VF - 84 VF - 84 , Fighter Squadron 84 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy active from 1955 to 1995 . The squadron was nicknamed the " Jolly Rogers " and was based at NAS Oceana . Related squadrons . Five distinct U . S . Naval Aviation squadrons have used either the designation " VF - 84 " or the name and insignia of the Jolly Roger : " VF - 17 / VF - 5B / VF - 61 Jolly Rogers " , " VF - 84 Wolf Gang " , VF - 84 Vagabonds " VF - 84 Jolly Rogers " and " VF - 103 / VFA - 103 Jolly Rogers " . These are all distinctly different squadrons that have no lineal linkage . Three of these squadrons have used the " Jolly Roger " name , the skull and crossbones insignia and traditions at various times . The VF - 84 Jolly Rogers ( 1955 – 1995 ) are the main topic of this article . VF - 17 Jolly Rogers ( 1943 - 1959 ) . The first incarnation of the Jolly Rogers was established on 1 January 1943 at NAS Norfolk , as VF - 17 . Initially based on the USS Bunker Hill ( CV - 17 ) , the unit saw combat as a land - based squadron in the Solomon Islands in 1943 - 44 , flying the F4U Corsair . The squadron was broken up in April 1944 , but a new unit , with new personnel and aircraft , was formed with the same squadron designation . This new VF - 17 served aboard the USS Hornet ( CV - 12 ) , and flew the F6F Hellcat in the final drive across the Pacific in 1945 . The first VF - 17 had 11 aces and was credited with 152 victories ; the second had 12 aces and 161 victories . Together VF - 17 was the highest - scoring Navy squadron of World War II . " VF - 17 " was redesignated as " VF - 5B " in 1946 , and as " VF - 61 " in 1948 . It was disestablished on 15 April 1959 . VF - 84 Wolf Gang ( 1944 - 1945 ) . On 1 May 1944 , the first VF - 84 , known as " Wolf Gang " was established . It was formed around a nucleus of veterans of VF - 17 ( the original " Jolly Rogers " ) , an F4U Corsair squadron land - based in the Solomon Islands in late 1943 and early 1944 . The new squadron ' s commanding officer was Lt . Cdr . Roger R . Hedrick , former executive officer of VF - 17 . VF - 84 was assigned to the USS Bunker Hill ( CV - 17 ) , the original home of VF - 17 . As part of Task Force 58 , the carrier and its air group ( including VF - 84 ) participated in the final drive across the central Pacific . Roger Hedrick was promoted to head CAG - 84 on the combat loss of the air group ' s commanding officer , and Lt . Cdr . Raymond " Ted " Hill took over the fighter squadron . VF - 84 took part in the invasion of Iwo Jima ; raids on Tokyo and other targets in Japan ; the discovery and sinking of the Japanese battleship Yamato , the largest warship in the world ; and support of the invasion of Okinawa , including combat air patrol over the invasion fleet to defend against kamikaze attack , ground support , and combat air patrol over targets on Okinawa . On 11 May 1945 , while off Okinawa , two Japanese kamikazes struck the carrier in quick succession . A bomb carried by one penetrated to the pilots ' ready room . 22 members of VF - 84 lost their lives in the attack . Both the carrier ( then the flagship ) and its air group were knocked out of the war . Although VF - 84 was reformed in July as an F6F Hellcat squadron , the war ended while it was still at its base in the United States . The squadron was disestablished on 8 October 1945 . While with the task force , the pilots of VF - 84 were credited with 92 shootdowns for a loss of 4 Corsairs in air - to - air combat , a ratio of 48 : 1 . Nine of the squadron ' s pilots became aces . VF - 103 Jolly Rogers ( 1995 - present ) . After deactivation of VF - 84 in 1995 , the VF - 103 " Sluggers " changed their squadron ' s name and insignia to that of the Jolly Rogers . VF - 84 Jolly Rogers ( 1955 - 1995 ) . The second VF - 84 , initially known as the Vagabonds , was established on July 1 , 1955 , at NAS Oceana flying the FJ - 3 Fury . After deactivation of " VF - 61 " in 1959 , VF - 84 ' s commanding officer , formerly with " VF - 61 " , requested to change his squadron ' s name and insignia to that of the Jolly Rogers . His request was approved on April 1 , 1960 . The squadron then was reassigned to Carrier Air Wing Seven and made a single deployment on the in 1958 / 59 . The squadron transitioned to the F8U - 2 Crusader in 1959 . VF - 84 deployed aboard " Independence " during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs incident , the squadron