VF-103 Sluggers Squadron Patch – Sew on

VF-103 Sluggers Squadron Patch – Sew On Aviators! Are you looking for a high-quality patch you'll proudly wear or display? Look no further than the VF-103 Sluggers Squadron Patch! 4.0 inch Embroidered US Naval Aviator Owned Business Sew On Plastic Backing increases rigidity, so the patch lasts longer and stays flat. The original VF-103 squadron insignia was a cloverleaf, and the aircraft tailfins had a horizontal yellow arrow outlined in black. Later a stylized aircraft darting through the leaf was added, along with a baseball bat. The baseball stemmed from an early skipper who often carried one with him. In 1991, VF-103's aircraft used the squadron insignia for tail-art, in place of the bold arrow. When the Sluggers became the Jolly Rogers following the disestablishment of VF-84, they adopted the famous white skull-and-crossbones. VF-103 was reequipped with the F8U-2 (F-8C after 1962) and reassigned to CVG-8, although still assigned to the USS Forrestal. Three other deployments to the Mediterranean followed in 1960, 1961 and 1964-1965. The squadron was reequipped with the F-8E in 1964. The 1964-1965 cruise was significant, as VF-103 flew both the F-8E and the newly introduced F-4B Phantom II. VF-103 would fly the Phantom for 19 years. From 1965 to 1980, VF-103 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3 (CVW-3). Even longer was the assignment to the USS Saratoga, from 1965 to 1994, since 1984 as part of CVW-17. VF-103 was aboard Saratoga for 15 deployments to the Mediterranean Sea, plus a single one aboard Forrestal in 1982. VF-103 flew the F-4B until transitioning to the F-4J in 1968. In 1981, the squadron was reequipped with the F-4S. When North Vietnam launched its Easter Offensive invasion of South Vietnam, USS Saratoga was deployed to the coast of Vietnam to participate in Operation Linebacker. On 10 August 1972, Lieutenant Commander Robert Tucker and Lieutenant Junior Grade Stanley Edens shot down a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 with an AIM-7 Sparrow missile during a night interception. It was the first night MiG kill by using the sparrow. 1980s In January 1983, VF-103 was among the last fighter squadrons to transition to the F-14A Tomcat. The squadron conducted the first East Coast fighter squadron's low altitude AIM-54 Phoenix missile shoot a month later. In October 1985, VF-103 and VF-74 participated in the interception of the Egyptian Boeing 737 carrying the Achille Lauro hijackers. During a long range night intercept by VF-74 and VF-103, the 737 was forced to land at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily. The terrorists were taken into Italian custody, tried and sentenced. VF-103 and the rest of the airwing participated in Operation Attain Document and Operation El Dorado Canyon in the spring of 1986. In 1989, VF-103 transitioned to the F-14A+ (later redesignated F-14B). 1990s VF-103 F-14A+ Tomcats en route to Iraq while flying off Saratoga during the Gulf War. In August 1990 when Kuwait was invaded by Iraq, USS Saratoga was in the Mediterranean and soon joined USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea. VF-84 was part of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) Battle Group during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. VF-103 and VF-74 worked together to develop the fighter tactics which were used during the Gulf War. When the war started in January 1991, VF-103 conducted fighter escort for the air wing's strike packages, reconnaissance and bomb damage assessment and combat air patrols. On the fourth day of the war, while on an escort mission, a VF-103 F-14A+ was shot down by what is believed to be an SA-2 "Guideline" surface-to-air missile. After ejecting from his aircraft, the Radar Intercept Officer, Lieutenant Larry Slade, was captured by Iraqi troops and held in Baghdad as a POW until the end of the war. The pilot, Lieutenant Devon Jones, was able to evade capture and, after eight hours deep in enemy territory, was rescued by USAF Special Operations Forces. On 1 October 1995, VF-84 was disestablished bringing an end to the Jolly