Vietnam. In 1966–67, VA-86 was back in the Mediterranean Sea aboard Independence. On 1 June 1967, VA-86 became the Navy's first operational Atlantic Fleet squadron to fly the A-7A Corsair II. VA-86 was reassigned to Carrier Air Wing Six and made another deployment to Vietnam aboard . The squadron conducted its third South East Asia combat deployment aboard from September 1969 to July 1970 while being assigned to Carrier Air Wing Fifteen. In October 1970, VA-86 transitioned to the E model of the A-7. 1970s From 1971 to 1987, VA-86 was again assigned to CVW-8. In late spring of 1972, VA-86 was forced to transition to the A-7C due to unexpected problems with the A-7E's TF-41 engines. The squadron then deployed from June 1972 to March 1973 aboard USS America for a ten-month combat cruise, participating in several intense and lengthy bombing campaigns, including Operation Linebacker and Linebacker II in late-1972. The squadron remained on station until the Paris Peace Accords were signed in late January 1973. This was the squadron's fourth combat deployment to Southeast Asia, more than any other East Coast attack squadron and resulted in the receipt of the Meritorious Unit Commendation. The squadron deployed aboard USS America in 1974 for 7 months duty in the Mediterranean and the North Sea. In 1975, the squadron transitioned to the A-7E and went aboard for the ship's maiden voyage and made further deployments during the late 1970s and 1980s. In 1979, VA-86 planes appeared in the movie The Final Countdown, which was filmed aboard USS Nimitz at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida. 1980s In January 1980, after the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran VA-86 departed Naples, Italy embarked on Nimitz, en route to the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope, beginning of 144 consecutive days at sea. In 1981, while aboard Nimitz, the squadron participated in a Freedom of Navigation Exercise in the Gulf of Sidra. During this tense period, VA-86 flew Aerial refuelling and reconnaissance missions over potentially hostile Libyan ships. The squadron awarded the 1982 COMNAVAIRLANT Battle "E", as the best East Coast A-7 squadron. In June- July 1985, while aboard USS Nimitz, VA-86 operated off the coast of Lebanon due to the hijacking of TWA flight 847, and later that year the squadron was awarded the Wade McClusky Award, signifying the most outstanding attack squadron in the Navy. From January–February