The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a twin-engine, variable sweep wings capable of supersonic flight. The aircraft is crewed by a Pilot and a Radar Intercept Officer who share the tasks of navigation, target acquisition, ECM and weapons usage. The Tomcat was operated by the United States Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force only. The name “Tomcat” is said to come from the Grumman aircraft feline names.

VF-213 “Black Lions” was established on June 22, 1955. VF-213 received its first F-14D in 1997 and in March, 2006; onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt they completed their last cruise flying the F-14D. From September 2005 to March 2006 VF-213 operated in the Persian and Arabian Gulfs in support of “OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM”. Returning home on March 10, 2006 the next month they began to transition to the new F/A-18F Super Hornet requiring a unit name change to VFA-213. During the last cruise Lt. Cdr Meagan “Slick” Flannigan (nee-Varley) flew her F-14D.

Specifications for the Grumman Aerospace F-14 Tomcat

• Role - Carrier-based multi-role strike fighter
• First Flight – F-14A 1970, F-14B (F-14A+) 1986, F-14D 1990
• Last Production Year – F-14D July 20, 1992
• Number All Variants Produced – 710
• Crew - 2 (pilot and radar intercept officer).
• Type F-14A F-14B (F-14A+) F-14D

Dimensions

• Length 62 ft 8 inches 62 ft 8 inches 62 ft 8 inches
• Wingspan (Swept) 38 ft 2.5 inches 38 ft 2.5 inches 38 ft 2.5 inches
• Wingspan (Unswept) 64 ft 1.5 inches 64 ft 1.5 inches 64 ft 1.5 inches
• Height 16 ft 16 ft 16ft Performance

Powerplants

• F-14A 2 x P&W TF-30-P414A F-14B 2 x GE F-110-GE-400 F-14D 2 x GE F-110-GE-400
• Maximum Thrust - F-14A 34,154 lbs F-14B 56,400 lbs F-14D 56,400 lbs
• Maximum Speed - F-14A 1,544 mph (Mach 2.38) F-14B 1,544 mph (Mach 2.38) F-14D 1,544 mph (Mach 2.38)
• Ceiling - F-14A 50,000+ ft F-14B 53,000+ ft F-14D 53,000+ ft
• Range - F-14A 1,730 nm F-14B 2,050 nm F-14D 2,050 nm Weight
• Empty - F-14A 40,104 pounds F-14B 41,780 pounds F-14D 43,735 pounds
• Maximum - F-14A 72,000 pounds F-14B 74,349 pounds F-14D 74,349 pounds

Armament

• 1 x MK-61A1 Vulcan 20mm cannon Maximum Weight – 13,000 lbs. Of Combined Ordnance
• Air-Air Missiles
• 6 AIM-7 Sparrows
• 4 AIM-9 Sidewinder
• 6 AIM-54 Phoenix Air-To-Ground
• MK-82 (500 lbs.)
• 4 MK-83 (1,000 lbs.)
• 4 MK-84 (2,000 lbs.)
• MK-20 cluster bombs
• 4 GBU-10 LGB
• GBU-12 MK-82 LGB
• 4 GBU-16 MK-83 LGB
• 4 GBU-24 MK-84 LGB

Info:      Grumman F-14D Tomcat 212/164394, flown by Lt Cdr Meagan V. Flannigan , VF-213, USS Theodore Roosevelt, Persian Gulf 2006