It was called to active duty as U.S. Navy Reserve squadron VA-859 on 1 February 1951 and redesignated VA-85 on 4 February 1953.

It was disestablished on 30 September 1994, over 40 years later.

The squadron's nickname from 1958-1994 was the Black Falcons.

It was the second squadron to be designated VA-85, the first VA-85 was disestablished on 29 November 1949.

[1] The squadron was assigned to these home ports, effective on the dates shown:[1] The squadron first received the following aircraft on the dates shown:[1] This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons.