English: From the museum website:

This aircraft flew into Forbes Field on October 24, 2003 from the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC), Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada. NSAWC is home to the US Navy’s Top Gun School for air-to-air combat instruction. BuNo161615’s final flight came 20 years after it made its first flight, in October 1983.

Because a potential adversary of the United States has a number of this model of Tomcat, the Pratt and Whitney TF30 turbofan engines were removed for destruction before placing it on exhibit. The aircraft is exhibited as it would be on the flight deck or hangar deck of an aircraft carrier, with its wings in the over-swept position for minimum wingspan.

Grumman Corporation, Aircraft Systems Division, built the Tomcat at its Calverton, Long Island, New York plant and delivered it to the US Naval Plant Representative Officer in October 1983. It was assigned to its first fighter squadron, VF-124, in December 1983.

Deliveries of Tomcats to the US Navy began in June 1972. With its variable sweep wing design, the F-14 became the Navy’s premier fighter, the first of the super fighters. F-14’s were phased out of service by the end of 2006. They were still a world premier fighter, but the number of maintenance hours required for each hour of flight played significantly in their retirement. The Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is the F-14’s replacement.

This aircraft is on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Florida

Assignments: December 1983 Fighter Squadron VF-124 Gunfighters January 1984 Fighter Squadron VF-21 Freelancers June 1988 Fighter Squadron VF-111 Sundowners January 1990 Fighter Squadron VF-211 Checkmates June 1998 Fighter Squadron VF-41 Black Aces November 2001 Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (Top Gun), Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada October 24, 2003 Combat Air Museum

TECHNICAL NOTES F-14A

Manufacturer: Grumman Basic Role: Carrier-borne air superiority fighter Crew: Pilot and Naval Flight Officer (Radar Intercept Officer) in tandem Power Plant: Two 20,900 lb (93kN) static thrust Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-412A or four 14A turbofans Maximum speed: Mach 2.3; 1,544 mph (2,485km/hr) Cruising speed: 633 mph (1,019km/hr) Max. Range: 2,000 miles (3,219km) Service ceiling: 68,900 ft (21,000m) Range (combat radius): 765 miles (1,231km) Wingspan (max spread): 64 ft 1 ½ in (19.55m) Span (fully swept): 38 ft 2 ½ in (11.65m) Span (over-swept): 33 ft 3 ½ in (10.15m) Length: 62 ft 8 in (19.10m) Height: 16 ft. (4.88m) Wing Area: 565 sq ft (52.49sq. m) Weights (empty): 40,100 lb (18,189kg) Normal Takeoff Weight: 58,715 lb (26,633kg) Armament: One M-61A1 20-mm cannon. Four AIM-7 Sparrow plus four AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles or six AIM-Phoenix air-to-air missiles. Serial Number: US Navy BuNo 161615

Photo by Eric Friedebach