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Tomcat

US Navy test pilot recalls the unexpected F-14 Tomcat Fatal Flat Spin Mode

by Till Daisd January 11, 2024

written by Till Daisd

‘Within seconds, the F-14 Tomcat rotation rate shot up to 180deg/sec and g forces reached 7.8g eyeballs-out! My head was slammed against the instrument panel and my mask and eyes filled with blood!’ Donald D.D. Smith, Naval Aviator and test pilot

The development of Soviet long-range patrol and bomber aircraft during the Cold War required a fleet defense fighter capable of engaging high-altitude bombers that were well beyond visual range. Grumman’s response was the iconic F-14 Tomcat. Equipped with the long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles, F-14s were able to engage enemy targets more than 90 miles away. Grumman created the F-14’s highly effective variable-sweep wing, which allowed it to fly at a variety of airspeeds, in response to the need for an interceptor to be able to go at a high speed while carrying this heavy ordnance.

Following Grumman’s tradition of naming its aircraft after cats, the new “Tomcat” made its first flight in December 1970. The first F-14As were delivered to the Navy in June 1972 after a series of modifications during flight testing, with Fighter Squadron (VF) 124 designated for crew training. On the West Coast, VF-1 and VF-2 were the first operational squadrons to receive the new aircraft, while on the East Coast, VF-14 and VF-32 became the first Atlantic fleet Tomcat squadrons.

Donald D.D. Smith, Naval Aviator and test pilot recalls:

‘The F-14 hadn’t been in the fleet a year when some handling problems at high AOA (low speed) started to bust out. Good low-speed maneuvering is right up there with speed and acceleration in the list of “must haves” for a good fighter plane. It turns out that F-14 jocks were having to cross-control to get the roll performance they needed during low-speed hassles. Being fighter pilots, it didn’t bother them much, but it set off alarms all throughout the test community. The Tomcat, after all, was America’s world-class fighter, and was the greatest carrier-based fighter ever built! NAVAIR told Grumman to fix it – and tasked the Naval Air Test Center to test it.

‘I was the only one standing around who had a lot of experience spinning fighters and was also current in the F-14, so I was asked to participate. Suited me fine! Now, this wasn’t going to be a spin program, but we were going to have to take the Tomcat out of control to do the job. Sort of poke the Cat in the eye, so to speak. We learned from Grumman model tests that the F-14 had a vicious spin mode that was NOT SURVIVABLE BY THE CREW – but not to worry, it was not possible for a pilot to fly the airplane into a spin – they said. The Navy had gone along with this – there was never a spin test program on the F-14.’

He continues;

‘This was to be a Class-A Hazardous Test, so our little 15-flight test program was reviewed by senior engineers and test pilots up the line. We hijacked a new airplane right off the Grumman production line and wired it up for a dozen key parameters for live monitoring. But there were none of the usual spin accouterments like batteries, auxiliary hydraulics, spin parachute, etc. (the airplane wouldn’t spin, remember?).

‘Flights 1 through 11 were completed without too much excitement. Unlike the A-7, the F-14 exhibited a docile post-departure mode and recovered easily after half a turn. All this changed on Flight 12 – my flight. The show didn’t stop – it was just beginning. During departure recovery with the nose well down, the airplane started to develop a yaw rate, and within a couple of turns the nose came up to a flat attitude. Within seconds the rotation rate shot up to 180deg/sec and g forces reached 7.8g eyeballs-out! My head was slammed against the instrument panel and my mask and eyes filled with blood! Twenty seconds had gone by and I lost consciousness.’

D. D. Smith concludes;

‘There is much more to this story – obviously since I am here to tell it. You might check it out on Amazon, “Above Average – Naval Aviation the Hard Way.”

‘The video below has been exhibited widely over the past decades, but I think you’ll find it worth a look.’

