VFA-106
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| Strike Fighter Squadron 106 | |
|---|---|
 VFA-106 Insignia |
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| Active | January 11, 1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Fighter/Attack |
| Role | Fleet Replacement Squadron |
| Garrison/HQ | NAS Oceana |
| Nickname | Gladiators |
| Battles/wars | World War II Korean War Vietnam War |
Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106), also known as the "Gladiators", are a United States Navy F/A-18C Hornet fleet replacement squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana.
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[edit] Early years
[edit] World War II
Strike-Fighter Squadron 106 began as Bomber-Fighter Squadron 17 (VBF-17) at Agana Air Field, Guam on January 11, 1945. One month later, flying F6F Hellcats, VBF-17 embarked onboard USS Hornet (CV-12) to participate in combat operations against the Japanese. Operations included strikes against Tokyo, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa as well as the first major air strikes against the islands of Kyūshū and Shikoku. In late 1946 the squadron moved to NAS Norfolk, Virginia and was redesignated as Fighter Squadron Six Baker (VF-6B) and began flying the F4U Corsair. Redesignated again in July 1948 as Fighter Squadron 62 (VF-62), the squadron transitioned to F8F Bearcat aircraft
[edit] Korean War
VF-62 officially became the "Gladiators" on April 16, 1952. Combat action in the Korean War came in 1953 from the USS Lake Champlain (CV-39) when the Gladiators were tasked with striking key bridges on the Korean mainland.
[edit] Vietnam War
The years of training concluded on July 17, 1967 as the Gladiators launched into combat over Vietnam from the deck of the USS Forrestal (CVA-59). VA-106 returned home in September 1967 for a brief turnaround prior to deploying onboard USS Intrepid (CV-11) in June 1968. The Gladiators remained on station flying combat missions into Vietnam for over 6 months before returning home in February 1969. The squadron was subsequently decommissioned on November 7, 1969.
[edit] Post Vietnam until present
VFA-106 was reactivated at NAS Cecil Field on April 27, 1984, flying the Navy's newest tactical aircraft, the F/A-18 Hornet. In the summer of 1999 VFA-106 moved from NAS Cecil Field to NAS Oceana, Virginia. As the East Coast Fleet Replacement Squadron, the Gladiators’ mission is to train F/A-18 Replacement Pilots to support fleet commitments. Every 6 weeks a class of between 8-12 newly-winged Navy and Marine Corps pilots begins the 9 month training course in which they will learn the basics of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions culminating in day/night carrier qualification and subsequent assignment to a fleet Hornet squadron.
[edit] Today And Beyond
Today, VFA-106 is paving the way in transitioning new (and experienced) naval aviators to fly the new F/A-18E and F Super Hornets. The squadron has helped other squadrons such as VFA-103, VFA-11, VFA-143, VFA-32, VFA-213, VFA-31 which were previously F-14 Tomcat squadrons transition into the Super Hornet platform. VFA-106 has also transistioned F/A-18C squadrons like VFA-105 to the Super Hornet platform as well as training naval personnel (with the help from the Center of Naval Avitation Technical Training Unit: CNATTTU) from other squadrons on Super Hornet maintenance.
[edit] Statistics
As of the end of June, 2006, there are a total 1200 Navy and Marine personnel as well as some pilots from countries such as England, Switzerland, and Germany in VFA-106. The total number of F/A-18A+/B/C/D/E/F jets in VFA-106's possession including transitioning squadrons is 70+. VFA-106 is still home stationed at Oceana NAS but, there's a VFA-106 Fighter Detachment in NAS Key West, FL. The squadron's deployment status range's from carrier qualification detachments to land detachments in Key West FL, Fallon NV, and El Centro CA.
[edit] External links
- VFA-106's Official Webpage — This link appears to be broken as of 2007-03-05. See "What to do when a reference link 'goes dead'".
