Now who doesn’t like the F-14 Tomcat. Well, except for an opposing pilot who sees this look in their rear view mirror.
Is it more ominous in B&W or color?
The aircraft we have here is the USS Hornet’s F-14A Tomcat air superiority fighter and naval long range interceptor. There are many Tomcats on display around the country however ours is one of five that the Navy deems historical and requires full protection. Besides being in the first Gulf War this Tomcat and the other four are the only ones that are fully complete. This aircraft was flown into SFO in 2000 and the only part removed were the ejection seat rockets. She was then barged over to the Hornet from SFO. The other four Tomcats are on Navy bases.
I stumbled into this photo up on my Carrier forum on Facebook and my eyes caught the Tomcat on the right. Yes, 101 that is our plane as part of The Grim Reapers VF-101 NAS Oceana.
Then I just stumbled across this shot below.
On to the particulars. The Tomcat was developed for the Navy after the collapse on the F-111B project when Vice Admiral Thomas F. Connolly flew the F-111A and said it was poorly suited for carrier use. The F-111B was being developed for Fleet Air Defense but weight and performance issues doomed it. The air war over Vietnam also pointed out that it was poorly suited for aerial combat. It was developed between General Dynamics and Grumman. I remember this in the news back then. The Navy then requested proposals for the Naval Fighter Experimental Program (VFX). VFX called for a twin seat, twin engine air to air fighter with a maximum speed of Mach 2.2. Five aircraft manufacturers, remember when we had five, submitted proposals with four using variable wing design. McDonnell Douglas and Grumman were the finalists in December 1968 and Grumman the winner in January 1969. Should note that this is actually an F-14A+ as the engines on all the A series were updated from the originals.
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 (Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer)
- Length: 62 ft 9 in (19.13 m)
- Wingspan: 64 ft 1.5 in (19.545 m)
- Lower wingspan: 38 ft 2.5 in (11.646 m) swept
- Height: 16 ft (4.9 m)
- Wing area: 565 sq ft (52.5 m2) wings only
- 1,008 sq ft (94 m2) effective area including fuselage[35]
- Airfoil:
- Grumman (1.74)(35)9.6)-(1.1)(30)(1.1) root
- Grumman (1.27)(30)(9.0)-(1.1)(40)(1.1) tip[181]
- Empty weight: 43,735 lb (19,838 kg)
- Gross weight: 61,000 lb (27,669 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 74,350 lb (33,725 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 16,200 lb (7,348 kg) internal fuel; 2 × optional 267 US gal (222 imp gal; 1,010 l) / 1,756 lb (797 kg) external tanks[41]
- Powerplant: 2 × General Electric F110-GE-400 afterburning turbofans, 16,610 lbf (73.9 kN) thrust each dry, 28,200 lbf (125 kN) with afterburner
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.34 (1,544 mph, 2,485 km/h) at altitude
- Range: 1,600 nmi (1,800 mi, 3,000 km)
- Combat range: 500 nmi (580 mi, 930 km)
- Service ceiling: 53,000 ft (16,000 m) plus
- g limits: +7.5[N 2]
- Rate of climb: 45,000 ft/min (230 m/s) plus
- Wing loading: 96 lb/sq ft (470 kg/m2) [179]
- 48 lb/sq ft (230 kg/m2) effective[35]
- Thrust/weight: 0.89 at gross weight (1.02 with loaded weight & 50% internal fuel)
Armament
- Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barreled Gatling cannon, with 675 rounds
- Hardpoints: 10 total: 6× under-fuselage, 2× under nacelles and 2× on wing gloves[182][N 3] with a capacity of 14,500 lb (6,600 kg) of ordnance and fuel tanks[183],
- Rockets:
- 7x LAU-10 rocket pods (for a total of 28 rockets)
- Others:
- Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS)
- LANTIRN Targeting System (LTS) pod (AN/AAQ-14)
- 2× 267 US gal (1,010 l; 222 imp gal) drop tanks for extended range/loitering time
- Missiles:
- Air-to-air missiles: AIM-54 Phoenix, AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder
This aircraft is heavy. Heavy enough to actually have a set of wheels break through our teak deck in a vulnerable area. Once she is down on the thick hanger deck, as per the Navy, we won’t have to worry about that again.
