‘Out of control, I reached for the “D” ejection handle between my legs. I grasped it but did not pull it, as I realized that being inverted, the ejection would…
‘“Where are you, Hey Joe?” ‘“On your nose for three miles.” ‘Peering up through the eyebrow windows, two Tomcats roll inverted on their backs and pull as hard as they…
“The F-14 crew caught a detail in the weather briefing and flew that 95 knots pass into a shear-wind (opposed to the F-15A-pilot), and then did a few turns no…
UFO sightings Have you ever wondered what odd objects pilots see in the sky? With a unique vantage point and have reported seeing a variety of strange sightings, such as…
US Navy’s search for an advanced carrier-based air superiority fighter In an effort to support the Department of Defense’s goal of commonality with the Air Force and its F-111A, General…
The AIM-54 Phoenix The AWG-9 weapons control system and P&W TF30 engines were used by the F-14A Tomcat, which was built in 1968 to replace the controversial F-111B, which was…
Joe “Hoser” Satrapa Without a brace of Joe “Hoser” Satrapa stories, no dissertation on present-day section tactics—or naval aviation in general—could be considered complete. Hoser was a legendary figure in…
The F-4 Constructed initially as a high-altitude interceptor, the F-4 Phantom II soon proved to be a unique aircraft, setting more than a dozen world records for speed, altitude, and…
F-14 shooting down RF-4C A US Air Force (USAF) RF-4C Phantom II was shot down by a US Navy F-14 Tomcat on September 22, 1987, over the Mediterranean during NATO…
The Eagle’s AIM-7 Sparrow missile was significantly less powerful than the Phoenix missile system. Research revealed that 170 F-14 Tomcats could equal 290 F-15 Eagles in terms of defense The…