Century Wings F-14 Tomcat Wolf Pack USN USS Ranger

It would seem that pre-orders are again being taken for the VF-1 "Wolfpack"   F-14A Tomcat. If this is the case, we will be getting the Tomcat from one of the most sought squadrons in the US Navy, one of the very first to be equipped with the F-14A Tomcat. 

Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1) was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy. Known as the "Wolfpack" the squadron saw combat during World War II, the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm. The squadron was de-activated and its personnel reassigned in 1993 when its carrier, the USS Ranger (CV-61), was decommissioned.

The fourth VF-1, "Wolfpack" was established on October 14, 1972 at NAS Miramar, at the same time as VF-2, these units were the first F-14 fighter squadrons. VF-1 received the first F-14As on July 1, 1973. 

The squadron's insignia was a red wolf’s head designed by Grumman Commercial Artist, George M. Kehew who himself is a WWII combat veteran. The Squadron Insignia is registered in the Library of Congress.

The first cruise came in September 1974 onboard Enterprise. The end of the cruise saw the first Tomcat’s combat debut, as VF-1 and VF-2 flew cover over Saigon for evacuation of US personnel in April 1975 as part of Operation Frequent Wind. 

In September 1980, VF-1 and VF-2 changed carrier air wings, moved to the Ranger and flew various cruises with her until they shifted carriers once again in 1984 to the Kitty Hawk. They stayed with Kitty Hawk for one cruise. In 1984, VF-1 had achieved the impressive 22,000 flight hours without a single accident. 

By 1986, they returned to the Ranger and were with the carrier during Operation Desert Storm where VF-1 scored the only F-14 air-to-air kill during the war, an Iraqi Mil Mi-8 helicopter was downed with an AIM-9 Sidewinder.

The Ranger was decommissioned in 1993 and VF-1 was left without a carrier. They operated out of NAS Miramar until VF-1 itself was disestablished later in 1993.