Grumman F-14 Tomcat Military Aircraft Model From Franklin Mint

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Grumman F-14 Tomcat Military Aircraft Model From Franklin Mint

Grumman F-14 Tomcat - Scale Model Warbird
Part Number: B11B808
Availability: Available Now
Actual size is approximately 15 3/4" (40 cm) in length. Wingspan, approximately 9 1/2" (24.1 cm) in length. Scale 1:48.

Grumman F-14 Tomcat - Scale Model Warbird - Description

·	The U.S. Navy's legendary supersonic fighter jet re-created in dramatic 1:48 scale.

·	Featuring the skull-and-crossbones insignia of the famed "Jolly Rogers" squadron.

·	Painstakingly hand-assembled and hand-painted.

·	Intricately detailed undercarriage and cockpit.

·	Decked out with authentic military markings.

·	Complete with landing gear.

·	Own a powerful replica of the "Guardian of Freedom"!

Additional Details

The supersonic fighter jet re-created in awesome, lifelike detail! From Desert Storm to Operation Enduring Freedom, the F-14 Tomcat has been the symbol of our commitment to safeguard the American Way. As the primary defender of the U.S. fleet, the Tomcat is the ultimate air-combat weapons system, capable of tracking 243 different targets at once, and engaging six of them simultaneously...and now it's a spectacular die-cast model. From the lethal payload of Phoenix and AMRAAM missiles, intricately detailed undercarriage and cockpit to the streamlined fuselage and variable sweep wing configuration, every detail is captured to perfection. Painted by hand and decked with authentic military markings, your model features the skull-and-crossbones insignia of the world-famous fighting VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" Squadron.

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat was a United States Navy supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat variable geometry wing aircraft. It also performed tactical reconnaissance and close air support.[2][3] It was built for the VFAX/VFX Naval Fighter (Attack) Experimental requirement for an agile air superiority fighter and also incorporate the AIM-54 Phoenix missile as a fleet air defense interceptor against bombers and missiles. The F-14 Tomcat was the first[4] and best known of the new highly successful generation of US teen-series air superiority fighters which were designed incorporating the experience of air combat in Vietnam against Migs.

It entered service in 1972 with the USN, replacing the F-4 Phantom II, and the abortive F-111B. It was later exported to the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) in 1976. The USN replaced the F-14 with the more modern and economical F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2006. However, the F-14 by many measures of speed and range / payload was the most capable carrier-based multirole fighter bomber ever produced, with the largest radar and farthest range missile capabilities exceeding that of any contemporary western fighter of this century. The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) will remain the only air arm flying F-14s.

Origins

The F-14 Tomcat was created in response to the U.S. Navy VFX specification, following termination of the F-111B program. However, the F-14 was actually started even earlier as an internal Grumman project to build the 1966 requirement for a VFAX, a lighter and more agile fighter that would be a better fighter than the F-4 Phantom II and a better bomber than the A-7 Corsair II. Grumman engineers after 1965 were tasked with creating the Naval version of the F-111 which introduced new fuel-efficient afterburning turbofan engines, swing wings for efficiency at landing, cruise and dash, and new large Phoenix missiles with over 100 miles range for the single point mission of fleet air defence. The VFAX was created when Navy planners realized the F-111B had been created a a missile carrier, but did not have the performance or maneuverability to counter MiGs which had been encountered over Vietnam in 1965.

Grumman engineers simply transplanted the heart of the F-111B's engine and weapons systems optimized for the fleet air defence requirements onto this same airframe. As early as 1966, Flight International Magazine printed that the Navy had realized because of this proposal that a lighter VFAX which could carry the Phoenix would be better than a mixed fleet of F-111B interceptors and light VFAX fighter bombers. The Navy would hastily write the VFX specification around Grumman's design 303, which won the VFX competition. Grumman would retain the TF30 afterburning turbofan engines and AWG-9/Phoenix weapons system of the F-111B. To reduce costs, the F-14 would share the landing gear, air ducts, and wing of the Grumman A-6 Intruder in a lighter and more agile airframe than the F-111B, with redesigned swing wings, a blended wing / body, and extensive use of titanium which had matured since the SST and SR-71 projects. The F-14 would not only be a better fighter, but also be a better multi-role bomber than the F-4 Phantom. The Tomcat was the most powerful and maneuverable fighter at its introduction and it would remain competitive with the best air superiority 4th generation fighters until its retirement. The swing wing and long-range interception capabilities would never again be duplicated on any subsequent fighter designs of any nation, and would be retired primarily for maintenance costs rather than any deficiencies in combat capability. The F-14 Tomcat was the first of a new generation of air superiority fighters designed from lessons learned in air combat over Vietnam with Soviet MiG fighters.

