping operations, often being fired at by Syrian
AAA. During a mission in early December 1983, heat-seeking
SA-7 SAMs were launched at two squadron F-14s. Although both Tomcats were able to return safely to
Kennedy, this incident led to US Navy retaliatory strikes. On 4 December, both carriers in the Mediterranean Sea,
Kennedy and , launched strikes against Syrian SAM sites, losing one
A-7 Corsair II and one
A-6 Intruder. VF-31 shifted carriers and air wings in April 1985 joining along with its sister squadron, the
VF-11 Red Rippers. In June 1986, VF-31 and the rest of the
Forrestal battle group set sail for the Mediterranean. While deployed the squadron participated in numerous fleet exercises. In August 1986, VF-31 participated in joint exercises with the Egyptian Air Force and Navy. In September 1987, VF-31 and the
Forrestal battle group participated in North Atlantic exercises above the Arctic Circle. In April, 1988 VF-31 and the
Forrestal battle group set sail for a six-month Indian Ocean cruise which lasted for six months.
Forrestal and CVW-6, with VF-31 attached, supported
Operation Earnest Will, the escort of U.S. flagged
tankers in the
Persian Gulf. While heading home from the "IO", the battle group once again participated in North Atlantic NATO exercises before coming home to NAS Oceana.
1990s During May 1991, VF-31 and other CVW-6 squadrons on the
Forrestal participated in
Operation Provide Comfort, flying missions over northern
Iraq in support of the Kurdish relief effort. VF-31 stayed with
Forrestal until 1992, when the squadron switched carriers, planes and home bases. VF-31 (and VF-11) moved from NAS Oceana to
NAS Miramar and to , and exchanged its F-14As for the new and improved F-14Ds. In late 1996, VF-31 returned from its second Western Pacific deployment aboard USS
Carl Vinson, flying missions in the Persian Gulf and over southern Iraq in support of Operations
Southern Watch and
Desert Strike. VF-31 moved back to NAS Oceana in 1997. The squadron sent a single F-14D and crew to the 1997
Paris Air Show, primarily to promote new F-14
LANTIRN. In 1998 the squadron made a deployment to the Persian Gulf with supporting Operation Southern Watch.
2000s 2000 began with a WESTPAC deployment on board USS
Abraham Lincoln. VF-31 deployed aboard USS
Abraham Lincoln in July 2002, operating over Afghanistan in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom, and again over the skies of Iraq supporting Operation Southern Watch. During their return home, the entire battle group was turned around on 1 January for the commencement of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. Flying from the first night of combat, VF-31 was responsible for delivering ordnance to targets in
Baghdad and the southern vicinities in direct support of coalition forces. During that deployment, VF-31 had the dubious distinction of having the longest cruise in the last 30 years of the Navy's history, returning to NAS Oceana on 2 May 2003. The squadron flew 585 sorties, dropping 276
LGB/
JDAM/
MK 82. In 2004, VF-31 and CVW-14 embarked on for a WESTPAC cruise, returning to the US on 31 October 2004. In December 2004, VF-31 transferred from
Carrier Air Wing Fourteen to its current home with
Carrier Air Wing Eight and . In September 2005, the squadron deployed aboard USS
Theodore Roosevelt with CVW-8 for the final F-14 deployment, again to the Persian Gulf. 7 February 2006 marked the last recovery of an F-14 Tomcat from a combat mission. While operating from
Theodore Roosevelt in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, VF-31 was credited with being the last F-14 unit to drop a bomb in combat. VF-31 returned to NAS Oceana on 10 March 2006, for the final F-14 fly-in. VF-31 remained operational aboard
Theodore Roosevelt until 28 July 2006, when the last Tomcat landing and catapult launch took place off the Virginia Capes, with journalists from around the world (Mexico, UK, Holland, Germany and US) witnessing. VF-31 was the last Tomcat squadron, with the last F-14 flight occurring on 4 October 2006, as BuNo.164603 flew from NAS Oceana to
Republic Airport. After spending a year at the American Airpower Museum, the aircraft is now on static display outside of the former
Grumman Aerospace Corporation headquarters in Bethpage, NY. VF-31 transitioned to
F/A-18E Super Hornet and was redesignated VFA-31 in late 2006. VFA-31, along with CVW-8 and
Theodore Roosevelt, participated in Joint Task Force Exercise 08-4 Operation Brimstone off the coast of
North Carolina between 21 July – 31 July 2008. The British carrier , the amphibious assault ship with associated units and the
Brazilian Navy frigate
Greenhalgh and the French submarine also participated in the event. On 8 September 2008, VFA-31 and the rest of CVW-8 deployed on board USS
Theodore Roosevelt on a regularly scheduled deployment. On 4 October, the
Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Group arrived in
Cape Town,
South Africa, the first visit by an American 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, to conduct operations in the US
5th and
6th Fleet areas of operations. returning to NAS Oceana in December, 2011, days before the return of USS
George H.W. Bush. VFA-31 flew extensive ground attack missions in Operation Inherent Resolve against IS targets in Syria, and peacefully intercepted MiG 29s.
2025-2026 In November 2025, VFA-31 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-31 and their F/A-18Es 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. ==Awards==