| Fighter Squadron 31, known as 'The Tomcatters', and famous for their Felix the Cat logo, is the second oldest fighter squadron operating in the United States Navy. In 1964, VF-31 transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom, and two years later, the squadron began flying the F-4J Phantom II (specifications). The squadron flew the F-4J Phantom II until 1981, when it transitioned to the F-14 Tomcat. The squadron is scheduled to transition from the Grumman F-14D Tomcat to the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet in 2006. |
VF-31 set many Navy records during the time it flew the F-4 Phantom II. On June 12, 1972, CDR. Sam Flynn and Lt. Bill John, while flying F-4J AC 101 (157293), downed a North Vietnamese MiG-21 with an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, which made VF-31 the only Navy fighter squadron to achieve air-to-air victories in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The squadron also set the naval record for the longest a fighter squadron and aircraft carrier have served together, a total of 24 years while assigned to the USS Saratoga (CV-60).
Seen aboard the USS Saratoga, VF-31 aircraft 110 is in tension, ready to launch from Yankee Station off the North Vietnamese coast. The catapult officer has signaled that everything is ready, and soon the F-4J Phantom II will streak down the bow catapult and fly into the air. |