Operational History

United States Navy

The F-14 began replacing the F-4 Phantom II in USN service starting in September 1974 with squadrons VF-1 Wolfpack and VF-2 Bounty Hunters aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN 65). In 1995, an upgrade program was initiated to incorporate new digital avionics and weapon system improvements to strengthen its multi-mission competitive edge. The F-14D, delivered in 1990 in reduced numbers, was a major upgrade with F110 engines, new AN/APG-71 radar system, Airborne Self Protection Jammer (ASPJ), Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) and Infrared Search and Track (IRST). Additionally, all F-14 variants were given precision strike capability using the LANTIRN targeting system, night vision compatibility, new defensive countermeasures systems and a new digital flight control system. At the end of its life, the F-14 Tomcat was upgraded with ROVER, a system which allows a Forward Air Controller (FAC) on the ground to see real-time images acquired by the aircraft's sensors by transmitting these images to the FAC's laptop.

In the Gulf War conflict, U.S. F-14s were used primarily for strike package escort and reconnaissance due to the way the Air Tasking Orders were set up. The emissions from the AWG-9/APG-71 are instantly recognizable, due to its very powerful transmitter. When Iraqi fighters were detected inbound, as soon as the Tomcats "lit up" the Iraqis would immediately abandon the attack while well out of range, perhaps indicating their familiarity with both the Tomcat and the AIM-54.

Hi Lo

The US Marine Corps elected to wait for the F/A-18 to replace the F-4, in a pattern consistent with their decision in the 70s and 80s to also retain the proven AH-1 Cobra and M-60 tank over the latest USN and Army weapons. With higher energy costs, the Blue Angels demonstration team would switch to the more economical Top Gun nemesis, the A-4 Skyhawk during the 1980s. While the F-14 had been developed as a light weight alternative to the 80,000 lb F-111B, the F-14 was still the largest and most expensive fighter in its time. VFAX was revived in the 1970s as a lower cost solution to replacing the Navy's fleet of USMC Phantoms, and A-7. VFAX would be turned into the USAF LWF fighter competition, from which the F/A-18 Hornet emerged as roughly a midsize fighter, which could dogfight as well or better than the Tomcat in a size and range / payload somewhat smaller than the Phantom with carrying fewer AIM-7 Sparrow medium range missiles. hi-lo In a mixed force, the Hornet was introduced with the dubious distinction of being the world's first dual-role fighter (which the F-14 had been built as, but not operationally used). The F-14 would continue to be tasked solely for fleet defence. After the Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team switched from their downsized T-38 Talon to their front-line F-16 Falcon, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flew F/A-18s rather than the large F-14 Tomcat.

Decommissioning of the F-14

Grumman had submitted several proposals to the Navy to upgrade the Tomcat beyond the D model (such as the Super Tomcat 21, the cheaper QuickStrike version, and the more advanced Attack Super Tomcat 21) but the F/A-18E/F was chosen as the future Navy attack aircraft instead. Grumman was acquired by Northrop Corporation in 1994 (the F-14 was probably the only program keeping them in business), sealing the fate of the F-14.

Without the ability to re-manufacture or replace the F-14 fleet, the tired and high-maintenance airframes and engines fitted mostly with technology from the 1970s are reaching the limit of their useful lives, though by many standards the F-14 is still competitive or superior to most other operational fighters, including the Super Hornet. The decision to incorporate the F/A-18E/F and decommission the F-14 is mainly due to the high amount of maintenance required to keep the Tomcats operational. On average, an F-14 requires nearly fifty maintenance hours for every flight hour, five to ten times that required by the F/A-18E/F.

When the A-12 was canceled, the Navy opted to upgrade the Hornet to the F/A-18E/F as an alternate way to replace the strike capability of the A-6 Intruder. This also improved the oft-criticized short range and payload capabilities of the Hornet, with the 65 mi range AIM-120 AMRAAM fire and forget missile, and a 66,000 lb gross weight, ironically not only heavier than the F-4 Phantom, and comparable to the F-14, but also the 55,000 gross weight requirement that helped kill the F-111B. With a little nudging from then defence secretary Dick Cheney who refused congressional requests for funding new-build F-14s, the Navy elected to build more Super Hornets, given trade offs in cost and combat capability, and perhaps fashions of the current time.

