VF-84

Fighter Squadron 84 (the Jolly Rogers) was a Fighter Squadron of the United States Navy flying the F-14 Tomcat and was based at NAS Oceana until its disestablishment on October 1, 1995.

History of the "Jolly Roger"

Three U.S. Naval Aviation squadrons have used the name and insignia of the Jolly Roger: "VF-17/VF-5B/VF-61", "VF-84" (est. 1955), and "VFA-103". While these are distinctly different squadrons that have no lineal linkage, they all share the same "Jolly Roger" name, the skull and crossbones insignia and traditions.

The first incarnation of the Jolly Rogers was established on January 1, 1943 at NAS Norfolk, as VF-17. "VF-17" was redesignated as "VF-5B" in 1946, and as "VF-61" in 1948. It was disestablished on April 15, 1959.The second squadron to be called Jolly Rogers was VF-84, the subject of this article. After disestablishment of VF-84, the Jolly Rogers name and insignia were adopted by VF-103.

First VF-84

On 1 May 1944, the first VF-84, known as "Wolf Gang" was formed, flying the F4U-1D Corsair. VF-84 was embarked on the USS Bunker Hill when a Japanese Kamikaze struck the squadron's ready room off of Okinawa, killing several members of the squadron. VF-84 was disestablished in Oct 1945 and is not related to the VF-84 of this article.

Squadron history

The second VF-84, initially known as the Vagabonds, was established on July 1, 1955, at NAS Oceanaflying the FJ-3 Fury. After deactivation of "VF-61", VF-84's new commanding officer, formerly with "VF-61", requested to carry on the name and insignia of the Jolly Rogers. His request was approved on April 1, 1960.

VF-84 transitioned to the F-8 Crusader and was aboard "Independence" during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs incident, the squadron made several Mediterranean cruises on board the Independence. The squadron flew the F8UD Crusaders for several years prior to being introduced to the F-4B during 1964.

In 1964 VF-84 transitioned to the F-4 Phantom II and flew the F-4B, F-4J and the F-4N until they transitioned to the F-14 Tomcat in early 1976. In 1965 the squadron deployed for 7 months on board "Independence" in the Gulf of Tonkin and flew 1507 combat sorties, logging 2200 flight hours over both North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

After its transition to the F-14 was completed, the squadron embarked on its first cruise on "Nimitz" in December 1977. In 1979 the unit was the first TARPS capable squadron of the fleet. In 1980 it participated in the motion picture "The Final Countdown" which propelled the skull-and-crossbones-adorned F-14's to international stardom. The movie featured a memorable scene involving two VF-84 Tomcats engaging two Japanese A6M Zeros.

In January 1980, "Nimitz" diverted from the Mediterranean to take up station in the Arabian Sea in response to the Iranian hostage crisis and in April participated in the failed hostage rescue attempt. In November 1983, the squadron embarked on an extended deployment off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, in support of a multinational peacekeeping force. During 1985, VF-84 spent 68 days off the coast of Lebanon in response to the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.

The squadron's last cruise with "Nimitz" lasted from December 1986 until June 1987, when "Nimitz" was rebased to Bremerton, WA. In October that year, CVW-8 (the carrier wing of which VF-84 was a part) was deployed with "Theodore Roosevelt", beginning in the North Atlantic for Exercise Teamwork '88 which involved operations with the Royal Norwegian Air Force. "Roosevelt"'s first Mediterranean deployment was in December.

In December 1990, "Theodore Roosevelt" was joined by "Ranger" and "Midway" in the Persian Gulf. Throughout the Gulf War, VF-84 flew combat air patrols for the fleet, escorting the air wing’s strike aircraft and performing TARPS missions to collect bomb damage assessments. In total, squadron members flew 468 combat sorties. After the war, VF-84 flew an additional 111 sorties in support of Operation Provide Comfort before "Roosevelt" was relieved by "Forrestal" in June 1991.

In March 1993, VF-84 deployed again on "Theodore Roosevelt", the only F-14 squadron in a reconfigured airwing that included Marine F/A-18, CH-53 and UH-1 squadrons. VF-84 flew critical TARPS reconnaissance missions during Operation Deny Flight, providing information about Bosnian Serb positions around Sarajevo. The squadron also flew in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. VF-84 returned to NAS Oceana in September 1993. It was to be the squadron's last Mediterranean deployment.

Due to the downsizing of the Navy after the Cold War, the Navy disestablished several squadrons, and VF-84 was one of them. The squadron spent its last eighteen months of existence participating in several joint service operations, honing its skills in air-to-air combat, strike and TARPS. The squadron also made another memorable appearance in another motion picture, "Executive Decision". VF-84 was disestablished on October 1, 1995, but VF-103 Sluggers adopted the name and insignia of the Jolly Rogers. From its transition to the F-14 until its disestablishment, VF-84 had been a part of CVW-8.

Popular culture

*The markings of Roy Focker's VF-1S Valkyrie in "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross" is obviously inspired by the squadron insignia of VF-84, and his "Skull Squadron" is considered the equivalent of VF-84. In the movie "" this is even more apparent, as the skull-and-crossbones insignia is worn by all Valkyries in Skull Squadron. This painting scheme has continued to be reproduced in both the prequel series "Macross Zero" (2002), on Focker's VF-0S experimental Valkyrie, and more recently "Macross Frontier" (2008), where the pilot Ozma Lee, as the senior leader of Skull Squadron, has the markings on his VF-25S.
*VF-84 plays a predominant role in "The Final Countdown"
*VF-84 Tomcats appear in a brief scene in "The Philadelphia Experiment"
*VF-84 is featured in "Executive Decision"
*VF-84 is one of two squadrons that help dismantle the Soviet fighter force based on Iceland in Tom Clancy's novel "Red Storm Rising"
*The Nintendo 64 videogame Aerofighters Assault features an F-14 with an unlockable alternate paint scheme that mirrors that of VF-84's Tomcats.

References

External links

* [http://www.tomcatalley.com/squadron/vf84hist.htm VF-84 History]
* [http://www.tomcatalley.com/squadron/vf103his.htm VF-103 History]
* [http://www.jolly-rogers.com/ The Jolly Rogers Squadron: Past and Present]
* [http://www.almansur.com/jollyrogers/ Almansur's Unofficial History of the Jolly Rogers]
*Tony Holmes (2005). "US Navy F-14 Tomcat Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom", Osprey Publishing Limited.
*Barrett Tillman, "U.S. Navy Fighter Squadrons in World War II (Specialty Press, 1997).
*Tom Blackburn, "The Jolly Rogers" (Orion Books, 1989)