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.
On May 1, 1967 VA-82 (Marauders) were established and in April 1968 made their first deployment aboard the USS America. A second deployment on USS America came in June 1972. On July 13, 1987, VA-82 was redesignated VFA-82 and in November of that year became the first F/A-18C squadron. VFA-82 deployed on the USS America three more times, December 1990, December 1993 and their last in August 1995. VFA-82 was disestablished
on September 30, 2005 and prior to this they added USS America to F/A-18C 163459 to commemorate their first carrier deployment.