Grumman F-14 Tomcat Scrapbook Volume 1
Photos by Don Linn, Corey Beitler, Shawn Byers, Scott Jankowski and Ken Kula
Grumman’s F-14 Tomcat was a U. S. Navy shipborne fighter and ultimately an attack jet which first flew on December 21, 1970. A total of 712 airframes were built, in three main versions. Other than the U. S. Navy, the only other user of the Tomcat was Iran’s Imperial Air Force, later the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force which ordered 80 jets… but evidently only 79 were delivered before the Iranian Shah was overthrown. In U. S. service, the Tomcat replaced the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms aboard aircraft carriers starting in the final year of the Vietnam War.
The original F-14A model was powered by Pratt & Whitney TF30 engines with afterburner. A total of 558 airframes were produced by Grumman at two Long Island plants.
An upgraded version, first called the F-14A+, then the F-14B, introduced General Electric F110-GE-400 engines and a redesigned exhaust “tailfeather” arrangement. Some 38 new airframes and 43 F-14As were brought up to the F-14B version.
F-14D(R), 159630, VF-2/NE-101,VF-2 25th anniversary markings., at NAS Oceana, April 1987
The final version was the F-14D Super Tomcat, which received a digital cockpit and other sensor improvements. 37 new airframes and 18 older -A versions became F-14Ds. Many Tomcats were modified to drop laser-guided munitions and were nicknamed “Bombcats” in some circles.
F-14A (TARPS), 160925, VF-213, NAS Fallon, 18 June 1982,
The various F-14 versions were given added capabilities throughout the type’s use. Reconnaissance pods (TARPS – Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System) were carried by a portion of the Tomcat fleet after modifications to some of the active jets were made. The provision to carry the LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation and targeting Infrared for Night) pod enabled precision guided munition use.
Close to three dozen U. S. Navy squadrons operated the Tomcat, including front line fighter squadrons, Reserve squadrons, Test and Evaluation squadrons and Fleet Replacement Squadrons.
Operational drawdown occurred with the introduction of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, with the official retirement of the F-14 coming on September 22, 2006, 32 years after its introduction to the Fleet.
