1.
Great Falls, Montana
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Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The 2015 census estimate put the population at 59,638, the population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area. Great Falls was the largest city in Montana from 1950 to 1970, Great Falls remained the second largest city in Montana until 2000, when it was passed by Missoula. Since then Great Falls has been the third largest city in the state, each falls sports a hydroelectric dam today, hence Great Falls is nicknamed the Electric City. Currently there are two undeveloped parts of their route, these are included within the Great Falls Portage. The city is home to the C. M, the local newspaper is the Great Falls Tribune. A Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index listed Great Falls as the most affordable area of 348 markets in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The first human beings to live in the Great Falls area were Paleo-Indians who migrated into the region between 9,500 BCE and 8,270 BCE, the earliest inhabitants of North America entered Montana east of the Continental Divide between the mountains and the Laurentide ice sheet. The area remained sparsely inhabited, however. Salish Indians would often hunt bison in the region on a seasonal basis, around 1600, Piegan Blackfeet Indians, migrating west, entered the area, pushing the Salish back into the Rocky Mountains and claiming the site now known as Great Falls as their own. The Great Falls location remained the tribal territory of the Blackfeet until long after the United States claimed the region in 1803. Meriwether Lewis was the first white person to visit the area, york, an African American slave owned by William Clark and who had participated in the Expedition, was the first black American to visit the site of the future city. Bridger and Major Andrew Henry led an expedition to the future city location in April 1823. British explorer Alexander Ross trapped around Great Falls in 1824, in 1838, a mapping expedition sent by the U. S. federal government and guided by Bridger spent four years in the area. Margaret Harkness Woodman became the first white woman to visit the Great Falls area in 1862, the first steamboat arrived at future site of the city in 1859. Politically, the site of Great Falls passed through numerous hands in the 19th century. It was part of the frontier until May 30,1854
2.
Chief of Naval Operations
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The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior naval officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is an adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy. The current Chief of Naval Operations is Admiral John M. Richardson, under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, the CNO also designates naval personnel and naval resources to the commanders of Unified Combatant Commands. The CNO also performs all other functions prescribed under 10 U. S. C. §5033, the CNO is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Navy unless the Chairman and/or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are naval officers. Like the other joint chiefs, the CNO is a position and has no operational command authority over United States naval forces. The Chief of Naval Operations is nominated by the President for appointment, however, the president may waive those requirements if he determines that appointing the officer is necessary for the national interest. By statute, the CNO is appointed as a four-star admiral, number One Observatory Circle, located on the northeast grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, was built in 1893 for its superintendent. The Chief of Naval Operations liked the house so much that in 1923 he took over the house as his own official residence and it remained the residence of the CNO until 1974, when Congress authorized its transformation to an official residence for the Vice President. The Chief of Naval Operations currently resides in Quarters A in the Washington Naval Yard, the position of CNO replaced the position of Aide for Naval Operations, which was a position established by regulation rather than statutory law. Lists of Commanding Officers and Senior Officials of the US Navy, archived from the original on 18 December 2007
3.
Gulf War
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The Iraqi Armys occupation of Kuwait that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, an array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost, the war was marked by the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board US bombers during Operation Desert Storm. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991 and this was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait. The coalition ceased its advance, and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel. The following names have been used to describe the conflict itself, Gulf War, a problem with these terms is that the usage is ambiguous, having now been applied to at least three conflicts, see Gulf War. The use of the term Persian Gulf is also disputed, see Persian Gulf naming dispute, with no consensus of naming, various publications have attempted to refine the name. Other language terms include French, la Guerre du Golfe and German, Golfkrieg, German, Zweiter Golfkrieg, French, most of the coalition states used various names for their operations and the wars operational phases. Operation Desert Storm was the US name of the conflict from 17 January 1991. Operation Desert Sabre was the US name for the offensive against the Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations from 24–28 February 1991, in itself. Operation Desert Farewell was the given to the return of US units and equipment to the US in 1991 after Kuwaits liberation. Operation Granby was the British name for British military activities during the operations, Opération Daguet was the French name for French military activities in the conflict. Operation Friction was the name of the Canadian operations Operazione Locusta was the Italian name for the operations, in addition, various phases of each operation may have a unique operational name. The US divided the conflict into three campaigns, Defense of Saudi Arabian country for the period 2 August 1990, through 16 January 1991
4.
