A beautifully carved solid 17 inch wood model of the VFA-14 Tophatters F/A-18E Hornet! Collect all your squadrons with truly artistic craftsmanship that represent the Navy's aircraft.
The Strike Fighter Squadron 14 (VFA-14) "Tophatters"
are a United States Navy fighter attack squadron based
at Naval Air Station Lemoore. They fly the F/A-18E
Super Hornet, and are the Navy's oldest active
squadron, having formed in 1919. Their callsign is
Camelot, and their tail code is NG.
Since its inception the squadron has flown 23 different
type aircraft, had its designation changed fourteen
times, operated from 20 different aircraft carriers (and
several battleships) and had 81 commanding officers
(the 82nd is now in command).
Over the years the squadron has been assigned many
different missions, including patrol and observation in
its early years, and scouting, attack, fighter, bombing
and forward air control missions when it became
associated with carrier-based operations. The
squadron adopted the classic Top Hat as its squadron
patch and called themselves the "High Hats".
Early years
The Tophatters began carrier operations on board the
Navy's first aircraft carrier Langley in 1926. The
squadron, then designated Fighter Plane Squadron
One, set the record for carrier landings in a single day.
Flying the TS-1, they logged 127 traps by the end of
flight operations.
In 1929 the squadron was assigned to Saratoga, where
it began as a fighter squadron and transitioned to a
bomber squadron. Throughout the 1930s, the
Tophatters flew the FB-5, F2B, F4B, F11C-Goshawk,
BFC, SB2C Helldiver and the SB2U-1 Vindicator. In
1939, while flying the Vindicator, the Tophatters were
transferred to the Atlantic Fleet and Ranger.