The pictures used in this story are all film based. Only one is digital as noted. The first early pictures when barged over and loaded I don’t recall the camera. The B&W I think were shot by a late 1940s 6×9 folder. The color probably a Minolta XE7. Outside of those the rest were taken on my Minolta Maxxum/Alpha 7, with AF Minolta 35-105mm lens, using original Fuji Acros and developed by and scanned by me. The color were taken by my Nikon N80, with AF Nikkor 28-80mm lens, using Kodak Color Max film.
Arrival from SFO
The top secret radar array which to be honest, doesn’t look so special but apparently was. Oops, Maxxum 7D.
Flight deck 2020 and twenty years later.
Sparrow and Sidewinder. Both donated after a former pilot contacted the manufacturers for dummies. He was told not to mount them as the plane officially belongs to the Navy in perpetuity, and once on, become the property of the Navy. He didn’t believe until the Navy requested their yearly photo update, saw them, and said thank you.
Shame about the rust stain
Finally the crew that cares for the aircraft
Some might prefer the F-4 Phantom and I’d have to say it is one of my favorites but the Tomcat has to be the top dog, err top cat, on a carrier. We have an F-4N on board that supposedly was the last F-4 to trap aboard a carrier prior to phase out. It has been on the ship for maybe 10 years and never got the work promised by the person who found the aircraft at NAS North Island. The plane needs work underneath due to the use of magnesium by the Navy. Magnesium corrodes far differently than other metals used.
> Is it more ominous in B&W or color?
Looks about the same either way – kinda like modern cars 🙂
I’ll go with color though, as the foreground and backdrop provide more contrast with the greyscale aircraft.
Thats the jet of my youth.
Top Gun. Need I say more? Everyone my age knows Top Gun. Every dude wanted to be a Navy pilot after Top Gun, including my older brother, who became a Navy pilot in 1988. I think he tried to fly jets but got into the E2 Hawkeye world instead.
I also remember going on Navy bases and it seemed like every other car had an F14 Tomcat “anytime baby” bumper sticker on it
In the Coast Guard in the 1990s, I was on a security team for a Fleet Week and we got a VIP tour including sitting in a Tomcat. I didn’t fit.
Cool write up
I was also hooked to the Tomcat and Top Gun. Eventually, I got a job with Grumman. It was easily the highlight on my career.
My dad was an E1 Tracer pilot on the USS Enterprise (CVA(N)-65) 1963-66. I still think he had the coolest job in the world. He was familiar with the E2. They used F-4s for fighters mostly.
The dude in the regulation haircut, square shades and holding his flight helmet near the front is my 26 yo dad. This picture was in the March 1963 National Geographic spread on the Enterprise. Upper right is the multi-engine turboprop he flew back then. The big props directly behind the group are Sky Raiders.
Dad wasn’t one to toss compliments around, and like a lot of parents he was less willing to say something nice to my face than to speak well of me behind my back. He once told my brother that I ‘had the right amount of asshole to be a good fighter pilot.’ I’ll take what I can get from my dad as a compliment.
Dad left the Navy in 1967 and was a Delta Air Lines captain for 28 years. He built a small sailboat from a set of plans he bought among other things.
I’ve sat in this one. I’m 6’1″ but only 168 lbs. so I fit laterally. Vertically 6’1″ would be pushing it a bit with a helmet on. I wonder how Goose made out since he is 6’2″ to Cruise at 5’7″.
The F-14 cockpit is pretty commodious. You’d have to have electrical power on the jet, but the seat bottom adjusts vertically. Run it all the way down and there is a lot of headroom. I flew with some fairly tall dudes back in the day, one of whom was 6-4 or so and he had no problem with seat height. The rudder pedal also are adjustable.
All Navy tactical jets have a range of anthropomorphic measurements within which you have to fit in order to be cleared to fly that particular aircraft. They measure you in flight school for all the different parameters and that can determine what fleet aircraft pipeline you’re allowed (or disallowed) to go into.