General Dynamics
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General Dynamics Corporation is an American aerospace and defense multinational corporation. Formed by mergers and divestitures, it is the worlds fifth-largest defense contractor based on 2012 revenues, General Dynamics is headquartered in West Falls Church, Fairfax County, Virginia. The company has changed markedly in the post–Cold War era of defense consolidation and it has four main business segments, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, Information Systems Technology, and Aerospace. General Dynamics former Fort Worth Division manufactured one of the Western worlds most-produced jet fighters, the F-16 Fighting Falcon—until 1993, in 1999, the company re-entered the airframe business with its purchase of Gulfstream Aerospace. General Dynamics traces its ancestry to John Philip Hollands Holland Torpedo Boat Company and this company was responsible for developing the U. S. Navys first submarines built at Lewis Nixons Crescent Shipyard, located in Elizabethport, New Jersey. The revolutionary submarine boat Holland VI was built there, its keel being laid down in 1896, crescents superintendent and naval architect, Arthur Leopold Busch, supervised the construction of this submarine. After being launched on 17 May 1897, it was purchased by the Navy. The Holland was officially commissioned on 12 October 1900 and became the United States Navys first submarine, the Navy placed an order for more submarines, which were developed in rapid succession and were assembled at two different locations on both coasts. These submarines were known as the A-Class or Adder Class, Holland effectively lost control of the company and found himself earning a salary of $90 a week as chief engineer, while the company that he founded was selling submarines for $300,000 each. Holland resigned from the company effective April 1904, rice became Electric Boats first President, remaining there from that time until 1915 when he stepped down just prior to his death on 2 November 1915. Electric Boat gained a reputation for unscrupulous arms dealing in 1904-05, when it sold submarines to Japans Imperial Japanese Navy and Russias Imperial Russian Navy, who were then at war. Holland submarines were sold to the British Royal Navy through the English armaments company Vickers. The new pioneering craft originally developed by the company was now legitimized as genuine naval weapons by the worlds most powerful navies. In the post-World War II wind-down, Electric Boat was cash-flush but lacking in work, hoping to diversify, president and chief executive officer John Jay Hopkins started looking for companies that would fit into Electric Boats market. Hopkins quickly found that Canadair, owned by the Canadian government, was suffering from similar post-war malaise and was up for sale, Hopkins bought the company for $10 million in 1946. Even by the Canadian governments calculations, the factory alone was more than $22 million. When Electric Boat purchased Canadair, its line and inventory systems were in disorder. Hopkins hired Canadian-born mass-production specialist H. Oliver West to take over the presidents role, as defense spending increased with the onset of the Cold War, Canadair went on to win many Canadian military contracts for the Royal Canadian Air Force, and became a major aerospace company
5.
West Salem, Wisconsin
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West Salem is a village in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, along the La Crosse River. It is part of the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, the population was 4,799 as of the 2010 Census. West Salem was platted in 1856 and it was named Salem by a Baptist minister named Elder Card because the word meant peace in Arabic and Hebrew. The word West was added to the name when mail was confused with another town in the state named Salem, the donation of approximately ten acres of land to a railway company led to the creation of West Salem. A station was built in West Salem on the original Milwaukee and it was later taken over by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway. The railway used the land to build a depot and tracks, West Salem is located at 43°53′59″N 91°5′12″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has an area of 3.44 square miles. West Salem As of the census of 2010, there were 4,799 people,1,831 households, the population density was 1,403.2 inhabitants per square mile. There were 1,869 housing units at a density of 546.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 96. 7% White,0. 4% African American,0. 6% Native American,0. 7% Asian,0. 3% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 1. 2% of the population. 26. 9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11. 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the village was 39.2 years. 26% of residents were under the age of 18,6. 3% were between the ages of 18 and 24,25. 5% were from 25 to 44,26. 3% were from 45 to 64, and 15. 9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47. 4% male and 52. 6% female, as of the census of 2000, there were 4,541 people,1,706 households, and 1,230 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,911.2 people per square mile, there were 1,765 housing units at an average density of 743.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 98. 04% White,0. 51% African American,0. 42% Native American,0. 44% Asian,0. 07% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 59% of the population. 23. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10. 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.09. In the village, the population was out with 30. 0% under the age of 18,6. 3% from 18 to 24,31. 9% from 25 to 44,18. 9% from 45 to 64
6.
