US Naval Aviation Top Gun Plane Patch

The patch measures 10.5 x 6 cm, has a heat-adhesive backing but sewing is recommended.

The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, commonly known as Top Gun, is the combat training school for pilots of the United States Navy. It was founded on March 3, 1969, at Miramar Naval Air Station, California, to train embarked pilots in air combat tactics, given the inexperience of the crews flying over Vietnam.

The school was initially equipped with A-4 Skyhawk and F-5 Freedom Fighter aircraft to train F-4 Phantom II crews, including the first US aces in the Vietnam War: Randy Cunningham, known as "The Duke," and Willie Driscoll. The school rose to fame in 1986 with the release of the film Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise. In 1996, Miramar Air Force Base was transferred to the Marine Corps, and the Fighter Weapons School was incorporated into the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nevada.