For example, you had to be able to see over the instrument panel with the seat bottom all the way up, with the jet in a carrier landing attitude such that you could see the “meat ball” fresnel lens glide slope landing aid on the carrier. You also had to be able to sit in the ejection seat such that it would not break your back, neck or a femur if you had to eject. There were also upper and lower weight limits for the ejection seat.
I any case, I seem to recall that it was a fairly wide range of heights, weights, and body types that “fit” in the Tomcat, given who I remember flying with.
I worked for a company that built parts for the F-14. Cool airplane, great pictures. Having firsthand experience must be the best. Up close and personal. Very nice.
My F-14 memory: In Vietnam, mid 60s, just outside Danang, I was in the Seabees and running a Cat D8(bulldozer) at the end of the runway. One day this hotshoe must have seen me and as soon as he took off, hit full AB and went straight up in the sky. I was on the ground next to my dozer and the AB blast knocked me right to the ground. Literally.
I gained a lot of respect for those things that day!
That would have been an F-4 Phantom II, as the F-14 didn’t exist yet.
Ah, remember when I had a memory? Me neither! Thanks for the correction. F-4 it was.
The Tomcat was an awesome aircraft, years ahead of it’s time and pilots loved them. In the not too distant past, there was even a Super Tomcat proposal on the drawing board by Grumman. It would of upgraded the Tom with new technology, weaponry, wing retrofits and new engines allowing them to fly at super cruise (mach 1.3). In the end, it was too costly and the Navy decided to address all it’s needs with the F-18 Hornet/Super Hornet program, although whether it did is up for debate. Amazingly, the Iranian Air Force still flies a dwindling number of Tomcats it has had since the US sold them to the Shah back in 1976 despite the arms/trade embargo.
Was it McNamara who decreed that the F-111 should be used by both the air force and navy?
Long before Top Gun, my Dad and I would go to the annual air shows at Patuxent ANB to see the Blue Angels, who were flying the A4 at the time. I was really young and barely remember the F4 era, but I am already digressing…
Prior to the ‘Angels performance, there were always equally awesome (IMHO) flight demonstrations.
We saw the Navy demonstrate the F-14 and newer F-18** at one of the shows, and it was impressive. (The Hornet would later be used by the aforementioned demonstration squadron.)
Although more maneuverable than the F-14, the F-18 was less powerful. I seem to remember the pilot of the F-18 could not do a square loop, but the F-14 had no problem with that part of the demonstration, showing off its impressive vertical climb rate.
** edit: Looking at the history of the “new” plane, IIRC, what may’ve been demonstrated that day only looked like an F-18… I seem to recall that we saw a YF-17 at that airshow. Regardless, the F-14 still seriously impressed the crowd. Hard to believe they’re retired now. But that was long ago.
Although I flew helicopters, I am forever indebted to the F-14 and Tom Cruise for the success I had with women in the early 1980s, including my wife of 33 years. 😁
That’s a mid-80’s build Buno. One of the last with the TF30 installed. (Not the F110 per your specs.)
I was with the airplane long enough to see 2 different versions of the TF30 and the F110.
Although as a mechanic (AD) I much preferred the F-18 and it’s engine, as an airframe the F-14 was much more versatile. (A Hot Section Inspection was a 96 hour evolution with the TF30 + test cell time on the ship. A F404 could have multiple modules replaced and pushed across the cell in 12-16 hours)
Even the F-18E is not quite the equal in terms of payload/range/speed. Much better avionics and more hardpoints does make it more versatile. (It only took 30 years to find a replacement for the F-14.)
So I looked at the development of the GE engine. From what I found it was decided in 1979 the F101-X was designated to power the plane and later called the F110-GE-400. Then there is information saying the upgrade to the F110 for the A varaints started in 1987. Then there is the info about the F-14A which got the GE engine. Checking BuNo one doesn’t find anything about an 14A , only A, B, and D.
