VF - 51 VF - 51 , Fighter Squadron 51 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy known as the " Screaming Eagles " . The squadron established in 1943 was retired and its personnel reassigned in 1995 . History . Until its disestablishment , VF - 51 was the oldest fighter squadron in continuous service with the Pacific Fleet . VF - 51 ’ s roots are traced back to 1927 when the Screaming Eagles insignia could be seen with the VF - 3S Striking Eagles which flew the Curtis F6C - 4 . However , officially VF - 51 was activated as VF - 1 on 1 February 1943 . They were re - designated to VF - 5 on 15 July the same year , then changed to VF - 5A on 15 November 1946 and finally became VF - 51 on 16 August 1948 and retained that designation until the squadron ’ s disestablishment in March 1995 . In October 1947 , the Screaming Eagles became the first Navy squadron to enter the jet age with delivery of the North American FJ - 1 Fury ; the squadron used this fighter to conduct the USN ' s first operational all - jet aircraft carrier landing at sea on 10 March 1948 aboard . After transitioning to the Grumman F9F - 2 Panther , VF - 51 became the first squadron to take jets into combat and score the first air - to - air kills in the Korean War . Future astronaut and first man to walk on the Moon , Neil Armstrong , was also a Naval Aviator in VF - 51 during this period . During the Vietnam war , VF - 51 was the first squadron to evaluate the air - to - ground capability of the F - 8 Crusader , and because of this , VF - 51 was picked to fly secret interdiction missions into Laos in June 1964 . The squadron became MiG killers when they shot down two North Vietnamese MiG - 21 s in 1968 . In 1971 VF - 51 transitioned to the F - 4 Phantom and shot down four MiG - 17 s . During the final stages of the war VF - 51 flew from the . Members of VF - 51 were amongst the first groups of POW s to be released by North Vietnam . In 1976 , VF - 51 and the rest of Carrier Air Wing 15 was deployed on a peacetime Mediterranean cruise on the , returning in April 1977 . The purpose of this cruise on a soon - to - be scrapped carrier was to take the first squadron of USMC AV - 8A Harriers to sea . Following this Mediterranean cruise and return to NAS Miramar , VF - 51 phased out its F - 4 Phantom IIs . On 16 June 1978 , VF - 51 transitioned to the Block 100 version of the F - 14 A Tomcat and their first cruise with the Tomcat was in May 1979 with Carrier Air Wing 15 aboard the . As part of CVW - 15 , VF - 51 remained partnered with its sister squadron , VF - 111 , also flying the F - 14 . This cruise , originally slated to end in early December 1979 , was extended by Presidential direction during the " Kitty Hawk " Battle Group ' s final port call in the Philippines in late November 1979 as a result of the seizure of the American Embassy in Iran the same month and the subsequent Iranian Hostage Crisis . Both squadrons participated in the preparatory efforts to rescue American hostages in Iran , frequently intercepting both Iranian and Soviet aircraft in the region , but departing the Indian Ocean in February 1980 and turning responsibilities over to the Battle Group and its embarked Carrier Air Wing 8 with VF - 41 and VF - 84 prior to execution of Operation Eagle Claw . For this 1979 - 1980 deployment , VF - 51 was awarded the Battle E as the top fighter squadron in the Pacific Fleet . After two more cruises with the " Kitty Hawk " , the air wing moved to the East coast for a short period of time , flying from the newly introduced from March to October 1983 as the ship transited to its new homeport of NAS Alameda , California and assignment to the Pacific Fleet . VF - 51 is credited to be the first F - 14 squadron to intercept Soviet Tu - 26 Backfire bombers , armed MiG - 23 Floggers and Su - 15 Flagons using the Tomcat ' s TCS ( Television Camera Sight ) . The TCS is one of the F - 14 ' s most useful sensors allowing the crew to passively identify a target to determine if it ’ s hostile or not . During the 1986 - 1987 cruise with the , VF - 51 conducted operations in the Bering Sea during the winter . In February 1990 , the conducted operations in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean . VF - 51 and VF - 111 took part in several exercises with regional air forces , including Singapore , Malaysia and Thailand . The air wing returned home on 29 July . Original Navy plans saw VF - 51 and VF - 111 becoming the first deployable squadrons to transition to the F - 14D Super Tomcat , however these plans were cancelled in December 1991 and VF - 51 spent its time to its disestablishment in March 1995 flying the same F - 14As it had transitioned to in 1978 . Popular Media . In 1985 , VF - 51 was one of several NAS Miramar based squadrons to participate in the filming of " Top Gun " . Some VF - 51 and VF - 111 aircraft were repainted in fictitious squadron markings for the film . To be able to film the sequences , the F - 14s were fitted with cameras mounted in pods attached to the underbelly Phoenix pallets and the under wing pylons , as well as using ground mounted cameras . Late in the film , Tom Skerritt ' s character mentions that he flew with VF - 51 off the USS Oriskany with the main character ' s father , and several VF - 51 pilots appear in the film credits .