Thank God the Navy doesn't fly these anymore, or the State Department would die of apoplexy!
Posted on 10/30/2001 1:32:16 AM PST by grimalkin
When the U.S. Navy's F-14B Tomcats streak over Afghanistan dropping laser- and satellite-guided bombs, the legendary fighter planes represent the military's massive and modern firepower.
But when the VF-102 Diamondback squadron returns from Operation Enduring Freedom, the 12 Tomcats based on the USS Theodore Roosevelt will be turned in, and the pilots sent to train on a new generation of aircraft.
One of the Navy's most recognizable fighters, with the swept-back wings, is 30 years-old, older than some of the pilots that fly them.
"Tomcats are a piece of history, I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to fly a Tomcat," Lt. Matt, call sign "Rub," a 27-year-old from Blythe, Calif., said. "But it's going to be nice to fly a brand-new airplane."
Pilots flying combat missions against Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan are only allowed to be identified by their first names and call signs, unless they are commanding officers.
The Diamondback's commander, Cmdr. Roy Kelley, said he will miss the plane he has flown for the last 15 years and still the world's fastest and most maneuverable fighter plane.
"About a year and a half ago, when I was told this squadron was going to transition (to the F/A-18F), I wasn't really excited about it," Kelley, from Newark, Ohio, said. "That's going to be the hard part, walking away from an airplane you are comfortable in."
But Kelley said he warmed to the Super Hornet after visiting the Boeing factory where they are being built and flying one earlier this year.
"Getting a brand-new airplane is like getting a brand-new car, everybody gets excited," he said. Kelley also admitted that the Tomcat is breaking down more and more often.
Lt. j.g. Dave Woods, in charge of the Theodore Roosevelt's general aviation maintenance department, said the 20-30 year-old planes have begun to show their age and are now considered "high maintenance."
"They are very similar to an automobile, the older it gets, the more often things are going to wear out and break," said Woods, of Chesapeake, Va. "A lot of the air frames have been put through a lot of stresses ... as a result I'm going to get a lot more work."
Indeed, when the Tomcats sit in the carrier's hangar below the flight deck, crews place oil pans underneath them to catch leaking hydraulic fluid, a problem mechanics can do little to stop on the old planes.
After the Theodore Roosevelt's current deployment's scheduled end in March, the Diamondbacks, currently based in Virginia Beach, Va., will move to Lemoore, Calif., where most of the pilots and weapon's officers will train on the Super Hornet, a long-range, two-seat version of the F/A-18C that one Navy and one Marine squadron are currently flying off the Theodore Roosevelt.
All Navy F-14s, which can carry 13,000 pounds of explosives, are scheduled to be retired by 2010.
Kelley praised the Super Hornet's new technology, saying it is a far better fighter-attack plane than the Tomcat, which was designed solely for air-to-air combat. But he said it can never match the Tomcat's long range, mach 1.8 speed and predator mystique. Kelley said when his wingman is in an F/A-18C, he must be careful not to leave the slower plane behind.
"The capability the Tomcat has for speed is amazing, there is not another plane in the Navy's inventory that can come anywhere close to it," Kelley, 40, said. "You look at the plane on the ground and it looks intimidating, it looks like something that is made for war."
I worked on them for a few years as a plane captain for VF-1 on the U.S.S. Ranger- we always said if they aren't leaking, they must be empty. I hate to see those birds go. Nothing compares to seeing one going off the end of the carrier at night with the afterburner blazing.
I sure miss all those F-14's that used to fly out of (then) NAS Miramar (former home of Top Gun) in San Diego.
But Iran doesn't have the targeting assets necessary to make the Backfires as capable as they theoretically are.
Read Seapower and Space by Norman Polmar.
I think that was the war-cry for the F-15 Eagle. The F-14 had dumb bomb capability built in from the start. It just wasn't used much until the A-6s were gone.
There must be some feeling in the upper brass that they are no longer worried about intercepting threats farther than around 50 miles out.
While the F14 is certainy a wonderful aircraft, I believe that the F15 has the edge in flat out speed (~Mach 2.5 ). I'd be interested in your take on the agility of the Tomcat as compared to the F16 or F/A18.
Of course not including the F15 or Soviet fighters.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
