Grumman F-14 “Tomcat” – 1970 (+2)

History: The F-14 Tomcat...sleek...powerful...deadly...and the REAL star of the movie Top Gun. The F-14 Tomcat followed a history of "Cats" in the military. The F-4F Wildcat and the F-6F Hellcat that fought in the skies years before the Tomcat ever bit the air. In the late 1960's, the US Navy dropped its TFX program, and decided to focus on an aircraft dedicated to fleet defense. Grumman had already begun developing the F-14, and was definitely headed for a "Cat" designation. The person responsible for this project was Admiral Tom Conolly, Deputy Chief, Naval Operations for Air. The aircraft was dubbed "Tom's Cat" long before the official name of "Tomcat" was ever adopted. The final prototype of the F-14 took off on May 24th, 1971, with its variable-geometry wings for speed and greater stability. In full forward-sweep position,the wings provided the lift needed for slow-speed flight, especially needed during carrier landings. In swept-back positions, the wings blend into the aircraft, giving the F-14 Tomcat a dart-like silhouette for high-speed, super-sonic flight (using Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-412A Turbofans). By 1972, the first of the F-14 Tomcat's off the production line were sent to the US Navy. In October of 1972, two squadrons were formed with the F-14 Tomcat to begin flight operations. The F-14 Tomcat was designed to carry a million dollar missile, the AIM-54 Phoenix. The AIM-54 has a range of over 100 miles and sole purpose was to destroy Soviet bombers. The F-14 Tomcat program came down to a test at the Naval Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, CA in November, 1973. The Pentagon wanted an aircraft that could take on six different targets at once, and on that day in November, the Tomcat demonstrated that ability. Six AIM-54 Phoenix missiles were launched at 6 different drone targets at the test range. Only one of the six missiles failed to hit its target. The Pentagon was sold, and the F-14 Tomcat program was in full swing. In 1974, the two squadrons, the VF-1 Wolfpack and the VF-2 Bounty Hunters, were deployed and assigned to the USS Enterprise (CVN-65).

Function: Fighter

Fuel Type: AVGas Fuel Cap.:8100 (1900 in external pods) Fuel Cons.:11976 (2994 pr hour)

Load:200kg Veh. Wt.:empty: 18801kg max: 33457kg

Crew:2 (pilot and radar intercept officer) MNT:12

Runway Min:take-off: 833m/landing: 800m paved(carrier)

Powerplant:2 x Pratt and Whitney TF-30P-412A , 93,0kN

Length: 18,9m Height:4,9m Wingspan:10,0m – 19,8m

Speed: max:2548kph cruise:770kph stall:230kph Tr.Mov:3080 Comb.Mov:254

Ceiling:21000m Range:2573km max (10k l fuel)

Armaments: (standard)

1 x AIM-54 Phoenix missile, long range (100miles)

2 x AIM-7 Sparrow missile, medium range

4 x AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, short range (max bombload: 14225kg)

MK-61A1 Vulcan 20mm cannon

Weapon Data: