Lucky Devils - 614th Tactical Fighter Squadron - TFS
Phan Rang Airbase - RVN - Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Operations
Vietnam War Patch - United States Air Force - USAF
Measures - 3.4 inches in diameter (8.5 cms)
614th Tactical Fighter Squadron - USAF
The 614th Tactical Fighter Squadron (614th TFS), “Lucky Devils,” deployed from Torrejón Air Base, Spain, to South Vietnam in September 1966, establishing itself at Phan Rang Air Base.
Initially assigned to the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, it soon became part of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, remaining at Phan Rang for almost five years.
Flying primarily the North American F-100D Super Sabre, with F-100F two-seat aircraft also employed, the squadron’s aircraft carried the distinctive “VP” tail code.
The
Lucky Devils flew intensive combat operations throughout South Vietnam
and into the wider Southeast Asian theatre, principally close
air support, interdiction, armed reconnaissance and strikes against
enemy troops, bunkers, supply areas and transportation routes, supporting U.S., South Vietnamese and allied ground forces. The squadron was active during the major campaigns of 1967–71,
including the Tet period, operations along the Cambodian border, the
Cambodian Sanctuary campaigns and operations associated with fighting in
Laos.
As part of the American withdrawal from Vietnam, the 35th TFW ceased combat operations at Phan Rang in June 1971, and the 614th subsequently withdrew from Vietnam in July 1971, returning to Torrejón Air Base, Spain, from where it had originally deployed, ending nearly five years of F-100 combat operations in Southeast Asia.