The “Black Lions” of VF-213 were established in June 1955, flew F-4B Phantoms for many years, then were transitioned to the F-14A Tomcat in September 1976. They were originally located at NAS Miramar, but have since moved to the East Coast Master Jet Base of NAS Oceana, VA. They were one of the first TARPS capable Tomcat squadrons, and fly with CVW-11 currently onboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). This is the desert version of their aircraft patch that they wear on deployment.