Photo by NASA

January 11, 2024 0 comment

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Tomcat RIO tells the story of his pilot’s unrestricted climb during his third F-14 mission

by Till Daisd January 10, 2024

written by Till Daisd

“I looked at our rapidly increasing airspeed as we neared the end of the runway, and Crush yanked back on the stick to launch us into a steep nose-high climb,” Dave “Bio” Baranek, F-14 Tomcat RIO

After serving in F-14 squadrons as a Tomcat Radar Intercept Office (RIO) and in the prestigious TOPGUN training program, Dave “Bio” Baranek had a fruitful and fulfilling 20-year career in the Navy. He later was assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the US 7th Fleet. At one point, he commanded an F-14 Tomcat fighter squadron, responsible for fourteen aircraft valued at around $700 million and nearly 300 personnel in an F-14 Tomcat fighter squadron. With 2,499.7 flying hours and 688 carrier landings, he concluded his career as an F-14 Tomcat pilot.

The first of the American teen-series fighters, the Grumman F-14A Tomcat, was built to integrate air combat experience against MiG fighters in the Vietnam War. The F-14 was an excellent dogfighter, but the Tomcat’s ability to defend the fleet’s air space was what set it apart. To accomplish this mission, the aircraft was fitted with a powerful weapons system known as the AWG-9, which was able to support the AIM-54 Phoenix, which provided an unprecedented one-hundred-mile range and included a small onboard radar to guide itself to the target during the final phase of flight.

Training-Squadrons-Chart

A RIO in the F-14’s back seat was necessary to maximize the AWG-9’s remarkable capabilities at different stages of the mission. Becoming a skilled F-14 Radar Intercept Officer, however, required a number of training stages, as Baranek explains in his book Before Topgun Days: The Making of a Jet Fighter Instructor.

Actually, after one year spent at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, future RIOs progressed to the Replacement Air Group (RAG), a squadron aimed at training naval aviators in specific types of aircraft.

Bio was assigned to Fighter Squadron (VF) 124 Gunfighters at NAS Miramar, the RAG for West Coast Tomcat Fleet squadrons, where he was trained to become an F-14 RIO. As he recalls in his book, among the first Tomcat flights, one stands out in his memories.

VF-124 F-14A

Not long after reaching RAG, Bio and his F-14 instructor pilot (IP), Ron “Crush” Gollhofer, took a cross-country flight to Denver. The flight, according to Baranek, took place over the course of a weekend. He, Crush, and their wingman arrived at Buckley Air National Guard Base, which is currently Buckley Air Force Base, which is located just outside Denver. They stayed at Gollhofer’s parents’ home and went to a Broncos football game, but, as Bio explains, the highlight of the trip was their departure Sunday evening, which was the start of his third Tomcat flight.

Once ready to take off, Crush told Bio to request an “unrestricted climb.” If this procedure were cleared, they would not have had to conform to the stepped climb profiles that accommodated a wide variety of traffic, from propeller-driven Cessnas to Boeing 737s, and instead would be able to use their fighter’s power and zoom quickly to altitude. Although it seemed completely reasonable for a fighter, it was just a request that would have to be made, granted or not. However, since air traffic around Buckley was light, the request was granted, and Buckley Tower cleared Bio and Crush to take off and climb unrestricted to 18,000 feet.

To better understand what an unrestricted climb looks like, Baranek takes us into the cockpit of their Tomcat, ready to go: “We took the runway. Crush pressed the brakes and ran the engines to military power, and the jet’s nose dipped. He wiped out the controls, throttled up to the afterburner, checked the instruments, and asked if I was ready to go. I was, and he released the brakes. The nose popped up, and we accelerated quickly. I called airspeeds, we rotated, and Crush raised the landing gear and leveled off to fly down the runway as we accelerated. In the evening darkness, I was keenly aware of the bright blue-white glow of flame from our engines forty feet behind me. Lights on hangars and buildings streaked by in my peripheral vision. I looked at our rapidly increasing airspeed as we neared the end of the runway, and Crush yanked back on the stick to launch us into a steep, nose-high climb. ‘Buckley Tower, Navy November Juliet 426, airborne, switching Departure.’ I tried to sound like I belonged here, but I’m sure the controllers in the tower knew that I was both new and loving it. Since Buckley is about 5,600 feet above sea level, it took quite a bit less than thirty seconds for us to reach our assigned altitude of 18,000 feet. Crush smoothly leveled off while I rapidly switched through the Departure Control frequency and contacted Denver Center. We were cleared to climb to a higher altitude and start the route back to Miramar. I was storing all the sensations and images in my long-term memory and looking forward to a nice flight home when Crush said, ‘Okay, get some contacts on the radar.’”

