Endangered, species here's the first of the american fighters drawing blood
in combat. During its three decades in service with the united states navy
the Grumman F-14 Tomcat more than lived up to the role, it was designed for
drawing blood in combat and even getting its moment in the spotlight in the
film top gun.
Designed to incorporate the air combat experience learned during the vietnam
war, the F-14 tomcat was the first of the american teen series, fighters
that included the F-15 Eagle, F-16 fighting falcon in the F/A-18 Hornet.
The two-seat carrier-based multi-role fighter was developed after the united
states congress halted the development of the F-111B along with the Tactical
Fighter Experimental (TFX) program.
While the goal of that program was to supply both the united states air
force and the united states navy with the planes to fit each of their
respective needs, the navy was opposed. Instead the navy called for a
request for proposals for its naval fighter experimental VFX program, which
required a tandem two-seat twin twin-engine air to air fighter.
Grumman was awarded the contract in january 1969. The result was the F-14
Tomcat named so partially to honor navy Admiral Thomas F. Connolly who had
called upon congress for the navy to develop a carrier-based fighter.
The F-14 which made its first deployment in 1974 arrived as a supersonic,
twin engine variable sweep wing, two-place fighter that was designed to
engage enemy aircraft in all weather conditions as well as at night.
It was designed to track up to 24 targets simultaneously. the plane featured
an advanced weapon system that includes a powerful hughes minus nine a
reuben florence radar, which used in conjunction with the Phoenix Aim-54a
missiles can pick out and destroy a chosen target from a formation at a
distance of over 100 miles.
Additional armaments include a variety of other intercept missiles, rockets,
bombs and an internal M61A1 Vulcan 20 millimeters gatling style rotary
cannon.
With its variable sweep wing, the F-14 tomcat could match the speeds of
other aircraft as needed and for takeoff and low speed flight. The wings
would shift to the front while for supersonic speeds the wings could tuck
backward.
Because of its versatility, it served as an air superiority fighter, fleet
defense interceptor and even tactical reconnaissance platform.
The tomcat drew its first blood in august 1981 during the Gulf of Sidra
incident in which two F-14s were attacked by a pair of Libyan Su-22 fitters.
Both fitters were shot down but the events would be replayed nearly eight
years later when in january 1989 another pair of F-14 tomcats shot down two
Libyan Mig-23 floggers again over the Gulf of Sidra.
The US Navy continued to rely on the F-14 tomcat throughout the 1990s and
early 2000s where it was utilized in strike escort and reconnaissance roles
in operation desert storm as well in operation deliberate force and
operation allied force in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.
The F-14 tomcats final combat mission took place in february 2006 when two
tomcats were used in a bombing mission in iraq.
While the F-14 was retired from service with the navy and supplanted by the
boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Tomcat remains in use with the islamic
republic of iran air force.
Only a handful of the planes which were
purchased by the imperial iranian air force in the 1970s remain in operation
but according to reports these aircraft have flown escort missions in syria
proving that even after nearly 50 years the tomcat still has sharp claws
