Description
F-14 Tomcat VFA-103 “Jolly Rogers” Die-Cast Model
Type of Aircraft: Carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The F-14 Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy’s Naval Fighter. The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65), replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
Nation of Origin: USA
Period: Operation End of the Vietnam War, Iran–Iraq War, and during The Cold War and first Gulf War. The Tomcat was retired by U.S. Navy on 22 September 2006.
Produced: From: 1969 to 1991- The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65), replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
Role: The F-14 served as the U.S. Navy’s primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor, and tactical aerial reconnaissance platform into the 2000s.. It was used in the first TOPGUN movie in 1981 that featured Tom Cruise as Maverick.
Manufacturer: Grumman Industries
Historical Data of Aircraft:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy’s Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the collapse of the General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B project. A large and well-equipped fighter, the F-14 was the first of the American Teen Series fighters, which were designed incorporating air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.
The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65), replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The F-14 served as the U.S. Navy’s primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor, and tactical aerial reconnaissance platform into the 2000s. The Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) pod system was added in the 1990s and the Tomcat began performing precision ground-attack missions.
The Tomcat was retired by U.S. Navy on 22 September 2006, supplanted by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Several retired F-14s have been put on display across the US. It was used in the first TOPGUN movie in 1981 with Tom Cruise playing Maverick.
Having been exported to Pahlavi Iran under the pro-American Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1976, F-14s were used as land-based interceptors by the Imperial Iranian Air Force. Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force used them during the Iran–Iraq War. Iran claimed their F-14s shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the war (only 55 of these confirmed, according to historian Tom Cooper), while 16 Tomcats were lost, including seven losses to accidents. As of 2022, the F-14 remains in service with Iran’s air force, though in low numbers of combat-ready aircraft due to a lack of spare parts.
