VF - 1 Fighter Squadron 1 ( VF - 1 ) was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy . Known as the " Wolfpack " the squadron saw combat during World War II , the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm . The squadron was de - activated and its personnel reassigned in 1993 when its carrier , the , was decommissioned . History . Fighter Squadron 1 was originally established on July 1 , 1922 , and operated as VF - 1 until July 1 , 1934 , when it was then redesignated VB - 2 . One year later , on July 1 , 1935 , a second VF - 1 was established and served for two years until it was redesignated to VF - 6 . During these years the pilots flew Curtiss TS - 1 , Boeing F2B and F3B , Curtiss F8C and BFC Goshawk and Boeing F4B . In January 1925 it was decided that VF - 1 would operate from battleship s , their TS land planes were fitted with pontoons and new engines . The squadron ' s planes were assigned to eleven different battleships . On November 16 , 1927 the " Saratoga " was commissioned and VF - 1 was assigned to her . The third VF - 1 was established on May 1 , 1943 , operating Grumman F6F Hellcat s . They were assigned to the Pacific fleet and participated in numerous missions during World War II . In 1944 , the squadron was reorganized , and assigned to perform attacks on Japan itself , taking an important role in assaulting airfields and Japanese shipping . After the war ended , the squadron was assigned to escort supply drops , until it was disestablished on October 25 , 1945 . The fourth VF - 1 , " Wolfpack " was established on October 14 , 1972 at NAS Miramar , at the same time as VF - 2 , these units were the first F - 14 fighter squadrons . VF - 1 received the first F - 14As on July 1 , 1973 . The squadron ' s insignia was a red wolf ’ s head designed by Grumman Commercial Artist , George M . Kehew who himself is a WWII combat veteran . The Squadron Insignia is registered in the Library of Congress . The first cruise came in September 1974 onboard " Enterprise " . The end of the cruise saw the first Tomcat ’ s combat debut , as VF - 1 and VF - 2 flew cover over Saigon for evacuation of US personnel in April 1975 as part of Operation Frequent Wind . In September 1980 , VF - 1 and VF - 2 changed carrier air wings , moved to the " Ranger " and flew various cruises with her until they shifted carriers once again in 1984 to the " Kitty Hawk " . They stayed with " Kitty Hawk " for one cruise . In 1984 , VF - 1 had achieved the impressive 22 , 000 flight hours without a single accident . By 1986 , they returned to the Ranger and were with the carrier during Operation Desert Storm where VF - 1 scored the only F - 14 air - to - air kill during the war , an Iraqi Mil Mi - 8 helicopter was downed with an AIM - 9 Sidewinder . On 14 January 1992 , VF - 1 lost NE112 [ BuNo . 160887 ] in a crash at Fallon Nevada . Both aircrew members , ( Eddie " Neal " Jones and Scott " Dinger " Waldinger ) were killed in the crash . The " Ranger " s last foreign port of entry was Sydney Australia in January 1993 after having spent New Year ' s Eve 1992 in Melbourne Australia . The " Ranger " was decommissioned in 1993 and VF - 1 was left without a carrier . They operated out of NAS Miramar until VF - 1 itself was disestablished on 1 October 1993 . VF - 1 in pop culture . In " Top Gun " , starring Tom Cruise , during any flight scenes one can clearly see " GOOSE VF - 1 " on LTJG Nick Bradshaw ' s ( Anthony Edwards ' ) flight helmet , as well as when they are on the USS " Enterprise " in the opening scenes of the movie , where the tail flash of the VF - 1 is clearly visible in some of the shots . On Maverick ' s flight suit , he wears a squadron patch that says " VF - 1 " on the scroll underneath , but the patch image is that of VAW - 110 , which at the time served as the west coast fleet replacement squadron for the E - 2 Hawkeye . In " Revenge " , Kevin Costner ' s character gives Anthony Quinn ' s character a leather flight jacket bearing F - 14 Tomcat patches with " VF - 1 " on them .