USS Constellation CV-64 · America’s Flagship Open the Book
1994–95 Western Pacific & Persian Gulf Deployment 435 pages · searchable by name, division, squadron, and port
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VF-2 “Bounty Hunters” squadron insignia
Fighter Squadron (VF) · CVW-2

VF-2 — “Bounty Hunters”

Constellation's fighter squadron, flying the Navy's premier interceptor.

Designation
VF-2
Aircraft
F-14 Tomcat
Role
Fighter Squadron (VF)

The Squadron

Fighter Squadron 2, the “Bounty Hunters,” served as a fleet-defense fighter squadron within Carrier Air Wing Two. Flying the F-14 Tomcat, the squadron carried the air wing’s long reach against airborne threats, charged with holding adversary aircraft at arm’s length from the carrier and the ships sailing in company with her.

As a fighter squadron, VF-2 occupied the outer ring of the battle group’s defense. Its crews trained to detect, identify, and if ordered engage hostile aircraft far beyond visual range — a role that placed the squadron at the leading edge of the air wing’s ability to control the sky over the fleet.

The Aircraft

The F-14 Tomcat was a two-seat, twin-engine fighter with variable-sweep wings that swung aft for high speed and forward for slower, controlled flight around the carrier. Designed as the Navy’s long-range interceptor, it paired a pilot in front with a radar intercept officer behind, dividing the demanding work of flying and fighting between two crewmen.

Its defining strength was the AWG-9 radar coupled with the AIM-54 Phoenix missile — a combination that let the Tomcat track and engage targets at distances no other carrier fighter of its era could match. That reach made the F-14 the instrument by which the air wing pushed its defensive perimeter outward, intercepting threats long before they neared the ships.

In the Cruise

During the WESTPAC deployment of 1994–95, the fighter squadron’s task was the defense of the battle group as Constellation operated across the Western Pacific and into the Persian Gulf. Tomcat crews stood ready alert and flew combat air patrol, maintaining a fighter screen over the fleet around the clock.

Over the northern Persian Gulf, the air wing supported Operation Southern Watch, the enforcement of the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. In that setting the squadron’s fighters contributed to the air picture and to the protection of coalition aircraft operating in the watched airspace.

Crew Roster

Officers, aircrew, and maintainers of VF-2 “Bounty Hunters,” CVW-2, USS Constellation (CV-64), 1994–95 WESTPAC. Names transcribed from the original cruise book; each links to that Sailor’s page in the scanned book. See a misspelling or a shipmate we missed? Tell us and we’ll fix it.

See VF-2’s pages in the cruise book →

Squadron insignia: official U.S. Navy/Marine Corps insignia (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.

Questions & Answers

What aircraft did VF-2 fly?

VF-2 flew the F-14 Tomcat, a two-seat, twin-engine, variable-sweep-wing fleet-defense fighter.

What was the F-14 Tomcat's role?

The Tomcat was the Navy's long-range fighter, built to defend the carrier battle group by intercepting airborne threats at great distance using its AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles.

What is a fleet-defense fighter squadron?

It is a squadron whose primary mission is air-to-air defense of the carrier and the ships sailing with it, holding hostile aircraft away from the battle group.

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