Thank you for explaining what "Tally Ho" means. I was afraid that the Navy version was different than the Air Force usage, but fortunately you have alleviated my fears. Could you please enlighten me further on the following term:
Bravo Sierra ;^)
In your scenario, what would be the max closing rate between the two aircraft be? Do you think that closing rate would be enough to knock off a vertical stab? I don't. The Navy keeps up with corrosion control better than that, and I'm sure that Grumman built the F-14 with a bit more strenght into a vertical stab that sees Mach 1.5+ IAS and sustains severe side forces during maneuvers.
Unless the story has it's facts screwed up, which is likely, I cannot imagine how two aircraft flying formation as you describe can sustain damage to a right wingtip and a right vert stab without also taking out the left vert stab or more. I could see that happening if it were a right wing tip and a left vertical stab, but not this right-right as reported. Occam's Razor suggests that it is more likely either the two were head to head during the mishap, or else one aircraft was flying formation inverted. I think the latter will prove to be the case.
May we agree to disagree?
I think I'm entitled to a bit more respect than "Bravo Sierra" when it comes to things like this. Were I inclined, I could point you to previous mishaps that would bear me out.
But on the other hand, what do I know? I only flew the Tomcat for most of my career. Surely, I have no business commenting, so I'll leave it to your expert opinion.