Photos used with permission of author Dave “Bio” Baranek

January 10, 2024 0 comment

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Tomcat RIO shares true story behind Top Gun’s famous inverted flight scene

by Till Daisd December 28, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘Of course, for safety reasons, there wasn’t any aircraft flying inverted one above the other, and that iconic scene was obtained thanks to one of the few special effects in the film,’ Dave “Bio” Baranek, F-14 Tomcat RIO

After serving in the Navy for 20 years, Dave “Bio” Baranek had a successful and fulfilling career. He was assigned to F-14 Tomcat squadrons and the prestigious TOPGUN training program, and he also served with the US 7th Fleet and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He once oversaw an F-14 Tomcat fighter squadron, which was responsible for fourteen aircraft valued at over $700 million and close to 300 personnel. Upon his retirement, he scored 2,499.7 flying hours in an F-14 Tomcat and 688 carrier landings. In addition, 461.8 flight hours in the F-5F Tiger II are recorded in his logbook.

He retired from the Navy in 1999.

In 1985, he got the unique opportunity to fly aerial sequences used in the Tom Cruise movie “Top Gun,” which was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson. He was a TOPGUN air-to-air combat instructor. He also served as a dialogue advisor on the project and took some of the few available photographs of the movie’s black F-5 fighters in flight.

In his book Topgun Days: Dogfighting, Cheating Death and Hollywood Glory as One of America’s Best Fighter Jocks, Bio provides some never-before-told details about Top Gun.

Bio-Movie-F-5s-and-Lear

One of the best-known sequences in the movie, for example, is when Maverick and Goose’s F-14 flies upside-down over the black, two-seat F-5F (also known as the MiG-28). Naturally, none of the aircraft were flying inverted, one atop the other. For safety reasons, one of the few special effects in the movie was used to create that memorable scene.

As Bio explains, many of the movie’s flying scenes were filmed on a specially equipped Learjet by former fighter pilot Clay Lacy. “I was to fly (aboard the F-5F) with Rat (actually Bob “Rat” Willard was the Topgun squadron’s primary coordinator for the movie), who briefed the flight. […] We would have two F-14s and four F-5s available, but the first scene would involve only the two-seat F-5F flying in formation alongside the Learjet. On a call from the Lear, both Rat and I would look up, acting as startled as we could. Although there would be nothing above us, Rat explained how this shot would be used for the scene where Maverick’s Tomcat is inverted above the MiG-28. The F-14 would be added later in one of the few special effects in the film.”

Rat radioed for the three F-5Es to be detached so they could join the Tomcats once the aircraft took off, and he and Bio formed a tight formation on Lear’s right side, where Baranek saw “the glass window that made up a large panel on this side of the fuselage. One high-quality camera sat behind the glass; others were mounted on the top and belly of the Lear.”

Then, as Bio explains, a voice came from the Learjet. “‘A little forward. That’s good. When I count to three, both of you look up as quickly as you can. Remember, you’re startled. One, two, three!’ I looked up. It was hard to act startled in all my flight gear and oxygen mask. No feedback, just a small voice: ‘OK, let’s do it again. Remember, you are startled that there is an F-14 above you. One, two, three!’ They didn’t teach us this in Pensacola.”

Photo by Paramount and David “Bio” Baranek

December 28, 2023 0 comment

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The last F-14 Tomcat used by the US Navy transferred from Bethpage to the Cradle of Aviation Museum.

by Till Daisd September 22, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The last Tomcat in US Navy service, Felix 101, F-14D BuNo 164603, which was previously outside an empty office building in Bethpage, has been relocated to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale

According to Newsday, Felix 101, F-14D BuNo 164603, the last Tomcat in US Navy service, which had been parked in front of an empty office building in Bethpage, has been relocated to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale.

Once a California company, Prologis Inc. decided to buy the former Grumman Corp. office and surrounding land for a planned 218,150-square-foot warehouse, the status of the F-14 was uncertain.

According to Alert 5, the company asked the county for a sales tax exemption as well as property tax relief. Nevertheless, until the new location for the Tomcat was decided, the Industrial Development Agency could not vote on the tax-aid package.

The migration was supported and assisted in part by Northrup Grumman.

