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Fighter Squadron 24 (VF-24), called the ''Fighting Renegades'' was a fighter squadron of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. Originally established as Fighter Squadron 211 in June 1955, it was redesignated VF-24 on 9 March 1959 and disestablished on 31 August 1996.


Background

VF-211 was established in June 1955 at
NAS Moffett Field Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November ...
. The unit flew the FJ-3 Fury aboard the . The squadron transitioned to the
F8U Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Vought. It was the last American fighter that had guns as the primar ...
in 1957.VF-24 History
/ref>


History

VF-24 made deployments to the Western Pacific aboard , USS ''Bon Homme Richard'' and from 1959 to 1975. While on duty, the squadron earned the Presidential Unit Citation,
Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy A navy, naval force, military m ...
(2 awards),
Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...
(5 awards),
Battle Efficiency Award The Battle Effectiveness Award (formerly the Battle Efficiency Award, commonly known as the Battle "E"), is awarded annually to the small number of United States Navy ships, submarines, aviation, and other deployable combat coded units that win the ...
(1972),
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...
(3 awards), and
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal (), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949 and awarded during the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War ...
.


Vietnam War

While deployed aboard ''Bon Homme Richard'' (Carrier Air Wing 21), Lieutenant Commander Bobby C. Lee and Lieutenant Phillip R. Wood became the first VF-24 pilots to shoot down
MiG Mig, MiG, or MIG may refer to: Business * MiG, a Russian aircraft corporation **Any of the MiG aircraft *Marfin Investment Group MIG Holdings S.A. (also known as MIG) is a Greece, Greek investment company. It has acquired several companies an ...
aircraft over
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
on 19 May 1967. The MiGs were downed with
AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile. Entering service with the United States Navy in 1956 and the Air Force in 1964, the AIM-9 is one of the oldest, cheapest, and most successful air-to-air missiles. Its latest variants rema ...
air-to-air missiles. Then on 21 July 1967, Commander Marion H. Issacks ( XO) and Lieutenant Commander Robert L. Kirkwood made the 3rd and 4th MiG kills for their Squadron with 20 mm guns and Sidewinder missiles. VF-24 became one of the Navy's first "Ace" squadrons.


1970s

VF-24 made its last F-8 Crusader cruise aboard in 1975. Upon return to
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
the Squadron transitioned to the
F-14A Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for t ...
and received their first aircraft on 9 December 1975. VF-24 then changed the squadron name to "Red Checkertails". During the rest of the 1970s and early 1990s, VF-24 deployed to the Western Pacific with . VF-24 won several awards: the Admiral Joseph Clifton Award, the
Battle Efficiency “E” The Battle Effectiveness Award (formerly the Battle Efficiency Award, commonly known as the Battle "E"), is awarded annually to the small number of United States Navy ships, submarines, aviation, and other deployable combat coded units that win the ...
, the
CNO Aviation Safety Award The Chief of Naval Operations Aviation Safety Award, also known as the Safety "S", is awarded annually to U.S. Navy and United States Marine Corps aviation units operating under Navy chains of command. Selection One squadron from each type of ...
, and two Sea Service Deployment Awards. The Squadron clean record was completed with six years and 22.000 flight hours without an accident. VF-24 had F8C's for 63-64 cruise on Midway and again for 64-65 cruise on Hancock. They made a short turn around in 65 and must have still flown the F8C, no time to convert to new A/C(F8E) There was no talk of new planes when I left in Sept of 65!


