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[2006.038.001] Aircraft - 'F-14D Tomcat' |
| Accession Number |
2006.038.001 |
| Accession Date |
28/03/2006 |
| Creator |
| Creator |
Creator Role |
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Manufacturer |
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| Date Created |
1980 |
| Object Desciption |
In February 1982, operating from USS Nimitz, VF-84 completed the first deployment of the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Photographic System (TARPS), providing F-14s so equipped to accomplish medium and low altitude reconnaissance provided by the RA-5C, retired in 1979, and the RF-8G until VFP-63, the last active duty photographic squadron, was disestablished in June. |
| Object Notes |
F-14D Tomcat that on 8 February 2006, logged the final combat trap in the long history of the F-14, catching a wire on the deck of the carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). On this noteworthy flight, the aircraft was piloted by Captain William G. Sizemore, II, Commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8. It was flight delivered to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, directly from Fighter Squadron (VF) 213, to which it had been assigned since 1997. Originally accepted by the Navy as an F-14A in December 1980, BuNo 161159 was converted to the F-14D configuration in September 1991. The aircraft flew its first combat missions over Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, logging missions from the deck of the carrier Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Its first flight occurred on 7 October 2001, carrying the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) to provide targeting imagery. Its last combat flight occurred over Iraq, its final record numbering 224 combat sorties.
It was a failed attempt at standardization that resulted in the design of perhaps the most famous fighter of the modern era, one that flashed across the silver screen and roared into skies around the world. When a navalized version of the U.S. Air Force F-111 failed to meet exacting requirements of a Navy carrier-based fighter, resulting in the cancellation of the program in 1968, the sea service initiated a design competition for a new air superiority fighter. The result was a design marvel featuring a unique variable sweep wing that automatically shifted in flight from 28 to 60 degrees sweep for optimum performance at any speed. In addition, it was equipped with a weapon control system that enabled the aircraft's crew to track twenty-four hostile targets at a range of 195 miles and attack six simultaneously with Phoenix missiles.
Deliveries to the Navy began in June 1972 with deployment of operational carrier squadrons in 1975. The F-14 made a brief appearance over Vietnam, flying protective patrols for helicopters effecting the final evacuation of American personnel and foreign nationals from Saigon with no opposition from enemy fighters. The Middle East was destined to become the scene of the Tomcat's combat initiation during encounters with Libyan fighters over the Gulf of during the 1980s. It was also during that decade that F-14s intercepted an aircraft carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro, forcing the aircraft to make a landing so that they could be apprehended. Tomcats also flew combat missions during the Gulf War and in missions over Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001 until its retirement in 2006, the aircraft proved an outstanding air-to-ground platform employing a capability present from the initial design work, but rarely employed. At peak employment, thirty Navy squadrons operated F-14s, in latter years the complements including F-14A (Plus) and F-14Ds, featuring improved avionics and power plants. |
| Place of Origin |
Bethpage, New York |
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