VFA-213

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Strike Fighter Squadron 213
VFA-213 Insignia
Active	June 22, 1955 - present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Type	Fighter/Attack
Role	Close air support Air interdiction Aerial reconnaissance
Garrison/HQ	NAS Oceana
Nickname	"Blacklions"
Engagements	Vietnam War Operation Restore Hope Operation Southern Watch Operation Desert Fox Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom

Strike Fighter Squadron 213 (VFA-213) is a U.S. Navy fighter squadron based at NAS Oceana. Their tail code is AJ, their radio callsign is Lion, and fly the Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 Vietnam War 1.3 1970s & 1980s 1.4 1990s 1.5 2000's & The Global War on Terror 2 Notes 3 References

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

The Blacklions were established as VF-213 on June 22, 1955 at NAS Moffett Field, California. They are quite rare as that they retain the original designation they were established with. The first cruise was on board the USS Bon Homme Richard flying the F2H Banshee. When they returned they transitioned to the F4D Skyray which they flew for two deployments on USS Lexington. They then transitioned to the F3H Demon which followed with a third cruise on board USS Lexington. Returning home, VF-213 moved to NAS Miramar which became their home for the next 36 years.

[edit] Vietnam War

In 1965 they flew the F-4 Phantom for the very first time on a cruise with USS Kitty Hawk in South East Asia. On December 20, 1966 the Blacklions scored their first air-to-air kill when Lieutenant D.A. McRae and Ensign D.N. Nichols shot down an AN-2 Colt. Between the years 1965 and 1972 VF-213 flew several combat cruises, flying 11,500 combat missions and delivering 6000 tons of ordnance.

[edit] 1970s & 1980s

In 1976, VF-213 began the transition to the F-14 which was replacing the F-4 Phantom. The first cruise with the F-14 was on USS Kitty Hawk with VF-114 Aardvarks, these units were paired together until the disbanding of VF-114 in 1993. After the Kitty Hawk cruise, the carrier air wing switched to the USS America and took part in two Mediterranean cruises which was an oddity for west coast squadrons.

In 1982 the squadron began training with tactical reconnaissance equipment. That year, they deployed on the USS Enterprise to the Indian Ocean.

On January 24, 1986 their cruise began with the USS Enterprise and they ventured out to the Western Pacific which included stops at Pearl Harbor and Subic Bay in the Philippines. They continued into the Indian Ocean where VF-213 often intercepted Soviet and Indian aircraft. During this time with operations against Libya the decision was made to move the Enterprise battle group to the Mediterranean Sea, to do this they transited through the Suez Canal. Once they arrived at the “Line of death”, CVW-11 aircraft flew patrols for two months, although encounters with Libyan aircraft were rare. The carrier group got to visit Naples and Toulon. Instead of returning through the Suez Canal they transited through Strait of Gibraltar and then cruised the southern cape of Africa before continuing onto Perth, Australia and after that across the Pacific to their home port.

In 1988 saw VF-213 flying cover over reflagged tankers in the Persian Gulf and participated in Operation Praying Mantis on April 18, 1988. In 1989 VF-213 and the rest of the air wing switched aircraft carrier once again to the USS Abraham Lincoln. The first cruise on 'Abe' was a six-week transit from NAS Norfolk to NAS Alameda, via the tip of South America. The first WestPac cruise began in May 1991 and saw the Blacklions enforcing the UN sanctions over Iraq.

[edit] 1990s

In 1993, VF-213 became the sole F-14 squadron on USS Abraham Lincoln. The 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 October 25, 1994 she crashed with her F-14 on approach to land on USS Abraham Lincoln due to a compressor stall in the left-hand engine and lost power. Both she and her RIO ejected, but only the RIO survived.

The 1995 WestPac cruise again saw the Blacklions flying over the skies of southern Iraq. The cruise also saw the rare event of every squadron Tomcat being airborne at the same time, 14 aircraft over the skies of Iraq and Kuwait. On April 27, 1995, air crew from a Blacklions F-14 bailed out 800 miles (1,300 km) west of Guam and were recovered safely. The crew had been on routine maneuvers (making a low-level supersonic run) while their carrier battle group was returning to America from a six-month deployment.

