The Drive
F/A-18 Legacy Hornets Have Left The Navy�s Carrier Decks For The Last Time
U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornets returned home after the type�s final carrier deployment aboard USS Nimitz.
By Thomas Newdick February 26, 2021
The War Zone
Thomas Newdick View Thomas Newdick's Articles
@CombatAir
F/A-18C/D Hornets have ended their almost four-decade tenure aboard the aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy. The final carrier deployment by the "Legacy Hornet" has officially concluded after the return of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, or VMFA-323, the �Death Rattlers,� from its final cruise aboard the supercarrier USS Nimitz.
The squadron had been part of Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW-17) embarked aboard the Nimitz during a mammoth 10-month deployment that saw the carrier operate primarily in the Middle East and Pacific regions. Ahead of the flattop�s imminent return to its homeport in Washington State, VMFA-323�s jets flew off the carrier and touched down at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California yesterday. The �Death Rattlers� are based there, assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 11, part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
(...SNIPPED)