Since 2008, when the Grumman Retiree Club, a former employee group, and Grumman’s successor, Northrop Grumman Inc., built a monument, F-14D BuNo 164603 was parked at 600 Grumman Rd. West. The aircraft is one of the 711 F-14s that Grumman constructed on Long Island throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

In accordance with Tony Holmes’ account in his book F-14 Tomcat Units of Operation Enduring Freedom, F-14D 164603 was initially delivered to VF-124 Gunfighters, the West Coast Tomcat Fleet RAG, on May 29, 1992, at NAS Miramar. In June of the following year, it was one of the first D-model aircraft assigned to VF-2.

The aircraft was moved to VF-213 in late 1997 and stayed there until it was transferred to VF-101 in early 2002. When F-14s and F/A-18s from CVW-11 attacked an SA-3 SAM battery and its attendant target acquisition and guidance radars near Kabul’s international airport on October 7, 2001, this Tomcat served as the strike leader.

BuNo 164603 was assigned to VF-31 in the summer of 2003, where it quickly became the “Felix 101” jet for the unit. After completing two more cruises with the unit, the Tomcat achieved the honor of carrying out the last Navy F-14 flight on October 4, 2006, when it took off from NAS Oceana and landed at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, New York.

As we have previously documented, the Cradle of Aviation Museum already has two F-14 cockpits, noses, and flight suits in addition to the third and oldest surviving F-14 ever constructed, which flew from 1971 until 1990.

U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Randall Damm

September 22, 2023 0 comment

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F-14 RIO explains why F/A-18 is better in some missions but useless against China

by Till Daisd September 12, 2023

written by Till Daisd

‘As for which would have been a better air-to-air platform, it depends on what specific mission profiles you’re talking about, and which version of either jet carrying which AAMs,’ Dave Andersen, former US Navy F-14 Tomcat RIO

A fleet defense fighter that could engage high-altitude bombers from well beyond of visual range was necessary because Soviet long-range patrol and bomber aircraft during the Cold War had advanced. Grumman’s response was the famous F-14 Tomcat. With their long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles, F-14s could fight numerous adversaries from a distance of nearly 90 miles. With this hefty armament, an interceptor’s fast speed was required, therefore Grumman created the F-14’s very effective variable-sweep wing, which allows it to fly at a variety of airspeeds.

Two Libyan Su-22 fighters were shot down by an F-14 in August 1981 over the Gulf of Sidra. It served for a significant amount of time in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Gulf War. As the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, a development of the F/A-18C/D, took its place in 2006, the final F-14D Super Tomcat left active duty.

In air-to-air combat, wouldn’t the F-14 have been more efficient than the F/A-18?

‘The F-14 was ultimately retired for a combination of reasons, but mostly due to post-Cold War budget constraints, which forced the Navy to make hard choices,’ Dave Andersen, former F-14 Tomcat RIO at US Navy (1983–1992), explains on Quora.

‘Among them was consolidating the carrier airwings into fewer different airframe types and multi-role aircraft. The Navy had not adequately funded F-14 upgrades and modernization throughout the 1980s and early 90s, to give the jet multi-mission capability as the Cold War ended, and the F-14D program was canceled after only a few dozen airframes. Plus, given that NAVAIR in the late ’80s and 1990s was dominated by the so-called “light attack mafia” (lots of A-7 / F/A-18 drivers), the “jack of all trades” F/A-18 Hornet came out on top, at the expense of the F-14A/B/D, A-6E and (later on) EA-6B.

‘The need in the mid and late 90s, after the A-6E was retired, for long-range all-weather strike capability gave the Tomcat a temporary reprieve once it proved, with LANTIRN integration on a shoe-string budget, that it could perform well in the strike mission. But as more Tomcats were retired (and airframes, spare parts and test & calibration equipment destroyed to prevent them from ending up in Iran), and as remaining airframes aged and accumulated more flight hours, combat time and time at sea, the Navy deemed them too costly to maintain and support their shrinking numbers. So, they were retired from the fleet in 2006.’

Andersen continues;

‘As for which would have been a better air-to-air platform, it depends on what specific mission profiles you’re talking about, and which version of either jet carrying which AAMs. Broadly speaking, though, the Tomcat (A, B and D) had much better legs (range and endurance), speed and long-range AAM “stick length” than any Hornet (A, C, D, E/F). The Super Hornet with latest AESA/AIM-120D somewhat closed the long-range missile capability gap with the F-14/AIM-54C, but not completely in all scenarios.

