America (CV 66) - Naval Cruise Book

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VF-102 Diamondbacks The VF-102 Diamondbacks were established on July 1,1955, in Jacksonville, Florida. The Diamondbacks have flown numerous aircraft, including the F-2H Banshee, the F-4D Sky-ray, and the F-4B Phantom, before transitioning to the F-14 Tomcat in 1981. The F-14 fills the battle group’s air superiority role, its AWG-9 radar Phoenix missile combination providing a multi-target track multi-target launch capability. The F-14 also carries Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles and a 20mm Vulcan cannon. The squadron’s other mission is photo reconnaissance using the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS). In the Fall, despite a greatly accelerated work-up schedule while preparing to support the Air Wing during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. VF-102 won the Grand Slam Award. The Award is presented to the Atlantic Fleet VF VFA squadron with the highest successful air-to-air missile and air-to-air gun-firing exercises. This marks the second time in five years the Diamondbacks have captured this honor. During Operation Desert Storm. Diamondback aircrew supported strikes into Iraq and Kuwait by protecting strike groups from Iraqi MiGs. In addition, the squadron performed over 40 percent of the tactical photo reconnaissance missions in the Arabian Gulf. The Diamondbacks flew 503 combat missions for over 1430 hours during the war. In February 1991, the squadron flew 716 flight hours, setting a new record. By the end of the cruise, the squadron had flown 705 sorties and logged over 1850 hours of accident free flying. Throughout the cruise the Diamondback Tomcat team once again lived up to the motto: ‘‘Anytime, Baby!”

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