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
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Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America. The designation Eagle Scout was founded one hundred years ago. Only four percent of Boy Scouts are granted this rank after a review process. The requirements necessary to achieve this rank take years to fulfill, since its founding, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than two million young men. Requirements include earning at least 21 merit badges, the Eagle Scout must demonstrate Scout Spirit, an ideal attitude based upon the Scout Oath and Law, service, and leadership. This includes a service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads. Eagle Scouts are presented with a medal and a badge that visibly recognizes the accomplishments of the Scout, additional recognition can be earned through Eagle Palms, awarded for completing additional tenure, leadership, and merit badge requirements. The Boy Scouts of Americas highest award was conceived as the Wolf Scout. The August 1911 version of the handbook changed this to Eagle Scout, the medal illustrated in the handbook was a profile of an eagle in flight, but was changed to the current design before any were issued. In their original conceptions, Life Scout, Star Scout and Eagle Scout were not ranks, Eagle Scout was awarded to any First Class Scout who had earned 21 merit badges. The first Eagle Scout medal was awarded in 1912 to Arthur Rose Eldred, Eldred was notified that he was to be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in a letter from Chief Scout Executive James West, dated August 21,1912. The design of the Eagle Scout medal had not been finalized by the National Council, so the medal was not awarded until Labor Day, Eldred was the first of three generations of Eagle Scouts, his son and grandson hold the rank as well. As of 2009, more than two million Scouts have earned the rank, in the 1960s, the Kansas City area awarded more Eagle Scout badges than any other council in the country, resulting in the creation of the Eagle Scout Memorial there in 1968. In 1982, 13-year-old Alexander Holsinger, of Normal, Illinois, was recognized as the one-millionth Eagle Scout, about 2.25 million Scouts had earned Eagle Scout through January 2014. In 2012,57,976 Eagle Scout awards were presented, four Nobel Prize laureates are known to be Eagle Scouts, Dudley R. Additionally he must plan, develop, and lead a service project—the Eagle Project—that demonstrates both leadership and a commitment to duty, after all requirements are met, he must complete an Eagle Scout board of review. He can complete the board of review after his 18th birthday as long as all other requirements are completed before his 18th birthday, Scouts with a permanent mental or physical disability may use alternate requirements based on abilities, if approved by the council. Eagle Scout may be awarded posthumously, if and only if all requirements except the board of review are completed before death, a board of review may be held and the award presented to the Scouts family
7.
United States Naval Academy
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The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark and home to historic sites, buildings. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis. Candidates for admission generally must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a Member of Congress, students are officers-in-training and are referred to as midshipmen. Tuition for midshipmen is fully funded by the Navy in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation, approximately 1,200 plebes enter the Academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer, but only about 1,000 midshipmen graduate. The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest paid graduates in the according to starting salary. Midshipmen are required to adhere to the academys Honor Concept, the United States Naval Academys campus is located in Annapolis, Maryland, at the confluence of the Severn River and the Chesapeake Bay. In its 2016 edition, U. S. News & World Report ranked the U. S. Naval Academy as the No.1 public liberal arts college and tied for the 9th best overall liberal arts college in the U. S. In the category of High School Counselor Rankings of National Liberal Arts Colleges, Military Academy and the U. S. Air Force Academy, and is tied for the No.5 spot for Best Undergraduate Engineering program at schools where doctorates not offered. In 2016, Forbes ranked the U. S. Naval Academy as No.24 overall in its report Americas Top Colleges, nominations may be made by members of and delegates to Congress, the President or Vice-President, the Secretary of the Navy or certain other sources. Candidates must also pass a fitness test and a thorough medical exam as part of the application process. In the 21st century, there have been about 1,200 students in each new class of plebes, the U. S. government pays for tuition, room, and board. Midshipmen receive monthly pay of $1,017.00, as of 2015, from this amount, pay is automatically deducted for the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, services, and other miscellaneous expenses. Midshipmen only receive a portion of their pay in cash while the rest is released during firstie year. Midshipmen fourth-class to midshipmen second-class receive monthly stipends of $100, $200, $300, Midshipmen first-class receive the difference between pay and outstanding expenses. Students at the academy are addressed as Midshipman, an official military rank. The same term comprises both males and females, upon graduation, most naval academy midshipmen are commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps and serve a minimum of five years after their commissioning. If they are selected to serve as a pilot, they will serve 8–11 years minimum from their date of winging, Foreign midshipmen are commissioned into the armed forces of their native countries
8.
