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F-14 Tomcat Parking Only


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For those of us that have a never ending admiration for one of Grummans Ironworks best...we thankfully still have Hasegawa, Revell, Tamiya and now HB to keep the memory hot and fresh; as for the gov'ts disposition of the Tomcat;I'm giving them a one finger salute....and it ain't my index, thumb, ring, or pinkie finger....guess which one that leaves :whistle: .

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Just realized the chin pods are the same on the Alphas and Bravos. Besides the upgraded engines, what else is the difference between Alphas and Bravos, and what squadrons operated the bravos?

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Just realized the chin pods are the same on the Alphas and Bravos. Besides the upgraded engines, what else is the difference between Alphas and Bravos, and what squadrons operated the bravos?

Some, but probably not all of the upgrades to the B were:

-F-110 Engines

-Improved HUD

-Improved radios

-Improved RWR

-Removed glove vanes

I also think they put in one of those fancy computers to monitor the stress on the airframe, but don't quote me on that. As for the Squadrons that operated the B, here are the ones I remember:

-VF-11

-VF-24

-VF-32

-VF-32

-VF-74

-VF-101

-VF-102

-VF-103

-VF-142

-VF-143

-VF-211

-VX-4

-VX-9

-VX-30

I think Top Gun had a couple B's for a little while but they mainly used the Alphas as adversaries.

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Some, but probably not all of the upgrades to the B were:

-F-110 Engines

-Improved HUD

-Improved radios

-Improved RWR

-Removed glove vanes

I also think they put in one of those fancy computers to monitor the stress on the airframe, but don't quote me on that. As for the Squadrons that operated the B, here are the ones I remember:

-VF-11

-VF-24

-VF-32

-VF-32

-VF-74

-VF-101

-VF-102

-VF-103

-VF-142

-VF-143

-VF-211

-VX-4

-VX-9

-VX-30

I think Top Gun had a couple B's for a little while but they mainly used the Alphas as adversaries.

Topgun, not Top Gun, only used the F-14A. VF-124 Gunfighters however used all three variants at different stages ending with the F-14D.

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Topgun, not Top Gun, only used the F-14A. VF-124 Gunfighters however used all three variants at different stages ending with the F-14D.

You're right, 'Topgun' never flew the Bravos. I was thinking about VF-24 when they had this desert camo on their jets. It put an image in my head of a B model as an adversary. My mistake.

However, IIRC, VF-124 never flew the Bravo. VF-101 was tasked with training crews on the A and B models, while 124 trained crews on both the A and D until it was decommissioned in 94. Then VF-101 took over at Miramar and did all the training in the D there while all the Alpha training was combined with the Bravo training at Oceana. Then in 96-97, the Navy moved out of Miramar and all F-14 training was done at Oceana.

Edited by Micro
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Thats right! I had forgotten about that. Actually, I think VF-74 was the only squadron to be formally tasked with the adversary role. I don't remember what exactly happened but the Be-Devilers somehow did not deploy with their normally assigned airwing. The top brass saw it as an opportunity to use them as a training tool for other squadrons. Hence, their snazzy paint schemes.

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Thats right! I had forgotten about that. Actually, I think VF-74 was the only squadron to be formally tasked with the adversary role. I don't remember what exactly happened but the Be-Devilers somehow did not deploy with their normally assigned airwing. The top brass saw it as an opportunity to use them as a training tool for other squadrons. Hence, their snazzy paint schemes.

At that time, the Navy was downsizing airwings and going to the 1 tomcat squadron per wing, VF-74 got the boot, VF-103 stayed with CVW-17.

VF-74 was then tasked with the adversary roll, and their jets were painted accordingly.

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