[GrandEagle]

If so, which one was the better machine?
Better is a very relative term when used to describe fighter/bomber aircraft.
It all depends on what role the aircraft is to be used, aircraft "up time", and ease of maintenance.
Te beauty of the Tomcat is that it was darn good at anything you wanted to do with it.
I don't know that much about the hornet. They came out after my time was up.
Looking from a purely combat standpoint, you would have to find a pilot that has flown several combat missions, in different combat roles, in both aircraft.

I'm a bit partial to the F-14 myself. I doubt if the Hornet can lock on, track, fire upon, and kill as many aircraft simultaneously as the Tomcat - but I don't know for sure.

I was in the USAF. A great deal of my time was with the 33rd TFW where we flew the F-15. I never even worked on the F-14, but have spent many an hour "discussing", sometimes rather violently (in a friendly sore of way), the advantages that the F-15 has over the F-14 with my Navy friends.

Cordially,
GE

[TalonDJ]

I doubt if the Hornet can lock on, track, fire upon, and kill as many aircraft simultaneously as the Tomcat.

That is almost solely a function of the radar and the avionics so off the top of my head I would say yes. Then again anything upgraded to the newest stuff would also be able too do that a little better than the last round of upgrades did. The 14 is a hell of an airframe. It would have been nice of Grumman was still enough of a contender to do a maintainability update on it.