Top to bottom: F/A-18 with ACMI pod and "Blue Tube" simulating an AA-2 Atoll; SU-27 "Flanker" paint scheme; Section of Omars near Virginia Beach VA.

 

  Fighter Composite Squadron Twelve

"Fighting Omars"     

    Fighter Squadron Composite Twelve was originally commissioned VC 12 on 6 October 1943 at NAS Sand Point, Seattle, Washington.  The squadron operated the F-4F “Wildcat” and TBM-1 “Avenger” aboard USS CARD (CVE-11) in the Western Pacific until the carrier changed homeport to Norfolk, Virginia in 1944.  In the Atlantic theater, VC-12 flew combat missions against German U-boats logging 34 engagements in 1944.  On 7 June 1945, VC-12 was disestablished. 

    On 1 September 1948, Carrier Air Early Warning Squadron Two, based at NAS Norfolk, was redesignated Fleet Composite Squadron Twelve.  VC-12 operated TBM-3 “Avengers” from active Atlantic Fleet carriers.  During the Korean conflict, VC-12 once again saw combat while operating from USS BON HOMME RICHARD.  VC-12 was again disestablished on 29 September 1953. 

         On 1 September 1973, at NAF Detroit, Michigan, VC-12 was again commissioned as the first Reserve Fleet Composite Squadron in naval history.  In 1975, VC-12 moved to its current home at NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

     In June 1988, VC-12 was designated Fighter Squadron Composite Twelve (VFC-12) to more accurately describe the squadron’s mission of Dissimilar Air Combat Training.  Employing the venerable A-4F “Superfox” and the TA-4J, the squadron provided multiple support services including air intercept and dissimilar Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) training for Atlantic and Pacific Fleet units.  Currently  the squadron is now a member of Tactical Support Wing, leading the COMNAVAIRESFOR contributory support effort via the Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program and Air Combat Maneuvering training for F/A-18 fleet and replacement squadrons. 

    In 1993, VFC-12 transitioned to the F/A-18 “Hornet” without disruption to fleet support.  The A-4s were retired after 20 years of service logging over 87,000 flight hours of contributory support missions.  Donning both a Kola Peninsula and desert camouflage paint scheme, the Omars provide 4th generation adversary presentations of air-to-air threats that our forces may encounter.

     The squadron recently completed a transition from the F/A-18A+ to the F/A-18C aircraft.