The Tomcat Legacy; 35+ years from Fleet Air Defender to Recce to Precision Strike

[Alpha_Echo_606]

021016-N-6817C-002 At sea with USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Oct. 16, 2002 -- An F-14D “Tomcat” assigned to the “Tomcatters” of Fighter Squadron Thirty One (VF-31) prepares to land on the ship’s flight deck after conducting a full day of flight operations. Lincoln and her embarked Carrier Air Wing Fourteen (CVW-14) are on a scheduled six month deployment conducting combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Tyler Clements. (RELEASED)

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

961210-N-5502T-001 An F-14 “Tomcat” assigned to Fighter Squadron One Four Three (VF-143) based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, returned to Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, after completing a bombing run during a training exercises in the region. Navy Photograph by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class David M. Tilton (Released)

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

020415-N-6619E-004 At sea aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Apr. 15, 2002 -- Lt Lucas "Spicoli" Kadar, of Annapolis Md, conducts "final checks" on his F-14D "Tomcat" before launching from one of four steam catapult systems aboard Abraham Lincoln. Lt Kadar is assigned to the “Tomcatters” of Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31). Abraham Lincoln and her embarked Carrier Air Wing Fourteen (CVW-14) are enroute to the Gulf of Alaska to conduct missions in support of Operation "Northern Edge". U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Derrick Eisenbeis. (RELEASED)

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

011109-N-0872M-507 Aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Nov 9, 2001-- F-14 Tomcats prepare to take off from the flight deck of USS Enterprise a final time. This was the last time the 34 year-old aircraft will be deploying on the carrier. USS Enterprise (CVN 65) is returning to her homeport in Norfolk, Virginia after completing a regularly scheduled deployment. U.S. Navy Photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class, Martin Maddock. (RLEASED)

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

020808-N-1955P-001 Operation Enduring Freedom (Aug. 8, 2002) -- An F-14 "Tomcat" assigned to the "Jolly Rogers" of Fighter Squadron One Zero Three (VF-103) conducts a mission over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep wing, two-place strike fighter. The Tomcat’s primary missions are air superiority, fleet air defense and precision strike against ground targets. U.S. Navy photo by Capt. Dana Potts. (RELEASED)

 

[nittany03]

Let me see . . .

Aha! Here. I found one. :icon_tong

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

Aha! Here. I found one. :icon_tong

Why be a hater? :icon_tong

 

[Malo83]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[bunk22]

Certainly not a great picture but this Tomcat has a unique past as it's a Libyan Mig-23 killer from our 1989 engagement:

Smithsonian description:
The National Air and Space Museum's Tomcat (BuNo. 159610) was built as an F-14A-85-GR and was one of the few Tomcats that was modified as an F-14D(R) in the early 1990s. It is credited with one MiG kill which was earned on January 4, 1989, near the coast of Libya.

On January 4, 1989, near the Libyan coast, Two VF-32 F-14As flying CAP from the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) are alerted to a pair of Libyan Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Floggers. The MiG-23s had taken off from Al Bumbaw Airfield near Tobruk. The F-14s locked the MiGs with their powerful AWG-9 radar. Normally such a radar lock resulted in the MiGs retreating back to Libya--not this tme. The Tomcats were threatened by the AA-7 Apex missile-carrying Floggers and were cleared to engage the MiGs. During a lengthy six- to eight-minute air battle, the MiGs continued to threaten the Tomcats and finally, after several attempts to evade the MiG radar threat, the incoming pair of MiG-23s were declared hostile and the F-14 crews were cleared to engage. The crew of the lead F-14A, AC202 fired an AIM-7 Sparrow missile which did not stike its target, while the second F-14A's, AC207 (BuNo. 159610) AIM-7 found its target destroying one of the MiG-23s. The lead F-14 re-engaged the remaining MiG-23 firing an AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missile which detonated in the tailpipe of the Flogger. Both MiG pilots ejected safely from their destroyed aircraft.

What's left of one of the F-14A Libyan SU-22 Killers from the 1982 engagement:

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

050131-N-0000S-001 Key West, Fla. (Jan. 31, 2005) – A Radar Intercept Officer in the backseat of an F-14B Tomcat, assigned to the “Pukin’ Dogs” of Fighter Squadron One Four Three (VF-143), looks over his shoulder at his squadron’s new aircraft, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, as they fly in formation near Naval Air Station Key West, Fla., during routine training. VF-143 will transition from the F-14B Tomcat to the F/A-18E Super Hornet in Spring 2005, redesignating the squadron as Strike Fighter Squadron One Four Three (VFA-143). U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Bert Sanford (RELEASED)

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

050916-N-0295M-235 Virginia Beach, Va. (Sept. 16, 2005) – An F-14D Tomcat, assigned to the "Grim Reapers" of Fighter Squadron One Zero One (VF-101), conducts a high-speed flyby causing vapor to form during its tactical flight demonstration at the 2005 Naval Air Station Oceana Air Show. The last F-14 Tomcat flight demonstration will be flown at the air show as the aircraft is phased-out of the Navy’s inventory. The air show, held Sept. 16-18th, showcased civilian and military aircraft from the Nation's armed forces, which provided many flight demonstrations and static displays. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Daniel J. McLain (RELEASED)

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

050719-N-5345W-004 Atlantic Ocean (July 19, 2005) – A Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) assigned to the "Swordsmen" of Fighter Squadron Three Two (VF-32), gives a “hang loose” sign to the crowd of Air Department and squadron Sailors gathered on the flight deck, from the cockpit of his F-14B Tomcat prior to launching from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). The current underway-period marks the final time the F-14 Tomcat will take part in flight operations while embarked aboard Truman. VF-32 will shortly begin the process of transitioning to the newer F/A-18F Super Hornet. Truman is currently conducting carrier qualifications and operations off the East Coast and is also participating in a Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) with USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). JTFEX is a key component in the training cycle of an aircraft carrier and carrier air wing in the U.S. Navy Fleet Response Plan. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Kristopher Wilson (RELEASED)

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

060111-N-5832A-002 Persian Gulf (Jan. 11, 2006) - An F-14 Tomcat flies over the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) during flight operations. Roosevelt and embarked Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) are currently underway on a regularly scheduled deployment supporting maritime security operations. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Derek Allen (RELEASED)

 

[fc2spyguy]

Aha! Here. I found one. :icon_tong

Concur

 

[BarrettRC8]

Concur

Lots of hate for the Tomcat... I'd be willing to bet that a fair share of Naval Aviators throughout the past couple decades had her in mind when they decided upon this route.

I know she was what I wanted to fly when I was a kid.