Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series
HA5239Grumman F-14B Tomcat 163217, VF-103, NAS Oceana, June 2005
General Background
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 call-sign used by Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly which conformed to the USN tradition of giving Grumman aircraft feline names.
The Aircraft
In February 1999 Grumman F-14B Tomcat 163217 joined VF-103 “Jolly Rogers” but in April 2001 it moved to VF-102 until June 2003 when it returned to VF-103. in 2004 this aircraft was the first VF-103 F-14 to receive the new Sparrow Hawk HUD. In 2005 163217 was selected to have the special paint scheme celebrating 60 years of F-14s with VF-103 “Jolly Rogers”. On January 25, 2005 this aircraft was the last F-14 to leave Oceana with the destination of AMARC where it stayed until 2007 when it was scrapped.
