Description
VFA-14 Tophatters 100th Anniversary F/A-18 Tailflash
Fly with the VFA-14 Tophatters 100th Anniversary in this handcrafted F/A-18E Tailflash. Each tail is carved from wood and hand-painted to provide a unique piece that will always be treasured.
- 20 inches
- Made from Mahogany
- US Veteran-Owned Business
Pacific Ocean (November 12, 2004) ñLieutenant Kertreck Brooks of Mt. Pleasant, Texas, launches an F/A-18 Super Hornet of the ìTophattersî Fixed Wing Strike Fighter Squadron 14 (VFA-14) off of catapult two on the flight deck aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is currently conducting Tailored Ships Training Availability I/II/III (TSTA I/II/III) and Final Exercise Period (FEP) off the coast of southern California. U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 3rd Class Angel G. Hilbrands
The Strike Fighter Squadron 14 (VFA-14) “Tophatters” are a United States Navy fighter attack squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. They fly the F/A-18E Super Hornet, and are the Navy’s oldest active squadron, having formed in 1919. Their callsign is Camelot, and their tail code is NG. Since its inception the squadron has flown 23 different type aircraft, had its designation changed fourteen times, operated from 20 different aircraft carriers (and several battleships) and had 81 commanding officers (the 82nd is now in command). Over the years the squadron has been assigned many different missions, including patrol and observation in its early years, and scouting, attack, fighter, bombing and forward air control missions when it became associated with carrier-based operations. The squadron adopted the classic Top Hat as its squadron patch and called themselves the “High Hats”. Early years The Tophatters began carrier operations on board the Navy’s first aircraft carrier Langley in 1926. The squadron, then designated Fighter Plane Squadron One, set the record for carrier landings in a single day. Flying the TS-1, they logged 127 traps by the end of flight operations. In 1929 the squadron was assigned to Saratoga, where it began as a fighter squadron and transitioned to a bomber squadron. Throughout the 1930s, the Tophatters flew the FB-5, F2B, F4B, F11C-Goshawk, BFC, SB2C Helldiver and the SB2U-1 Vindicator. In 1939, while flying the Vindicator, the Tophatters were transferred to the Atlantic Fleet and Ranger.