This plane is from FY85 and was in the group of the last 24 A variants produced. Being at the tail end of production I don’t know if we can be sure what engine it is since the shortcomings of the P&W engine were known for quite sometime starting in 1971-72. I also see only 13 B variants were built in FY 87 which got the GE engine. After that just 25 D variants. Dug even deeper and located the fact that this F-14A was not upgraded to the newer F-14A standard.
http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-serial.htm
All F-14As were PW TF30 powered, including yours. As you probably noticed in the link you cited, Tomcats were produced in blocks, Block 140 being to final A model production block. NAVAIR/Grumman made running changes and upgrades to the F-14 throughout its production run, usually starting with a particular production block. Jets built in subsequent blocks would receive those mods, plus any others that may have been incorporated, and some earlier block aircraft would be upgraded to later block standards as they went through periodic NADEP overhaul.
BTW, the last USN cats and traps were with VF-202 F-4s (F-4S) in October ’86 onboard the America. VFP-206 had the RF-8G Crusader onboard for it’s last CQ as well.
Heck I should have looked at my Phantom folder titled F-4S Phantom and here it is. BuNo 153879 lead me to this on the plane and it was the last F-4 to launch from a carrier, the USS Midway. That is according to our first CEO, a retired Navy Commander, and the site below. Looks like last launch, this one on the Midway, and #213 VF-202 to last land on America. Hmm…
http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=37896
Found video of the last launch aboard Midway. VF-161 #210 which is our Phantom.
https://theaviationgeekclub.com/vintage-video-shows-phinal-f-4-phantom-launch-from-a-u-s-navy-aircraft-carrier/
GREAT post! As I have a daughter living in SF, I will have to come out to Alameda and see it someday. Cool that yours has a TARPS pod…not many display F-14s do that I’m aware of.
I flew both F-14A and B model Tomcats as a RIO from 1985-1992 including a 3 year instructor tour in VF-101, which is the squadron livery of your Tomcat. I will have to look in my logbook and see if I have any hours in BUNO 162689, although if it flew during the Gulf War it would have been in a different squadron at the time, so probably not. Anyway, VF-101 was the east coast F-14 FRS (Fleet Replacement Squadron) training squadron, or “RAG” (Replacement AIr Group, before it was changed to FRS), based at NAS Oceana in Va Beach.
Sooo many memories of those good old days. God, I do miss it so. Cheers, FLY NAVY, and ANYTIME BABY!!!
Then do it on a Saturday and let me know.
Deal!
Hello GHD,
I used to have one of those infamous green logs that I documented every engine I wrenched and who it got issued to from 41G. I wish I had kept it. It covered NAS Oceana and the Kennedy (IM-2) from 80-84, NAS Miramar from 84-86, NAS Dallas from 87-90, and Kennedy again from 95-97. (The Kennedy entries covered every engine that went in or out.) That included the Lehman Wing where we pumped 178 engines through a 5 rail shop in 9 months in ’83-84.
85-90 was the “golden era” in as much as the Navy was putting money into TF30 overhaul and using new hot section parts. Quite a few made the 750 hr HSI versus the average 217 just a few years later with rotten USAF Tinker rework parts.
Very cool! Those TF30s were finicky, but in my experience, by the time I was flying Tomcats they (and their limitations) were a known quantity. Some of the problem areas that caused a lot of lost jets (and a few aircrew) early on were, if not solved, pretty well mitigated. Basically you wanted to avoid abrupt throttle transients with any high AoA/high G maneuvering, flying through the jet wash of another aircraft, or at low speed/high AoA around the carrier. Especially going into or out of AB. They were also very slow to spool up from low RPM/fuel flow settings, so you didn’t want to pull back too much on the power on final approach to the carrier. If you were careful about all of the above they performed pretty well.
I remember going to the annual airshow at Willow Grove NAS (RIP) outside Philadelphia in the early ’90s when I was in my early teens. An F-14 did a solo routine that year, and the ear-splitting, earth-shattering fury of the Tomcat in full ‘burner has stayed with me all these years….in a good way. I know there are louder and perhaps more impressive planes out there, but the ungodly roar of the F-14 is forever seared into my memory. I’m still not sure I’ve ever personally heard a louder plane…although I understand the B-1 Lancer puts out quite a racket.