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Tomcat squadrons that became LANTIRN capable (off the top of my head):

VF-2 Bounty Hunters (F-14D)

VF-11 Red Rippers (F-14B)

VF-14 Tophatters (F-14A)

VF-32 Swordsment (F-14B)

VF-101 Grim Reapers (F-14A,B,D)

VF-102 Diamondbacks (F-14B)

VF-103 Jolly Rogers (F-14B)

VF-154 Black Knights (F-14A)

VF-211 Checkmates (F-14A)

 

 

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Let's not forget

 

VF-143 Pukin Dog (F-14B)

VF-213 Black Lions (F-14D)

NSAWC

VX-9

VX-23 Salty Dogs

VF-31 Felix

VF-41 Black Aces

 

 

Basically, any squadron that was around after June 1995 was a bombcat squadron.

 

You didn't need LANTRIN to do bombs or be a "Bombcat".

 

The F-14 community started doing air to ground back in 90 (testing started in 88*), a few squadrons didn't get the bomb rails (listed by Andrew D.) but most did. VF-103 The Sluggers, VF-74 Be-Devilers, and (IIRC) VF-84 Jolly Ranchers did bombing but weren't around for the LANTRIN Pod. For the time period between 1990 and 95, check your references or ask, after 95, everyone was carrying bombs (LANTRIN or no LANTRIN).

 

 

*This is the second round of testing, with the BRU-32 Bomb Racks, no the 70's testing with the older BRU-21 to 24 series racks.

 

 

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On 7/16/2021 at 9:38 AM, andrew.deboer said:

Some squadrons were disestablished before they got air-to-ground capability, so you will want to use references. VF-111, and VF-51, for example, did not get air-to-ground before they were disestablished.

 

Not true at all. VF-111 and VF-51 were both bomb capable in the early 1990s. VF-51 did the first fleet drop of 4 mk84 2000lbers at Fallon before cruise. And both squadrons carried and dropped live rounds in Iraq on their last cruise. And iirc also on the 1993 cruise. Clinton authorized a brief offensive when Iraq denied weapons inspectors. 
 

People on here seemed to be confused between Bombcat and Lantirn. There never was an official Bombcat name. It was an unofficial nickname that started circulating after the fleet got the dumb bomb capability. VF-24 and VF-211 were the first fleet bomb capable squadrons in August 1990. Lantirn was a 1996 mod that allowed them to self designate LGB/PGM weapons. They could carry them and be buddy lazed prior. VF-41 and VF-84 dropped GBUs in Bosnia being lazed by a Hornet in 1994/95. 
 

There is no external difference between a fleet Tomcat and so-called Bombcat. 
brian

Edited by Brian P: Fightertown Decals
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On 7/17/2021 at 2:38 AM, andrew.deboer said:

Some squadrons were disestablished before they got air-to-ground capability, so you will want to use references. VF-111, and VF-51, for example, did not get air-to-ground before they were disestablished.

 

 As brian mentioned above, 51/111 did bomb. There is a famous series of photos by tumour twomey of 51 dropping the 2000lbers.

 

I have a photo of the vf111 CAG jet in 1992 with bomb racks and practice bombs at fallon. After the Gulf War it seems as though they all started to get into the mud moving. 

 

I also have a great photo of the VF33 CAG jet dropping snakeyes which would be a very cool model!

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I’m always ready to learn things and never miss a chance to stand corrected, so let me modify what I said:

 

”If you’re looking to depict an F-14 performing an a/g combat mission, it does not appear that VF-51 or VF-111 would be historically accurate choices. While they trained up on carrying bombs, they don’t appear to have done it in combat and do not appear to have done it much if at all on their final cruise.”

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2 hours ago, andrew.deboer said:

I’m always ready to learn things and never miss a chance to stand corrected, so let me modify what I said:

 

”If you’re looking to depict an F-14 performing an a/g combat mission, it does not appear that VF-51 or VF-111 would be historically accurate choices. While they trained up on carrying bombs, they don’t appear to have done it in combat and do not appear to have done it much if at all on their final cruise.”

Dude, you’re still wrong. If you read what I posted, both 51 and 111 took bomb capable jets on cruise, flew loaded out for the entire cruise and dropped live ordnance. Look up their cruise history or Squadron history. They became bomb capable in 1992 and dis-established in March 1995. That’s 3+ years of carrying bombs of all varieties. It’s great that you want to help, and you’ve got some great knowledge, but If you don’t know, why do you want to give false info?… 

Edited by Brian P: Fightertown Decals
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11 minutes ago, Brian P: Fightertown Decals said:

Dude, you’re still wrong. If you read what I posted, both 51 and 111 took bomb capable jets on cruise, flew loaded out for the entire cruise and dropped live ordnance. Look up their cruise history or Squadron history. They became bomb capable in 1992 and dis-established in March 1995. That’s 3+ years of carrying bombs of all varieties. Why do you want to give false info that you don’t know?… 

Oh thats interesting...
I was under the impression (mostly because I never really looked into it) that VF-111 didnt ever carry bombs.
Were their jets LANTIRN capable?

What bombs did, or might they have carried?