1980s

Further records were made in 1980s. In 1983, VF-24 along with
Carrier Air Wing Nine Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. The Air Wing is currently assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). The Tail Code of aircraft assigned to ...
, was assigned to the as part of Battle Group Echo. The first deployment by
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s operations and a WESTPAC which included 121 concurrent days of
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
Operations, the longest of any conventional powered aircraft carrier to date. The move to USS ''Ranger'' was because the ''Constellation'' had
F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...
capability added and the ''Ranger'' cruise was nicknamed "DeathCruise '83/'84" due to the loss of 11 crewmen. In August 1984, VF-24 and its airwing began workups with the with another WESTPAC and Indian Ocean cruise in July 1985. In April 1986, VF-24 was called upon to execute Operation Coyote which involved positioning four fully mission capable F-14s, accompanying aircrew and over 150 maintenance personnel and necessary spare parts over 3,300 km (2,000 mi) away within 46 hours. From the time of execute order to go, aircraft were on deck in
Adak Adak may refer to: Places *Adak Island, one of the Aleutian Islands **Adak, Alaska, a town on the above island ** Adak Airport, airport serving the town *** Adak Army Airfield, original name of the airport (1942–c.1943) *** Davis Army Airfield, ...
,
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
, in less than 30 hours. This fast paced, strategically significant mission continued for seven days, despite limited command and control assets and an extremely difficult environment at Adak. Mission intercepts, employing innovative planning and tactics, of
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
reconnaissance aircraft were well beyond expected range and were determined to be an overwhelming success. In October 1986, VF-24 surpassed the 3 years
foreign object damage In aviation and aerospace, the term foreign object damage (FOD) refers to any damage to an aircraft attributed to foreign object debris (also referred to as "FOD"), which is any particle or substance, alien to an aircraft or system which could ...
(FOD) free mark; an accomplishment no other F-14 fighter squadron matched. VF-24 deployed in January 1987, aboard USS ''Kitty Hawk'' for a six-month around-the-world cruise. The Fighting Renegades were awarded the 1986 CNO Aviation Safety Award, completed over 20,500 mishap free flight hours, achieved a record setting 97 consecutive days Full Mission Capable aircraft readiness, initiated air-to-air banner gunnery launches from the deck of USS ''Kitty Hawk'' and completed its 3rd consecutive FOD free cruise. Upon returning to
NAS Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, a commu ...
, VF-24 was again selected to deploy to Adak, Alaska, for their second Operation Coyote mission. VF-24 was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation and
Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded to t ...
for the 1987 deployment. VF-24 was busy in 1988 as they spent 70% of the year deployed and had joined with the rest of the airwing. They deployed to the northern and western Pacific and the Indian Ocean and provided security for the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
during Operation Olympic Presence as well as doing exercises with ''Midway'' and the
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
n and
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
Air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
s. 1988 was another year where VF-24 received a CNO Aviation Safety Award. Another cruise began in 1989 with the Nimitz through the
Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...
. Upon their arrival in San Diego in August they began the transition to the F-14B. VF-24 was one of the first Pacific Fleet Fighter Squadrons to do so.


1990s

One year later, VF-24 made history as the first F-14 squadron to drop air-to-ground ordnance at
NAS Fallon Naval Air Station Fallon or NAS Fallon is the United States Navy's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility. It is located southeast of the city of Fallon, east of Reno in western Nevada. Since 1996, it has been home to the U.S. N ...
during Integrated Air Wing Training. In November 1990, they began preparations for deployment and headed for the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
in February 1991 and were one of two west coast squadrons to deploy the F-14B. In April 1991, VF-24 began flying missions in support of
Operation Provide Comfort Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations initiated by the United States and other Coalition nations of the Persian Gulf War, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing their homes in northern ...
over
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
and participated in detachments to
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
and the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. In June of the same year, VF-24 had completed nine years and 36.000 flight hours without incident. They returned to Miramar in August the same year. VF-24 began an aggressive turnaround cycle by participating in
RED FLAG exercise Exercise Red Flag (also Red Flag – Nellis) is a two-week advanced aerial combat training exercise held several times a year by the United States Air Force (USAF). It aims to offer realistic air-combat training for military pilots and other ...
at
Nellis AFB Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...
in February 1992. VF-24 flew sorties as "red air" against a coordinated multinational strike team. As with all Navy F-14 squadrons, VF-24 were Bombcat qualified, carrying "dumb" munitions such as Mk-80 series bombs, Mk-20 Rockeye
cluster munitions A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehi ...
, air laid sea mines, TALD surface-to-air missile decoys and practice bombs.
Laser-guided bomb A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly pro ...
s could be carried, but had to be buddy lazed. For all its time with the F-14 Tomcat, VF-24 was teamed with
VF-211 Strike Fighter Squadron 211 (VFA-211), nicknamed the "Fighting Checkmates", is an aviation unit of the United States Navy established in 1945. The squadron is based at Naval Air Station Oceana and is equipped with the Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet. ...
as part of Carrier Air Wing Nine. Their last cruise took place from November 1995 to May 1996, on board the USS ''Nimitz''. VF-24 was disestablished on 31 August 1996.


See also

*
History of the United States Navy The history of the United States Navy divides into two major periods: the "Old Navy", a small but respected force of sailing ships that became notable for innovation in the use of ironclads during the American Civil War, and the "New Navy" ...
*
List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons Most of the United States Navy aircraft Squadron (aviation), squadrons established since the Navy designated its first aircraft squadrons in 1919 no longer exist, having been "disestablished". Another 40 or so have been "deactivated", currently e ...
*
List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons This is a list of active United States Navy aircraft squadrons. ''Deactivated'' or ''disestablished'' squadrons are listed in the list of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons. The U.S. Navy uses the term "squadron" only to describe uni ...


References


External links


VF-24 Fighting Renegades
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vf-24
VF-24 Fighter Squadron 24 (VF-24), called the ''Fighting Renegades'' was a Fighter aircraft, fighter squadron (aviation), squadron of the United States Navy. Originally established as Fighter Squadron 211 in June 1955, it was redesignated VF-24 on 9 ...
FS0024