[A.A. Cunningham]

Oddly enough, The F-14 was one of the few naval aircraft never given to the Marines.

The Marines were strong armed into buying the F-14, ~70 birds, in a quid pro quo by the Navy for getting the Harrier; VMFA-122 was supposed to get them initially. The Marine Corps never wanted them, choosing to stick with the Phantom II until the F-18 became available. Finally, after continued bitching by the Commandant, Schlesinger canceled the buy in July of '75. Several Marines actually became qualified F14 pilots/RIOs and even deployed with Navy VFs. Saw a 70s Marine Corps recruiting poster at Whidbey Island in 1982 that had a picture of an F-14 on it.

[A.A. Cunningham]

051010-N-5088T-001 Persian Gulf (Oct. 10, 2005) – A specially painted F-14D Tomcat, assigned to the “Blacklions” of Fighter Squadron Two One Three (VF-213), conducts a mission over the Persian Gulf. VF-213 is assigned to Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), currently embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). U.S. Navy photo by Lt.j.g. Scott Timmester (RELEASED)