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35 minutes ago, Brian P: Fightertown Decals said:

Dude, you’re still wrong. If you read what I posted, both 51 and 111 took bomb capable jets on cruise, flew loaded out for the entire cruise and dropped live ordnance. Look up their cruise history or Squadron history. They became bomb capable in 1992 and dis-established in March 1995. That’s 3+ years of carrying bombs of all varieties. It’s great that you want to help, and you’ve got some great knowledge, but If you don’t know, why do you want to give false info?… 

Nah, I was just hoping to get into a pissing contest with you. As stated, always ready to learn. My foot tastes awesome.
 

So they made combat drops? On whom?

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3 hours ago, ElectroSoldier said:

Oh thats interesting...
I was under the impression (mostly because I never really looked into it) that VF-111 didnt ever carry bombs.
Were their jets LANTIRN capable?

What bombs did, or might they have carried?

111 decomm'ed before LANTRIN.

 

Back then (91 to 95) we were capable of carrying and releasing the following air to ground weapons;

 

Mk 80 Series GP Bombs

Mk 20/CBU-99/CBU-100 Rockeye

CBU-78 GATOR

Mk 62 and Mk 63 Quickstrike Mines

Mk 76, Mk 106, BDU-33 and BDU-48 Practice Bombs

Mk 53 Marine Location Markers

GBU-10/12/16 Laser Guided Bombs

LUU-2 Paraflare

BDU-57/59/60 Laser Guided Training Rounds (LGTR)

ADM-141 Tactical Air Launched Decoy (TALD)

 

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1 hour ago, ElectroSoldier said:

Without the LANTIRN pods who guided the GBU-10/12/16 for them?
I suppose it would have been their Intruders?

The Intruder and Hornet guys, plus guys on the ground.

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  • 1 month later...

There's a pretty popular photo somewhere of a number of late VF-84 jets (post Desert Storm) in a dive releasing dumb bombs... also a popular series of photos from VF-84 (actually shot by a guy from VF-32 as I recall) showing 3 VF-84 Tomcats flying in formation  showing the three major configurations for a tomcat (air to air, air to ground, recon), which also pre-date LANTIRN (though not by much).

 

Somewhere in my collection, I've got photos of both a VF-51 and VF-111 Tomcat sitting on deck with bomb racks on the LAU-93s. I'll have to see if I can dig those up.

 

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On 7/17/2021 at 10:24 PM, GW8345 said:

 

Mk 62 and Mk 63 Quickstrike Mines

 

 

Never ever never never ever take non-GPS F-14A’s on a MINEX with Quickstrike. That’s one event in my JO days I wished we had a “re-do” on. 

VF-### crew…”well they came off the jet!!”  Me: “yeah, but where did they go?”  A-6 crews:  “I think they are over there!!!” Hornet bubbas:  “we don’t know, we were RTB to stay on our fuel ladder”. 

 

Collin

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1 hour ago, Drifterdon said:

So does someone make aftermarket bomb racks for the bombcats?

 

In what scale?  The Hasegawa weapon sets in 1/72 have the appropriate racks.

I think some options have popped up in 1/48, but I'm not super well read on those.

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39 minutes ago, Sarathi S. said:

 

In what scale?  The Hasegawa weapon sets in 1/72 have the appropriate racks.

I think some options have popped up in 1/48, but I'm not super well read on those.

My apologies.   I should have specified 1/48 scale.

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7 hours ago, Drifterdon said:

My apologies.   I should have specified 1/48 scale.

They come standard in the academy bombcat kit, the special F-14B/F-14D boxing of the Revell kit,  as well as the Tamiya F-14D, presumably the GWH kit, and I believe there were resin ones in one or two boxings of the hasegawa kit (but just a couple that are long out of print)

 

For aftermarket, I know the black box bombcat update set had some,  and steel Beach did as well... beyond that, im not sure who else has some. The 1/72 hasegawa weapons sets have some, but they are curiously absent from the 1/48 sets.

 

This list is by no means exhaustive, but its all the sources I can think of off the top of my head

Edited by Skull Leader
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13 hours ago, Drifterdon said:

So does someone make aftermarket bomb racks for the bombcats?

https://spruebrothers.com/resrs480273-1-48-reskit-bru-32-with-adu-703-bomb-rack-set/

 

All you need to do is cut out the LAU-93/-132 from the rail, put a plastic backing and then glue these to the plastic backing.

 

Note: there should be a little gap in the from and back, the LAU-93/-132 was longer than the ADU-703 so the -703 will sit in the middle of where the -93/-132 goes with a small gap in the front and back.

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17 hours ago, Collin said:

Never ever never never ever take non-GPS F-14A’s on a MINEX with Quickstrike. That’s one event in my JO days I wished we had a “re-do” on. 

VF-### crew…”well they came off the jet!!”  Me: “yeah, but where did they go?”  A-6 crews:  “I think they are over there!!!” Hornet bubbas:  “we don’t know, we were RTB to stay on our fuel ladder”. 

 

Collin

That's because you expected One-Filthy-W$#*e to actually do something right.

 

If you had a real Tomcat squadron dropping them you'd know exactly where those "pumpkins" were landed. :-D

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