The former engineering manager of the F-14, Bob Kress, estimates that the F/A-18E/F has about half the range / payload capability of the F-14. The radius of an F-14 carrying four 2,000-pound LGBs, two HARM missiles, two Sidewinders and two, 280-gallon external tanks is at least 500 statute miles. E/F Super Hornets are not as agile in combat as the original Hornets. They have a gross weight over 66,000 lb, not only heavier than the classic heavyweight F-4 Phantom, but comparable to the Tomcat, and even exceeds the original 55,000 TFX specification which shot down the F-111B. Yet the Super Hornet has only a 350-statute-mile radius carrying about half the bomb load.[5]

While the F6D Missileer was slated to carry eight and the F-14 carried six medium or long range missiles, although only four long range Phoenix missiles could be carried on a mission normally due to bringback weight limitations. [6] the Super Hornet will load out at four AIM-7 Sparrow or up to twelve AMRAAM missiles with a shorter range than the elderly Phoenix. However, it must be noted that newer versions of the AMRAAM such as the AIM-120C-5 and AIM-120C-7 as well as planned future versions such as the AIM-120D are greatly extending the range of the missile, in the case of the latter almost to that of the Phoenix. With the retirement of the hugely expensive Phoenix, and the F-14A lacking the ability to carry the AMRAAM, these older models of the F-14 are obsolete for modern air superiority missions. It has a higher approach speed, and does not have a Mach 2 capability. The F-14 was never developed much beyond new engines, while the F/A-18E/F is an evolution of complete redesigns with the F-5 Freedom Fighter as the starting point through the YF-17 Cobra and F/A-18.[7] The Hornet and Super Hornet may well replace all carrier jet combat aircraft until the JSF. When the F-14 first flew, a flight deck would have tankers, EW, ASW, daylight and all weather fighter, attack, and reconnaissance types. To put some perspective in the age of the technology and style, the fastest production stock car in 1970 was the massive Plymouth Superbird which also had trademark aerodynamic gimmicks like a nose cone and goalpost spoiler not seen since the 70s. Today's fast cars are trim turbo compacts and Corvettes. One might compare the fate of the large, complex F-14 to the replacement of battleship by smaller, less expensive, more easily maintained ships that just do not have the same punch.[citation needed]

The F-14 has completed its decommissioning from the U.S. Navy. It was slated to remain in service through at least 2008, but all F-14A and F-14B airframes have already been retired, and the last two squadrons, the VF-31 Tomcatters and the VF-213 Black Lions, both flying the "D" models, arrived for their last fly-in at Naval Air Station Oceana on 10 March 2006. The F-14 Tomcat will be removed from service and officially stricken from the inventory in September of 2006.

The last F-14 combat mission was completed on February 8, 2006, when a pair of Tomcats landed aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) after one dropped a bomb in Iraq. The plane was part of VF-31 and the last pilot credited with a bomb drop in combat was Lt. Bill Frank. An F-14D from VF-213 was the last F-14 to land on an aircraft carrier after a combat mission, it was piloted by Capt. William G. Sizemore. During their final deployment with the USS Theodore Roosevelt, VF-31 and VF-213 collectively completed 1,163 combat sorties totaling 6,876 flight hours, and dropped 9,500 pounds of ordnance during reconnaissance, surveillance, and close air support missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On March 10, 2006, the 22 planes from these squadrons flew in formation into Naval Air Station Oceana, home from the last combat deployment of the F-14. VF-213 pilots and radar interception officers who are making the transition to the Super Hornet will begin F/A-18F (double seat) training in April 2006, and the squadron will be operational, or "safe for flight," in September 2006. VF-31 pilots who are making the transition will begin F/A-18E (single seat) training in October 2006, and the squadron will be safe for flight in April 2007. This will make VF-31 the last official Tomcat squadron in the Navy.[8]

Because of its popularity, and long service life, the Navy is attempting to place as many of its retired F-14s on public display as possible. Consequently, aircraft mothballed at the Davis-Monthan "Boneyard" will be retained for as long as possible while homes are found for them

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