The Tophatters trace their unbroken lineage to September 1919, making VFA-14 the oldest active squadron in U.S. Naval Aviation. The squadron began carrier operations aboard USS Langley, the Navy's first aircraft carrier, in 1926 and has since operated from numerous carriers while flying generations of naval aircraft. During World War II, the Tophatters saw combat in both the Atlantic and Pacific, supporting the invasion of North Africa and later participating in operations at Leyte, Iwo Jima, Tokyo, and Okinawa.
In the jet age, the Tophatters flew aircraft including the F3D Skyknight, F3H Demon, F-4 Phantom II, and F-14 Tomcat. The squadron became the first to operate the Phantom aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt and later flew the F-14 for more than two decades, including combat operations during Operation Desert Storm.
VF-14 transitioned to the F/A-18E Super Hornet and was redesignated VFA-14 in 2001. Today, the Tophatters continue to fly the F/A-18E, carrying forward more than a century of continuous squadron history and one of the most enduring traditions in Naval Aviation.
