The VF-14 "Tophatters" (now VFA-14) is the U.S. Navy's oldest active fighter squadron, and during the 1960s and 1970s, they flew the F-4 Phantom II. VF-14's Phantoms played a crucial role during the Vietnam War, where it conducted air strikes and support missions against military targets in North Vietnam. During their 1966 combat deployment, the squadron flew 1,688 hours on 967 combat sorties and delivered 651,624 pounds of ordnance, in addition to flying its traditional combat air patrol and fighter escort missions.