The F-14 Tomcat program was initiated when it became obvious that the weight and maneuverability issues plaguing the U.S. Navy variant of the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) (F-111B) would not be resolved to the Navy's satisfaction. The Navy requirement was for a fleet air defense fighter (FADF) with the primary role of intercepting Soviet bombers before they could launch missiles against the carrier group. The Navy also wanted the aircraft to possess inherent air superiority characteristics. The Navy strenuously opposed the TFX, which incorporated the Air Force's requirements for a low-level attack aircraft, fearing the compromises would cripple the aircraft, but were forced to participate in the program at direction of then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara who wanted "joint" solutions to the service aircraft needs to reduce developmental costs. The prior example of the F-4 Phantom which was a Navy program later adopted by the USAF (under similar direction) was the order of the day. Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly, DCNO for Air Warfare took the developmental F-111A for a flight and discovered it was unable to go supersonic and had poor landing characteristics. He later testified to Congress about his concerns against the official Department of the Navy position and in May 1968, Congress killed funding for the F-111B allowing the Navy to pursue an answer tailored to their requirements.

NAVAIR shortly issued an RFP for the Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX), a tandem two-seat fighter with maximum speed of Mach 2.2 and a secondary close air support role. Of the five companies that submitted bids (four of which incorporated variable-geometry wings as on the F-111), McDonnell Douglas and Grumman were selected as finalists in December 1968, and Grumman won the contract in January 1969. Grumman had been a partner on the F-111B, and had started work on an alternative when they saw the project heading south, and so had an edge on its competitors. Their early design mock-ups and cost projections were floated among Navy brass as an alternative to the F-111B.

The winning Grumman design reused the TF30 engines from the F-111B, though the Navy planned on replacing them with the F401-PW-400 engines then under development by Pratt and Whitney for the Navy (in parallel with the related F100 for the USAF). Though lighter than the F-111B, it was still the largest and heaviest U.S. fighter to ever fly from an aircraft carrier, its size a consequence of the requirement to carry the large AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles, also from the F-111B and an internal fuel load of 16,000 lbs (7300 kg). The F-14 would also share a similar inlet duct, wing, and landing gear geometry with Grumman's A-6 Intruder.

Upon being granted the contract for the F-14, Grumman greatly expanded its Calverton, Long Island, New York facility to test and evaluate the new swing-wing interceptor. Much of the testing was in the air of the Long Island Sound as well as the first few in-flight mishaps, including the first of many compressor stalls and ejections. In order to save time and forestall interference from Secretary McNamara, the Navy skipped the prototype phase and jumped directly to full-scale development; the Air Force took a similar approach with its F-15.

The F-14 first flew on December 21st, 1970, just 22 months after Grumman was awarded the contract, and reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 1973. While the Marine Corps was interested in the F-14 and went so far as to send pilots to VF-124 to train as instructors, they were never fully sold on the aircraft and pulled out when the stores management system for ground attack munitions was left undeveloped, leaving the aircraft incapable of dropping air-to-ground munitions (these were later developed in the 1990s).

Pictured here is a stunning 1:72 scale diecast replica of a US Navy F-14A Tomcat fighter that was attached to VFA-25 "Fist of the Fleet", then deployed to Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-inches
Length: 10-1/2-inches

Release Date: October 2024

Historical Account: "Fist of the Fleet" - The Fist of the Fleet was originally commissioned Torpedo Squadron 17 (VT-17) in 1943, and fought during World War II with TBF Avenger and SB2C Helldiver attack bombers.

Following WWII, the squadron was re-designated as VA-6B, then again as VA-65 in December 1947. This coincided with the squadron's transition to the plane it would fly for the next 21 years, the A-1 Skyraider, affectionately nicknamed the "Spad." The squadron sailed aboard the USS Coral Sea on its maiden voyage in early 1948.

The outbreak of hostilities with Korea saw the squadron transferred to NAS Moffett Field. Then in 1950, the squadron deployed to Korean waters aboard the USS Boxer, logging 1,645 combat missions.

In 1959, the squadron was re-designated VA-25. In 1962, the squadron moved to its current home, the newly-completed NAS Lemoore.

From 1965 through 1968, the squadron made three deployments to Southeast Asia, still flying the A-1. During this period, Fist pilots flew over 3,000 combat missions, dropping more than 10 millions pounds of ordnance on enemy targets. On June 20th, 1965, a division of "Spads" were attacked by a section of Vietnamese MiG-17's deep in North Vietnam - the Fists successfully scored a guns kill against one of the jet-powered fighters.

When the Fists turned in their A-1 "Spads" in 1968, it was the last tactical propeller driven squadron in the Navy. The squadron next obtained the A-7 Corsair II, with which it again deployed to Southeast Asia after only four months of training, aboard the USS Ticonderoga. It was during this cruise that the Fists set a record - in 33 flying days, Fist pilots flew 1,650 sorties in combat. During this period, each squadron pilot averaged over 92 hours in the air.