VF - 74 VF - 74 , Fighter Squadron 74 , " Be - Devilers " was an aviation unit of the United States Navy in service from 1944 to 1994 . Formed as VBF - 20 , it was renamed VF10A in 1946 . In 1948 it was redesignated as VF - 92 . History . VF - 74 was established on 16 April 1945 as VBF - 20 flying the F4U - 1 Corsair from NAS Wildwood in New Jersey . After six months they transitioned to the F6F Hellcat but soon changed to F8F Bearcat . In 15 November 1946 their designation was changed to VF - 10A and was part of Carrier Air Group 9 on board and made their first deployment to the Mediterranean between February and June 1948 . Before the cruise VF - 10A had shifted to their new shore base of Naval Auxiliary Air Station Charlestown , Rhode Island . At the same time , the squadron had adopted their devil ’ s insignia created by Ensign John P . Humphries . On 12 August 1948 the squadron became VF - 92 and became part of CAG - 7 , moving to Naval Air Station Quonset Point and their final re - designation happened on 15 January 1950 when they became VF - 74 . They transitioned to the F4U - 4 Corsair in 1951 and returned to the Mediterranean on board the . With the Korean war raging , CAG - 7 transferred to the Pacific in May 1952 and conducted a combat cruise on board the . They were in combat for six months and flew 1500 combat sorties , mainly against North Korean targets . They also moved to the F9F - 8 Cougar , their first jet aircraft . Within 12 months the F9F - 8 Cougar was replaced by the F4D - 1 Skyray which was the US Navy ’ s first supersonic fighter , although it was phased out in 1962 . VF - 74 deployed to the Mediterranean three times , twice on board the and their final deployment was on USS " Franklin D . Roosevelt " . On 8 July 1961 VF - 74 began to transition to the F - 4B Phantom II becoming the first deployable F - 4 squadron , giving rise to their " First in Phantoms " motto . They deployed aboard in August 1962 replacing VF - 104 ' s F4D ' s in CAG - 8 { fact } . For 20 years VF - 74 would deploy 15 times with the Phantom , 13 to the Mediterranean and two to South East Asia . Their first Vietnam cruise aboard was marked by tragedy on 29 July 1967 , when an ordnance explosion on the flight deck caused a massive ensuing fire . VF - 74 lost 42 enlisted personnel and three F - 4s . Many squadron members were commended for their heroic actions whilst fighting the fires . In early 1972 they transitioned from the F - 4B to the F - 4J . Between July 1972 to February 1973 the squadron returned to combat in Vietnam on board the . During seven periods on the famous Yankee Station VF - 74 did not lose a single aircraft to enemy action . VF - 74 was just as successful in peace time , winning the CNO Safety “ S ” in 1974 along with the Battle " E " . In 1975 , they moved to CVW - 8 and took part in the maiden cruise of . In 1976 they won the Admiral Joseph Clifton Award , making them the top US Navy fighter squadron . In 1982 they transitioned from the F - 4J to the F - 4S and made their final cruise with the F - 4 Phantom from May { date } to 16 November 1982 . In February 1983 they began the transition to the F - 14 Tomcat and in October the same year the squadron reported back to CVW - 17 and their first cruise was in April 1984 on board the USS " Saratoga " which ended in October the same year . In 1985 VF - 74 and VF - 103 became famous in the fight against terrorism . On 7 October , members of the Palestine Liberation Front ( PLF ) hijacked the Italian cruise liner " Achille Lauro " . When the ship arrived in Syria the hijackers made their way to Egypt where they were promised free passage to Tunisia in return for the hostages ' lives . The terrorists boarded an Egypt Air Boeing 737 on the night of 10 October . But based on US Intelligence , president Ronald Reagan ordered the Sixth Fleet to take action , to force down the 737 to Sigonella where US Special Forces could capture the hijackers . Four F - 14s and an E - 2C Hawkeye launched from Saratoga . The plan called for Saratoga ' s planes to make night intercepts and identifications of air contacts on the airways crisscrossing the central Mediterranean as they flew eastward toward a common airway intersection south of Crete . After four interceptions , following two hair - raising , lights out intercepts of planes , the F - 14s found the right aircraft . At about 2230 , southeast of Crete they closed in on the 737 which showed the tail number 2843 which identified the aircraft as the one they were looking for . After identifying themselves to the airliner ’ s pilot , the American planes eventually were able to convince the 737 to land at the NATO base in Sigonella , Sicily . Upon landing , the airliner was quickly surrounded by American soldiers . The terrorists ultimately were taken into Italian custody . 1986 was another busy year for VF - 74 as they took part in Operation Attain Document and Operation El Dorado Canyon . During the next few years , VF - 74 would make regular deployments to the Mediterranean Sea as part of CVW - 17 . On 11 August 1988 VF - 74 became the first squadron to receive the F - 14A + ( now F - 14B ) . By the end of the year they had finished the transition and VF - 74 became the first squadron to launch an AIM - 54 Phoenix from an F - 14A + . In 1990 , VF - 74 took part in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm . VF - 74 relieved the , they took up station in the Red Sea and worked with the . After eight months they returned to NAS Oceana on 29 March 1991 . Within a year , VF - 74 was back on cruise with the USS " Saratoga " on 6 May 1992 . Operations included taking part in support of the United Nations aid to the former republics of Yugoslavia in July . On 14 September , VF - 74 flew , dropping ordnance on the Wadi Natrun target range in Egypt . The squadron returned home on 6 November . As usual after returning from cruise , the squadron went straight to workups for the next deployment on board the after the carrier had returned from Service Life Extension Program , they also conducted carrier qualifications on USS " Saratoga " . However , in August 1993 the Navy decided to deploy only one F - 14 squadron on board " Saratoga " , and as VF - 74 was a non - TARPS squadron they were left back home and moved from CVW - 17 to be under direct command of Fighter Wing Atlantic . Although they did not take part in any cruise VF - 74 took up aggressor role with various Navy and Air Force squadrons . On 20 January 1994 , VF - 74 took part in the last deployment , this time to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in February where VF - 74 launched seven air - to - air missiles with 100 % success rate . On 30 April 1994 , VF - 74 was disestablished after 50 years of service .