page_title: Second VA-174 (U.S. Navy)
section_title: Cold War (1946-1958)
hierarchical_section_title: Second VA-174 (U.S. Navy) / History / Cold War (1946-1958)
caption_attribution_description: U.S. Navy Grumman F9F-6 Cougars of Fighter Squadron VF-174 "Hell Razors" aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CVA-41). VF-174 was assigned to Carrier Air Group 1 (CVG-1), during Midway´s circumnavigation of the globe between 27 December 1954 and 14 July 1955.
context_page_description: Attack Squadron 174 also known as the "Hellrazors" was a United States Navy attack squadron based at Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida, and were attached to Light Attack Wing One. It was commissioned from 1944 to 1988.
context_section_description: VB-81 was redesignated VA-13A in November 1946 while the squadron was embarked on USS Princeton (CV-37). In 1949 the squadron transferred to the East Coast. Arriving in Naval Air Station Jacksonville the squadron was redesignated to VA-134 and later VF-174. Operating aboard the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) with Carrier Air Group Seventeen, VF-174 participated in operations "Protex" and "Caribox" from September 1950 to January 1951. It returned to Jacksonville to transition to the F9F-6 Cougar and then made a short cruise to Guantanamo Bay in May and June 1951 aboard the USS Midway (CVA-41). The Hellrazors were selected as the best fighter squadron in the Atlantic Fleet shortly before they embarked for a six-month Mediterranean Sea cruise in September 1951 aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42).
  The squadron returned from the Mediterranean in February 1952 and participated in operations "Mainbase" and "Long Step" in July 1952. In preparation for a globe-circling cruise, VF-174 deployed twice to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for intensive gunnery training. Both time the squadron was cited for "Outstanding Performance". After returning from their second "Gitmo" trip in early 1954, the squadron moved to its present home at Naval Air Station Cecil Field and joined Carrier Air Group One. In late 1954 the USS Midway (CVA-41) became the first American carrier to visit the British port of Cape Town, South Africa. While in the Pacific the carrier operated with the Seventh Fleet near Formosa and VF-174 participated in the evacuation of the Tachen Island in December 1954.
  Immediately after their return to Cecil Field in August 1955, VF-174 transitioned to the FJ-3 FURY. The squadron operated with the new Furies for only a few months and then transitioned to the F9F-8 Cougar in early 1956. With the new "Cougars" an attack syllabus was added to the normal fighter operations. Acting as both and attack and fighter squadron, the Hellrazors deployed to the Far East in October 1956 aboard the USS Bennington (CVA-20) as a special weapons squadron with Air Task Group One Eighty One. The squadron returned to Cecil Field in May 1957. In January 1958, VF-174 transitioned to the F8U-1 Crusader and in March 1958 began training pilots in F8U's for Atlantic Fleet squadrons.
caption: F9F-6 Cougars of VF-174 on USS Midway, in 1955.
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