VF-191

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The insignia of the VF-191 Satan's Kittens.
The insignia of the VF-191 Satan's Kittens.

VF-191 Satan's Kittens was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy. It was established in 1943 and disestablished in 1978. It was reactivated for a short time again between 1986 and 1988.

[edit] History

F6F-5s on the USS Lexington in 1944
F6F-5s on the USS Lexington in 1944
F9F-2s during the Korean War
F9F-2s during the Korean War
F-8Js from the USS Oriskany
F-8Js from the USS Oriskany
F-4J on the USS Coral Sea in 1977
F-4J on the USS Coral Sea in 1977
Tomcat on the USS Enterprise in 1988
Tomcat on the USS Enterprise in 1988

VF-191 was established as fighter squadron VF-19 Bulldogs on 15 August 1943. On 15 November 1946 it was redesignated VF-19A. On 24 August 1948 it was finally redesignated VF-191 and adopted the new nickname Satan's Kittens. It was disestablished on 01 March 1978.

VF-191 and sister squadron VF-194 were the two shortest lived F-14 squadrons in history. The original VF-191 took part in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. During the latter conflict the squadron took part in several combat cruises, flying variants of the F-8 Crusader. After Vietnam VF-191 continued operations with the F-8 until 1976, when they transitioned to the F-4 Phantom II. A single cruise in the F-4 followed, as VF-191 was disestablished in 1978. The VF-191 established on the December 4, 1986 can claim the unit's name and markings but it did not have the heritage of the original VF-191. After training with VF-124, and being due to deploy onboard the USS Independence (CV-62) as part of CVW-10 with the F-14A Tomcat, VF-191 was disestablished April 30, 1988, before the cruise could take place.

[edit] Deployments

from to aircraft carrier air wing tail code area
Jul 1944 Nov 1944 F6F-5 CV-16 CVG-19 no code Pacific War
20 Apr 1946 09 Aug 1946 F6F-5 CV-36 CVG-19 A-1xx WestPac
Jun 1947 Jun 1947 F8F-1 CV-21 CVAG-19 B-1xx not deployed
11 Jan 1950 13 Jun 1950 F8F-2 CV-21 CVG-19 B-1xx WestPac
09 Nov 1950 29 May 1951 F9F-2 CV-37 CVG-19 B-1xx Korean War
21 Mar 1952 03 Nov 1952 F9F-2 CV-37 CVG-19 B-1xx Korean War
14 Sep 1953 22 Apr 1954 F9F-6 CVA-34 CVG-19 B-1xx WestPac
02 Mar 1955 21 Sep 1955 F9F-6 CVA-34 CVG-19 B-1xx WestPac
09 Mar 1957 25 Aug 1957 FJ-3 CVA-11 CVG-19 B-1xx WestPac
01 Nov 1958 19 Jun 1959 F11F-1 CVA-31 CVG-19 NM-1xx WestPac
21 Nov 1959 14 May 1960 F11F-1 CVA-31 CVG-19 NM-1xx WestPac
26 Apr 1961 13 Dec 1961 F8U-1 CVA-31 CVG-19 NM-1xx WestPac
12 Jul 1962 11 Feb 1963 F8U-1 CVA-31 CVG-19 NM-1xx WestPac
28 Jan 1964 21 Nov 1964 F-8E CVA-31 CVW-19 NM-1xx Vietnam War
21 Apr 1965 13 Jan 1966 F-8E CVA-31 CVW-19 NM-1xx Vietnam War
19 Oct 1966 29 May 1967 F-8E CVA-14 CVW-19 NM-1xx Vietnam War
28 Dec 1967 17 Aug 1968 F-8E CVA-14 CVW-19 NM-1xx Vietnam War
16 Apr 1969 17 Nov 1969 F-8J CVA-34 CVW-19 NM-1xx Vietnam War
14 May 1970 10 Dec 1970 F-8J CVA-34 CVW-19 NM-1xx Vietnam War
14 May 1971 18 Dec 1971 F-8J CVA-34 CVW-19 NM-1xx Vietnam War
05 Jun 1972 30 Mar 1973 F-8J CVA-34 CVW-19 NM-1xx Vietnam War
18 Oct 1973 05 Jun 1974 F-8J CVA-34 CVW-19 NM-1xx Vietnam
16 Sep 1975 03 Mar 1976 F-8J CVA-34 CVW-19 NM-1xx WestPac
15 Feb 1977 05 Oct 1977 F-4J CV-43 CVW-15 NL-1xx WestPac
01 Dec 1986 30 Apr 1988 F-14A CV-62 CVW-10 NM-1xx not deployed

[edit] References