In 1996, they moved to the USS Kitty Hawk for the 1996-1997 WESTPAC deployment, during this deployment VF-213 fired twenty six Phoenix and six AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, including one event where six planes launched twelve Phoenix missiles. VF-213 set a new record for 804 consecutive Tomcat sorties and earned CVW-11 "TOP HOOK".

After the 1997 cruise, VF-213 moved from NAS Miramar to NAS Oceana and transitioned to the F-14D Super Tomcat, becoming the third F-14 squadron to receive the Delta model.

In 1998 they moved to USS Carl Vinson, and began work-ups for their next cruise. During the 1998-1999 cruise, VF-213 was the first squadron to fire an AIM-54C Phoenix in an exercise with an 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 DESERT STORM. This successful deployment included the longest combat line period in over 25 years.^[1]. F-14Ds from VF-213, as well as the rest of the embarked carrier air wing on board USS Carl Vinson, joined other US air assets in the final strikes of that operation, VF-213 dropped four GBU-24's with a 100% accuracy^[2] . Highlights of the cruise included the execution of 19 strikes, dropping 20 laser-guided bombs with a 64% success rate, supporting 11 combined strikes, flying 70 missions, logging 230 sorties and over 615 combat hours, as well as 45 reconnaissance missions imaging more than 580 targets. On January 5, 1999, two F-14Ds on patrol over Iraq encountered two Iraqi MiG-25s. The Tomcats fired two AIM-54 Phoenix missiles, the first ever combat-launch by the US Navy. The Iraqi jets turned back north and the missiles failed to hit their targets^[3].

After their return from their combat cruise, the Black Lions conducted an eight-missile Phoenix shoot which was completed successfully despite marginal weather. They also went to NAS Key West, Florida for a two-week air-to-air gunnery training program, part of the annual High Noon derby, where Tomcat squadron compete for top honors as the most proficient aerial gunners. The Black Lions emerged as the winners after expanding 7,000 rounds of 20 mm ammunition into towed 40’ x 8’ banners.

In mid-August 1999, the Black Lions returned from Key West and continued to train by sending a small detachment of personnel to NAS Fallon, Nevada to support United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, the squadron used this opportunity to practice air-to-ground bombing and simulated strike missions on the extensive ranges in Nevada. Twenty six MK-82 bombs were dropped over four weeks with a 100% sortie completion rate. The squadron also had a detachment participating in carrier qualifications on two different aircraft carriers, where a crew logged the USS Harry S. Truman's 5000th arrested landing. Two weeks later two VF-213 jets was sent out to USS Abraham Lincoln for its deck certification. VF-213 was also invited by the US Air Force to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas to provide training support for the F-15E Strike Eagle Weapons School, similar to Top Gun. The Lions flew as simulated enemy fighters, also called “Red Air”, VF-213 provided realistic presentations of what the F-15’s could expect from enemy aircraft. Several of these mission were flown at night, allowing both Tomcat and Eagle crews to train with night vision goggles (NVGs). VF-213 also had the opportunity to dogfight F-16’s from 422nd Fighter Squadron.

[edit] 2000's & The Global War on Terror

In January 2000, VF-213 was back at its home base at NAS Oceana. Soon VF-213 participated in a combined Carrier Air Wing 11 exercise at NAS New Orleans. Once aircraft from VF-213, VFA-22, VFA-94, VFA-97, VAW-117 and HS-6 had arrived the planning began. Led by the CVW-11 Commander, Air Group, the strike allowed airwing aircraft to work together, attacking north from the Gulf of Mexico onto land ranges. Opposition was provided by F/A-18s of VFA-204 'River Rattlers', home based at NAS New Orleans and simulated SAM sites in the range areas.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the USS Carl Vinson with CVW-11 was the first carrier battle group on station in the North Arabian Sea, preparing for attacks against Afghanistan. VF-213, commanded by Commander Chip “Biff” King, had the distinct honor of dropping the first bombs of Operation Enduring Freedom on a SA-3 site near Kabul International Airport, when on October 7 CVN-70/CVW-11 launched the first strikes of the Global War on Terrorism^[4]. VF-213 was instrumental in their reconnaissance role, utilizing their TARPS pods, and also provided laser weapon guidance for F/A-18 Hornets and GPS weapons coordinates for Hornets and USAF B-52s and F-16s^[5]. 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 (452 bombs) and fired 470 20mm cannon rounds^[6] and provided valuable reconnaissance with their TARPS pods, and VF-213 became the first Tomcat squadron to log more than 1,000 hours in two consecutive months. VF-213 was also the first F-14 unit to use its internal 20 mm cannon in combat on November 5 during the battle of Mazar-e Sharif^[7] Under Commander King's leadership VF-213 received the 2001 Commander Naval Air Pacific Fleet Battle "E", Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Safety "S", CNO Clifton Award and the Commander Fighter Wing Atlantic Golden Wrench for their performance in 2001. The first time in the squadrons 55 year history.^[8]

