Felix History

FELIX HISTORY

Fighter squadron VF-31 ("Fighting 31"), specializing in night fighting, has since World War II been known by its nickname, "Tomcatters", and by an earlier old motto, "We get ours at night". The squadron emblem is the famous cartoon character Felix the Cat, running with a large spherical bomb with lighted fuse, in black on a yellow field within a circular outline. The yellow field and outline were omitted from the aircraft and four stars at the end of a pair of sweeps were added. This emblem can be seen on the fuselage of the aircraft above the wing. The squadron was based at this time at Cecil Field, near Jacksonville, Florida.

Felix the Cat was created by a cartoonist named Pat Sullivan and first appeared on film in 1919. With the help of movies and a comic strip that debuted in 1923, Felix reached the height of his popularity in 1928.

It was in December of that year that Felix and Naval Aviation officially started a long relationship. Although used unofficially for a couple of years by a handful of different squadrons, Felix was officially adopted by VB-2B in Coronado, California, in late 1928, which became known as the “Felix Cat Squadron.” Lieutenant Chourre’ of VB-2B created the famous emblem (Felix carrying a bomb), which was approved in early 1929 and is still in use today.

In 1930 VB-2B was re-designated VF-6B, which stayed in service until 1937 when it became VF-3. VF-3 continued as the “Felix Cat Squadron” through 1943, when VF-3 and VF-6 swapped designations. This caused a controversy as to which squadron owned the Felix name and emblem. For three years both squadrons claimed Felix. Finally, after much haggling over the subject, the new VF-3 was re-designated VF-3A in 1946 and awarded the official approval to adopt Felix the Cat by the Chief of Naval Operations. Then on August 7, 1948, Felix assumed his current home when VF-3A was designated VF-31.

From the F3B-1 bi-planes of VB-2B to the F-14D Super Tomcat of VF-31, Felix the Cat has been grinning from the sides of naval aircraft through much of twentieth century U.S. Naval History. He has operated off of many of the Navy's illustrious aircraft carriers, from USS Langley (CV-1), the Navy’s first, to USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) today. He was aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the bombing of Pearl Harbor as well as the Battles of Wake Island, Marcus Island, Midway, Guadalcanal, and the Eastern Solomons. He achieved aerial victories during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. More recently, Felix deployed in the Mediterranean aboard USS Saratoga, USS John F. Kennedy, and USS Forrestal, as well as in the Western Pacific aboard USS Carl Vinson. He has conducted operations off Lebanon and Libya, and patrolled Southern Iraq enforcing the No Fly Zone during Operations Southern Watch and Desert Strike.

Felix has also flown with some of naval aviation’s greatest heroes. A photograph in VF-31’s historical records shows an F4B-4 manned by Charles Lindberg with Felix adorning the side. The famous Butch O’Hare and countless other naval aviators have taken Felix into battle with them.

For his outstanding performance, FELIX has received many awards including the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Citation, CNO Safety Award, Battle Efficiency, the Admiral Joe CLIFTON Award for Fighter Excellence and the COMFITWING ONE Grand Slam Award.

As an icon of American culture, Felix the Cat has participated in nearly 80 years of our history. His appeal to our frisky side has allowed him to entertain us as well as build a firm tradition in U.S. Naval Aviation over the years. In addition, his “cat” pride and style represent basic values common to all Americans. The Tomcatters of VF-31 are as proud to wear the Felix emblem today as were naval aviators in 1928. This pride is reflected in the squadron’s timeless motto: FELIX RULES!