Naval aviation
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Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. In contrast, maritime aviation is the operation of aircraft in a maritime role, an exception to this is the United States Coast Guard, which is considered part of U. S. naval aviation. S. Naval aviation, whether based afloat or ashore, Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based aircraft must be enough to withstand demanding carrier operations. Early experiments on the use of kites for naval reconnaissance took place in 1903 at Woolwich Common for the Admiralty, in 1908 Prime Minister H. H. Asquith approved the formation of an Aerial Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence to investigate the potential for naval aviation. This resulted in the construction of Mayfly in 1909, the first air component of the navy to become operational, and the genesis of modern naval aviation. Two hundred applications were received, and four were accepted, Lieutenant C R Samson, Lieutenant A M Longmore, Lieutenant A Gregory and Captain E L Gerrard, RMLI. The French also established an aviation capability in 1910 with the establishment of the Service Aeronautique. U. S. naval aviation began with pioneer aviator Glenn Curtiss who contracted with the Navy to demonstrate that airplanes could take off from, one of his pilots, Eugene Ely, took off from the USS Birmingham anchored off the Virginia coast in November 1910. Two months later Ely landed aboard another cruiser, USS Pennsylvania, in San Francisco Bay, however, the platforms erected on those vessels were temporary measures. The U. S. Navy and Glenn Curtiss experienced two firsts during January 1911, $25,000 was appropriated for the Bureau of Navigation to purchase three airplanes and in the spring of 1911 four additional officers were trained as pilots by the Wright brothers and Curtiss. A camp with a landing field was established on the Severn River at Greenbury Point, near Annapolis. Mustin successfully tested the concept of the launch in August 1912. The first permanent naval air station was established at Pensacola, Florida, in January 1912, the British battleship HMS Africa took part in aircraft experiments at Sheerness. Africa then transferred her flight equipment to her sister ship Hibernia, in May 1912, with Commander Samson again flying the S.38, the first ever instance of an aircraft to take off from a ship which was underway occurred. Hibernia steamed at 10.5 knots at the Royal Fleet Review in Weymouth Bay, Hibernia then transferred her aviation equipment to battleship London. The first aircraft participation in naval manoeuvres took place in 1913 with the cruiser Hermes converted into a seaplane carrier, in 1914, naval aviation was split again, and became the Royal Naval Air Service. However, shipboard naval aviation had begun in the Royal Navy, other early operators of seaplanes were Germany, within its Marine-Fliegerabteiling naval aviation units within the Kaiserliche Marine, and Russia
9.
USS Oriskany (CV-34)
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USS Oriskany – nicknamed Mighty O, and occasionally referred to as the O-boat – was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed only after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War, the history of Oriskany differs considerably from that of her sister ships. Originally designed as a long-hulled Essex-class ship her construction was suspended in 1946 and she eventually was commissioned in 1950 after conversion to an updated design called SCB-27, which became the template for modernization of 14 other Essex-class ships. Oriskany was the final Essex-class ship completed and she operated primarily in the Pacific into the 1970s, earning two battle stars for service in the Korean War, and five for service in the Vietnam War. In 1966 one of the worst shipboard fires since World War II broke out on Oriskany when a flare was accidentally ignited. Oriskanys post-service history also differs considerably from that of her sister ships, decommissioned in 1976, she was sold for scrap in 1995, but was repossessed in 1997 because nothing was being done. In 2004 it was decided to sink her as a reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. After much environmental review and remediation to remove toxic substances, she was sunk in May 2006. As of 2008, Oriskany is the largest vessel ever sunk to make a reef, Oriskany has been featured in films such as Men of the Fighting Lady and The Bridges at Toko-Ri from 1954 and What Dreams May Come. The name Oriskany was originally assigned to CV-18, but that hull was renamed Wasp when the keel was laid in 1942, cV-34 was laid down on 1 May 1944 by the New York Naval Shipyard, launched on 13 October 1945, and sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Cannon. Construction was suspended on 22 August 1946, when the ship was approximately 85% complete, Oriskany was redesigned as the prototype for the SCB-27 modernization program beginning on 8 Aug 1947, and torn down to 60% complete. To handle the new generation of aircraft, the flight deck structure was massively reinforced. Stronger elevators, more powerful catapults, and new arresting gear were installed. The island structure was rebuilt, the turrets were removed. Blistering the hull increases the area of a ships hull, thereby increasing its buoyancy. It also provides increased bunker volume, in the case of Oriskany, this would have been for aviation fuel. These features would have been crucial to a ship that had so much topside weight added after its original design, Oriskany was commissioned in the New York Naval Shipyard on 25 September 1950, Captain Percy H. Lyon in command. Oriskany departed New York on 6 December 1950, for carrier operations off Jacksonville, Florida, followed by a Christmas call at Newport
10.
