‘Grim Reaper’ heritage
Although it is not of the lineage of World
War Two’s Fighter Squadron 10 (VF-10),
VFA-101 adopted the ‘Grim Reapers’
traditions of this famous squadron.
VF-10 ew the F4F Wildcat and later the
F6F-3 Hellcat o USS Enterprise (CV-6) in
the Paci c. The squadron later deployed
twice into combat on board USS Intrepid
(CV-11) in 1945, rst with F4U-1D and
later F4U-4 Corsair ghters, before it was
deactivated in 1945.
VF-101 was formed in 1952 at NAS
Cecil Field, Florida, and took ‘Grim
Reapers’ name. It then ew F4U-
Corsairs in the Korean War, going on to
operate the F2H Banshee, F4D Skyray,
F3H Demon, F-4 Phantom II and, of
course, the F-14 Tomcat before again
being deactivated in September 2005.The squadron was therefore a
natural choice as the rst US Navy
F-35C Lightning II unit and came back
into being at Eglin AFB in May 2012.
According to a May 23 news release,
VFA-101 trained around 75 US Navy and
US Marine Corps F-35C pilots, accepted
in excess of 30 aircraft, trained more
than 1,200 maintainers and ew nearly
11,000 ight hours.
Its latest commanding o cer, CDR
Adan Covarrubias, said in the release,
‘The contribution that VFA-101 has
made to the F-35C community will not
diminish as this program grows. The
original cadre of maintainers and pilots
have left a legacy that is evidenced in
all aspects of this community. Their
in uence will continue long after the
squadron’s doors are closed.’The
contribution
that VFA-101 has
made to the F-35C
community will not
diminish as this
program grows
CDR Adan CovarrubiasThe last VFA-101 F-35C is
prepared to leave Eglin
in May, bound for NAS
Lemoore. US DoD14 August 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
READY ROOM // STAND-DOWN FOR THE ‘GRIM REAPERS’
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