made several Mediterranean cruises on board the Independence . The squadron flew the F - 8C Crusaders for several years prior to being introduced to the F - 4B during 1964 . In 1964 , VF - 84 transitioned to the F - 4 Phantom II and flew the F - 4B , F - 4J and the F - 4N until they transitioned to the F - 14 Tomcat in early 1976 . In 1965 the squadron deployed for 7 months on board " Independence " in the Gulf of Tonkin and flew 1507 combat sorties , logging 2200 flight hours over both North Vietnam and South Vietnam . From 1970 to 1975 , VF - 84 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing Six aboard the for four deployments to the Mediterranean Sea . " Roosevelt " ' s twenty - first Sixth Fleet deployment was marked by indirect participation in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War , as she served as a transit " landing field " for aircraft being delivered to Israel . The " Roosevelt " battlegroup , Task Force 60 . 2 , also stood by for possible evacuation contingencies . Planes of VF - 84 ( temporarily assigned to VF - 41 for the 1973 - 74 cruise and operating with VF - 41 markings ) escorted US transport planes to within 150 miles of Israel during Operation Nickel Grass , the resupply of Israel . After its transition to the F - 14 was completed , the squadron embarked on its first cruise on " Nimitz " in December 1977 . In 1979 the unit was the first TARPS capable squadron of the fleet . In 1980 it participated in the motion picture " The Final Countdown " which propelled the skull - and - crossbones - adorned F - 14 ' s to international stardom . The movie featured a memorable scene involving two VF - 84 Tomcats engaging two Japan ese A6M Zero s . In January 1980 , " Nimitz " diverted from the Mediterranean to take up station in the Arabian Sea in response to the Iranian hostage crisis and in April participated in the failed hostage rescue attempt . In November 1983 , the squadron embarked on an extended deployment off the coast of Beirut , Lebanon , in support of a multinational peacekeeping force . During 1985 , VF - 84 spent 68 days off the coast of Lebanon in response to the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 . The squadron ' s last cruise with " Nimitz " lasted from December 1986 until June 1987 , when " Nimitz " was rebased to Bremerton , WA . In October 1988 , CVW - 8 ( the carrier wing of which VF - 84 was a part ) was deployed with " Theodore Roosevelt " , beginning in the North Atlantic for Exercise Teamwork ' 88 which involved operations with the Royal Norwegian Air Force . " Roosevelt " ' s first Mediterranean deployment was in December . In December 1990 , " Theodore Roosevelt " deployed as the last carrier to join the Operation Desert Shield force . " TR " joined " Ranger " and " Midway " in the Persian Gulf and was later joined by " America " . Throughout the Gulf War , VF - 84 flew combat air patrols for the fleet , escorting the Air Wing Eight ’ s strike aircraft and performing TARPS missions to collect bomb damage assessment s . In total , squadron members flew 468 combat sorties . After the war , VF - 84 flew an additional 111 sorties in support of Operation Provide Comfort before " Roosevelt " was relieved by " Forrestal " in June 1991 . In March 1993 , VF - 84 deployed again on " Theodore Roosevelt " , the only F - 14 squadron in a reconfigured airwing that included Marine F / A - 18 , CH - 53 and UH - 1 squadrons . VF - 84 flew critical TARPS reconnaissance missions during Operation Deny Flight , providing information about Bosnian Serb positions around Sarajevo . The squadron also flew in support of Operation Southern Watch , enforcing the no - fly zone over southern Iraq . VF - 84 returned to NAS Oceana in September 1993 . It was to be the squadron ' s last Mediterranean deployment . Due to the downsizing of the Navy after the Cold War , the Navy disestablished several squadrons , and VF - 84 was one of them . The squadron spent its last eighteen months of existence participating in several joint service operations , honing its skills in air - to - air combat , strike and TARPS . The squadron also made another memorable appearance in another motion picture , " Executive Decision " . VF - 84 was disestablished on October 1 , 1995 , but VF - 103 Sluggers adopted the name and insignia of the Jolly Rogers . From its transition to the F - 14 until its disestablishment , VF - 84 had been a part of CVW - 8 .