Vought F-8 Crusader
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The first F-8 prototype was ready for flight in February 1955. The F-8 served principally in the Vietnam War, the Crusader was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title The Last of the Gunfighters. The RF-8 Crusader was a development and operated longer in U. S. service than any of the fighter versions. RF-8s played a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, providing essential low-level photographs impossible to acquire by other means. U. S. Naval Reserve units continued to operate the RF-8 until 1987, in September 1952, the United States Navy announced a requirement for a new fighter. It was to have a top speed of Mach 1.2 at 30,000 ft with a rate of 25,000 ft/min. Korean War experience had demonstrated that 0.50 inch machine guns were no longer sufficient, in response, the Vought team led by John Russell Clark, created the V-383. Unusual for a fighter, the aircraft had a wing which necessitated the use of a fuselage-mounted short. The Crusader was powered by a Pratt and Whitney J57 turbojet engine, the engine was equipped with an afterburner that, unlike on later engines, was either fully lit, or off. The engine produced 18,000 lb of thrust at full power, the Crusader was the first jet fighter in US service to reach 1,000 mph, U. S. Navy pilot R. W. Windsor reached 1,015 mph on a flight in 1956. The most innovative aspect of the design was the wing which pivoted by 7° out of the fuselage on takeoff. This allowed a greater angle of attack, increasing lift without compromising forward visibility and this innovation helped the F-8s development team win the Collier Trophy in 1956. Simultaneously, the lift was augmented by leading-edge slats drooping by 25°, the armament, as specified by the Navy, consisted primarily of four 20 mm autocannon, the Crusader happened to be the last U. S. fighter designed with guns as its primary weapon. They were supplemented with a tray with 32 unguided Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket. Vought also presented a tactical reconnaissance version of the called the V-392. In May 1953, the Vought design was declared a winner and in June, the first prototype flew on 25 March 1955 with John Konrad at the controls. The aircraft exceeded the speed of sound during its maiden flight, the development was so trouble-free that the second prototype, along with the first production F8U-1, flew on the same day,30 September 1955. On 4 April 1956, the F8U-1 performed its first catapult launch from Forrestal, in parallel with the F8U-1s and -2s, the Crusader design team was also working on a larger aircraft with ever greater performance, internally designated as the V-401
11.
