General Background

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic twin engine all-weather night fighter and attack aircraft. The F/A-18s first flew in November 1978 and the first production flight on April 12, 1980. The first 380 aircraft were F/A-18As and in September 1987 production switched to the F/A-18C. Variants A and C are single-seat aircraft while B and D are tandem-seats. The Hornet can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases with the capability of in flight refueling. A total of 1,480 A-D variants were built.

The Aircraft

In 1991 the former VMA(AW)-242 was re-designated VMFA(AW)-242 All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron and re-equipped with F/A-18D Hornets. The unit received its first F/A-18D in February 1991.The Squadron is known as the "Bats" with a motto of "Mors ex tenebris" "Death from the Darkness". The squadron was based at Miramar, California until 2000 when they deployed to Iwakuni, Japan returning to Miramar in late 2003 for a short stay. F/A-18D 164652 c/n 1076/D085 has flown with VMFA(AW)-242, VMFA(AW)-121 Green Knights and VMFA(AW)-225 Vikings.