Torpedo Squadron 87 (VT-87) was established 1 July 1944 at NAS Quonset Point. After several stateside postings the squadron sailed for Pearl Harbor aboard USS Bunker Hill, arriving on 28 January 1945. They trained at NAS Kahului for 3 1/2 months and embarked aboard USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) on May 2, bound for the Ulithi in the Western Pacific.

While sailing past the Marshall Islands, Ticonderoga launched its planes, including VT-87, in an attack on Japanese-held Taroa. Ticonderoga then sailed north from Ulithi on May 24. VT-87 pilots flew in support of the invasion of Okinawa where Ticonderoga was attacked several times by Kamikaze pilots.

Ticonderoga's planes joined those of other fast carriers on July 1, attacking ships in the Inland Sea as well as airfields at Nagoya, Osaka, and Miko. During those raids, pilots found only remnants of the once mighty Japanese Fleet.

On 20 September, 1945, Ticonderoga sailed from Sagami Wan, Japan, stopping briefly at Pearl Harbor, and then heading home to Bremerton, Washington. The squadron was disestablished on 29 October 1945 NAS Alameda.