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
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The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navys Naval Fighter Experimental program after the collapse of the F-111B project, the F-14 was the first of the American teen-series fighters, which were designed incorporating air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War. The F-14 first flew in December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U. S. Navy aboard USS Enterprise, replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The F-14 served as the U. S. Navys primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor, the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night pod system were added in the 1990s and the Tomcat began performing precision ground-attack missions. In the 1980s F-14s were used as land-based interceptors by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force during the Iran–Iraq War, where they saw combat against Iraqi warplanes. Iranian F-14s reportedly shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the war, while only 12 to 16 Tomcats were lost, the Tomcat was retired from the U. S. Navys active fleet on 22 September 2006, having been supplanted by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The F-14 remains in service with the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, the U. S. Navy needed a Fleet Air Defense aircraft with a more powerful radar and longer range missiles than the F-4 Phantom II carried to intercept both enemy bombers and missiles. The Navy was directed to participate in the Tactical Fighter Experimental program with the U. S. Air Force by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The Navy strenuously opposed the TFX as it feared compromises necessary for the Air Forces need for an attack aircraft would adversely impact the aircrafts performance as a fighter. Weight and performance issues plagued the U. S. Navy F-111B variant for TFX, the F-111 manufacturer General Dynamics partnered with Grumman on the Navy F-111B. With the F-111B program in distress, Grumman began studying improvements, in 1966, the Navy awarded Grumman a contract to begin studying advanced fighter designs. Grumman narrowed down these designs to its 303 design, the Navy studied the need for VFAX, an additional fighter that was agiler than the F-4 Phantom for air-combat and ground-attack roles. Grumman continued work on its 303 design and offered it to the Navy in 1967, the company continued to refine the design into 1968. In July 1968, the Naval Air Systems Command issued a request for proposals for the Naval Fighter Experimental program, VFX called for a tandem two-seat, twin-engined air-to-air fighter with a maximum speed of Mach 2.2. It would also have a built-in M61 Vulcan cannon and a close air support role. The VFXs air-to-air missiles would be either six AIM-54 Phoenix or a combination of six AIM-7 Sparrow, bids were received from General Dynamics, Grumman, Ling-Temco-Vought, McDonnell Douglas and North American Rockwell, four bids incorporated variable-geometry wings. McDonnell Douglas and Grumman were selected as finalists in December 1968, Grumman was selected for the contract award in January 1969. Upon winning the contract for the F-14, Grumman greatly expanded its Calverton, Long Island, much of the testing, including the first of many compressor stalls and multiple ejections, took place over Long Island Sound
12.
VF-142
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VF-142 Ghostriders was a US Navy fighter squadron established on 24 August 1948 as VF-193, it was redesignated VF-142 on 15 October 1963, and disestablished on 30 April 1995. Fighter Squadron 193 was commissioned on 24 August 1948 and assigned to Carrier Air Group Nineteen, the squadron was equipped with the Vought F4U-4 Corsair. It made two deployments to Korea during the Korean War between 1950 and 1952 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Princeton, in 1953 the squadron transitioned to the McDonnell F2H-3 Banshee. CVG-19 then made two deployments to the Western Pacific aboard the USS Oriskany Alan B. Shepard Jr, later of NASA was the executive officer, in 1953-54 and 1955 and one on the USS Yorktown in 1957. In 1958 the squadron transitioned to the supersonic McDonnell F3H-2 Demon fighter. VF-193 then made four tours with CVG-19 aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard, in 1963, VF-193 transitioned to the McDonnell F-4B Phantom II. On 15 October 1963 the squadron was re-designated VF-142, from 1953 to 1962 there had been another fighter squadron VF-142. This squadron had been established as United States Naval Reserve squadron VF-791 Fighting Falcons and was redesignated VF-142 after becoming a squadron on 4 February 1953. It was again re-designated VF-96 on 1 June 1962, between May 1964 and May 1968, the Ghostriders made four deployments to the Pacific on board the USS Ranger and the three other deployments with the USS Constellation. Prior to that, success with Sparrow III missiles had not been good, VF142 was also awarded a Battle Efficiency at that time. In 1969 they transitioned from the F-4B to the F-4J and headed out for a new cruise with the Constellation on August 11,1969, VF-142 was awarded the Naval Aviation Safety Award for 1969-1970. In June 1971, VF-142 deployed with the USS Enterprise for their sixth deployment to Vietnam. In September 1972 VF-142 deployed for their seventh and last combat deployment to Asia, missions were flown in support for the first B-52 strikes into the heart of North Vietnam prior to the cease fire. VF-142 downed their fifth aircraft, a MiG-21, making VF-142 the Navy’s first ace squadron of the war. In 1974, the Ghostriders deployed to the Mediterranean with the USS America, on April 1,1975, the squadron changed their home base from Miramar to NAS Oceana, leaving Carrier Air Wing 14 for Carrier Air Wing 6. In April 1976 VF-142 deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and conducting the first F-14 intercept of a Soviet Tu-95 Bear bomber on April 23,1976, the Ghostriders were awarded the Battle E for their outstanding performance prior to and during the cruise. In 1978, the Ghostriders changed both ship and air wing as Carrier Air Wing 7 and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower became their new home, in January 1979 they deployed for Eisenhower’s first Mediterranean deployment. They returned to NAS Oceana on July 16,1979, in 1980 they began workups before heading to the Indian Ocean on April 16,1980
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