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Last Tomcat Cruises refuelers


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Hi Folks,

 

Once Bullet 100 (BuNo163894) dio will be finished, I plan to start a new build, but this time with several aircrafts in flight.

I'm not decided on the Tomcat variant nor squadron (maybe VF-11 showbird on their last cruise, the full color F-14B, or Vandy 1, or a VF-154 F-14Ag, or even one of VF-31 F-14Ds), but what I do know is that the aircraft is being in-flight refueled.

Question is, what Navy aircraft is going to give the fuel given the time frames? S-3? K/A-6D? Rhino?

 

Sorry for not being more precise...

 

Cheers

 

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It all depends on the timeframe, but if you'd do the Tomcatters D, in their last cruise,it would be higly likely by a 4 bag + one pumping bag equiped Super Hornet

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IMO

 

The most likely aircraft that would be refueling a Tomcat late in it's career (2000's) would be an S-3, KC-135 or KC-10. It would be very rare for it to get gas from a Super Hornet since no Airwings with Tomcats had Super Hornets so the only way for that to happen is if there was another Airwing pulling the tanker duty.

 

Keep this in mind, the Super Hornet wasn't cleared for tanking (fleet wide, not test, it had been tested for several years before being authorized for the fleet) until June of 2002 and at that time there was only like 4 Super Hornet squadrons (if that) in the fleet. The Super Hornets and Tomcats rarely flew missions together unless it was a PR photo shoot when a squadron was transitioning.

 

If you want to do a Super Hornet passing gas to a Tomcat you are going to want to use an older style buddy store (like the kind used by the S-3's), the new style (with the blunt nose rat) weren't authorized until after the Tomcat's were retired.

 

Also, the KA-6D was retired in the early 90's IIRC, so after 93/94 you would want to use an A-6E until it was retired in Feb 97.

 

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4 hours ago, scotthldr said:

Either going to be F-18E/F or S-3 for those time scales. All four final cruises for the above F-14 units had both types within the CVW’s. 

There wasn't any Super Hornets and Tomcats squadrons in the same CAG, there was Hornets and Tomcats and the Hornets aren't cleared for IFR'ing.

Edited by GW8345
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20 hours ago, scotthldr said:

Either going to be F-18E/F or S-3 for those time scales. All four final cruises for the above F-14 units had both types within the CVW’s. 

 

 

Not on the last couple CVW-8 cruises. Just S-3s.

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I also readed somewhere that Rhino were cleared to refuel since 2002, that would render the project feasible then, just have to find which Tomcat squadron was around those tankers... But, since BuNo164604 was a Test aircraft, is would make a buddy refueling from a Rhino a great possibility finally, I "just" would have to find VX-9 or VX-30 decals for the Echo or Foxtrot Rhino

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You can do a VX-23 F-14D (Salty Dog 231) refueling from a VX-23 F-18E (Salty Dog 400). That was done back in 2001 when VX-23 was doing the capability/integration testing for the buddy store on the Super Hornet.

 

In 2002 the only Super Hornet squadrons (besides test squadrons) were VFA-14 and VFA-41 IIRC, everyone else was either still Tomcats or in the middle of transitioning. 

Edited by GW8345
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CVW-14 on the USS Abraham Lincoln had the F-14D (VF-31) and F/A-18E (VFA-115) on deployment 2002-2003 including Operation Iraqi Freedom.  IIRC when the USS Nimitz was enroute to the Persian Gulf, VFA-14 and VFA-41 forward deployed 2 x F/A-18E and 2 x F/A-18F to the Lincoln for use as additional tankers. 

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2 hours ago, GW8345 said:

You can do a VX-23 F-14D (Salty Dog 231) refueling from a VX-23 F-18E (Salty Dog 400). That was done back in 2001 when VX-23 was doing the capability/integration testing for the buddy store on the Super Hornet.

 

In 2002 the only Super Hornet squadrons (besides test squadrons) were VFA-14 and VFA-41 IIRC, everyone else was either still Tomcats or in the middle of transitioning. 

VFA-115.  First SH Squadron to deploy ( with VF-31 in the airwing as well).  VFA-14 and VFA-41 on Nimitz relieved VFA-115 on Lincoln at the tail end of the Second Iraq War.  Whether or not 115 did any tanking I can't say.

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3 hours ago, Stephen said:

CVW-14 on the USS Abraham Lincoln had the F-14D (VF-31) and F/A-18E (VFA-115) on deployment 2002-2003 including Operation Iraqi Freedom.  

I stand corrected.

Never knew that, thanks for keeping me straight. ;-)

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20 minutes ago, Eliminator said:

Isn't VFA-115 a former A-6 squadron?

 

VA-115 was an A-6 squadron from 1970 to 1996, became VFA-115 with the F/A-18C in 1996.  Unsure when they switched to the Super Hornet.

 

(damn, ninja'd while I researched)  🙂

Edited by habu2
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7 minutes ago, Eliminator said:

Am thinking... Is there any KA-6D in 1/32? Would be a VF-11 Delta refueling then!

Doesn't have to be a KA-6D, you can use a A-6E TRAM with a buddy store on the centerline. 😉

 

Trumpeter made a 1/32 A-6E.

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