After the 2001-cruise had ended in 2002, VF-213 changed air wings, from CVW-11 to CVW-8. VF-213's first cruise with the new air wing and carrier began in early 2003.

On March 22, 2003, VF-213 and carrier air wing 8 on USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Mediterranean Sea was committed to Operation Iraqi Freedom as the designated night air wing, their first mission called the squadron to attack Republican Guard encampments in Fallujah with four VF-213 jets armed with three 2,000 lb (910 kg) JDAM bombs each. During the war VF-213 would fly a myriad of missions, from strike missions, combat air patrols and support of ground forces. VF-213 flew 198 sorties totaling 907 flight hours, achieving a 100 percent sortie completion rate and delivered 102 laser guided bombs and 94 JDAM bombs.

From May 1-27 2005, the Black Lions flew its last Tomcat detachment at NAS Fallon, the detachment saw the Air Wing participate in training work ups for their upcoming cruise. VF-213 flew 229 sorties, logged 370.2 flight hours and dropped more than 25 tons of ordnance, including nine live laser guided bombs and one live JDAM.The objective was for the Air Wing to work together on large missions and completing an objective, and most missions involved more than 20 aircraft. Blacklions also managed to complete Strike Fighter Weapons Training for individual aircrews. The final event included a three-day mock war to simulate the type of events the air wing could face during the deployment VF-213 dropped more than 25 tons of ordnance

VF-213 was paired up with VF-31 Tomcatters for the 2005-2006 final F-14 Tomcat cruise on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt. On February 7, 2006 was the last recovery of F-14 Tomcats from a combat mission. At 12:35 a.m., a VF-213 aircraft 204 landed on the carrier. It was piloted by CAPT William G. "Size" Sizemore II, Commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, and his RIO, LT(jg) James "Mr. Hanky" Cunningham. During their final deployment with USS Theodore Roosevelt, VF-31 and 213 collectively completed 1,163 combat sorties totaling 6,876 flight hours, and dropped 9,500 pounds of ordnance during reconnaissance, surveillance, and close air support missions in support of OIF. During the final cruise with the F-14, VF-213, and VF-31, received ROVER upgrades to their aircraft, enabling them to transmit real-time images from their LANTIRN sensor to ground operators.

On March 10, 2006, VF-31 and VF-213 returned to NAS Oceana after the final F-14 cruise. All 22 tomcats flew together in a wedge formation over NAS Oceana as hundreds of people cheered.

VF-213 began their transition to the F/A-18F Super Hornet in April 2006.

VFA-213 became "safe for flight" (independently fly and maintain the F/A-18F) on October 27, 2006 and was the first Super Hornet squadron to fly AESA-equipped Super Hornets.^[9].

VFA-213 became the first squadron to receive Dual-Cockpit Cueing System for both pilot and Weapon systems officer, retrofitted with an aft cockpit Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), on May 18, 2007^[10].

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• VF-213 History
• TR Traps Last Tomcat from Combat Mission
• F-14's In Afghanistan
• Tony Holmes (2005). US Navy F-14 Tomcat Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Osprey Publishing Limited.
• U.S. Navy Retires 'Top Gun' Jets
• Fighter Squadron TWO ONE THREE (VF-213) Blacklions
• Official Site