VF-301

The VF-301 Devils Disciples was a U.S. Navy reserve fighter squadron based at NAS Miramar. Their call sign was "Devil", tail code was "ND," and they flew the F-14A Tomcat.

History

VF-301 was activated on October 1, 1970. They first flew the F-8 Crusader and four years later transitioned to the F-4B Phantom II. Their time with the B-models was short and soon received the N-models in February 1975. In 1980, they received the most advanced F-4 variant in the Navy, The F-4S. In October 1984 the unit transitioned to the F-14A Tomcat. They made their first deployment with the F-14 on April 21, 1985, with five aircraft visiting MCAS Yuma for air-to-air training against USMC F-21A Kfirs. At this time the squadron was still transitioning to the F-14 and it was not until August 4 the same year the entire squadron was able to deployed to NAS Fallon for training.

The Devil's Disciples first carrier landings were onboard the USS Ranger (CVA-61). Further carrier training was limited but did include time onboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) between August 10 and August 22, 1988. Later in its life the squadron became the first Reserve squadron to drop air-to-ground ordnance, in the shape of Mk 84 bombs and Mk 20 cluster munitions.

After 24 years of service VF-301 was disestablished on the September 11, 1994, the same time as VF-302. The rest of the reserve air wing, CVWR-30, was soon to follow. During these 24 years VF-301 had acquired an outstanding safety record, flying 71322.4 hours without a class A mishap, setting a new record for Navy jet squadrons.

External links

* [http://www.tomcatalley.com/squadron/vf301his.htm VF-301 History]