VFA-2-Super-Hornet — 030531-N-0000X-002.Above the United States – (May 31, 2003) – An F-14D Tomcat (far aircraft) assigned to the “Bounty Hunters” of Fighter Squadron Two (VF-2), heads back to their home base of Naval Air Station Oceana after a successful seven month deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation (CV 64) in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch. In formation with the ÒBounty HuntersÓ Tomcat is their new aircraft, the F/A-18F Super Hornet. VF-2 will be transiting to the Super Hornet when they make a homeport change to Naval Air Station Lemoore and will become Strike Fighter Squadron Two (VFA-2). U.S. Navy Photo. (RELEASED).

‘The Hornet has better cockpit automation and better overland “look down/shoot down” thanks to medium PRF radar and AIM-120, which the Tomcat never had. In a high task load environment, the two-seat Tomcat had some advantages over single-seat legacy Hornets, but with single-seat E and two-seat F Super Hornets with AESA radar and modern integrated sensors /avionics, cockpit SA is much improved, so the advantage there goes to Super Hornet. Hornets were/are also superior in the slow-speed high-AOA maneuvering arena, although experienced Tomcat pilots who knew how to use the “Big Boys” (i.e., use full flaps during ACM, which was officially verboten) in a slow-speed high-AOA fight, could outmaneuver a Hornet.’

Andersen concludes;

‘Today against China in the Westpac AOR, Super Hornets are all but worthless. Unfortunately, the Big Navy didn’t have the foresight to require long legs and speed with the F/A-18 E/F. So, we’re now without an effective long-range, high-supersonic carrier-based air-to-air capability until presumably, NGAD/F/A-XX hits the fleet, whatever and whenever that turns out to be.’

Photo by: U.S. Navy

September 12, 2023 0 comment

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F-14 Tomcat Military

Tomcats support SOF mission in opening of Iraq war

by Till Daisd September 1, 2023

written by Till Daisd

A first-hand account of F-14 aircrew operations during a critical special ops mission in western Iraq

All three Tomcat units in the NAG (VF-154 having arrived with CVW-5, embarked aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), in late February 2003) participated heavily in a series of precision strikes on known targets in the “Box” in the final days before OIF began. Republican Guard barracks, HQ and command and control structures, mobile missile launchers, and AAA sites in and around Basra were all struck by CVW-5, the authorized CAS air wing.

Assets from CVW (1-2, -5, and -14, as well as USAF and RAF jets, supported a very essential long-range mission to the H2 and H3 airfields in western Iraq on the night of March 19. The mission also included SOF elements on the ground. The following is a description of the sortie provided by one of the VP-2 RI Os participated in this mission:

‘I was in one of two F-14Ds that launched off CV-64 to support a preplanned operation sent against an airfield in the extreme west of Iraq. By the time it was over, my pilot and I had logged 8.6 hours from launch to crap. Assigned to the mission was a SOF ground element, various TACIR assets, including sections of A-10s rotating throughout the evening, F-15Es, F-14/Ds, AWACS, and dedicated tankers.

‘Our task was to show up after the initial ingress into the area and take over TACAIR asset control in support of the ground element as it headed toward its objective. We started to gain situational awareness of which phase the operation was in as soon as we could get radio contact a few hundred miles out. Having Link-16 JTIDS (Joint Tactical Information Distribution System) was invaluable, as we were receiving datalink to all the other assets in our package without having to use our radio or radar. It sounded like things were going according to plan, and that the assets were getting into position.

‘As we got closer, we heard a VF-154 F-14A divert for unknown reasons. We weren’t certain if the crew had been engaged by ground fire and been hit, or had some other type of failure, but they had an immediate divert problem and left their wingman on station to wait for our relief. We quickly arrived on-station and relieved the lone Tomcat as the FAC(A)s for the operation. He passed a turnover brief as he departed, and we started getting a check in from the other assets in the area.

‘Our plan was to have at least one Tomcat on station to quarterback the operation, while the other one was headed to or from the ranker – located over the border – to refuel. If required, we would pass control to one of the F-15Es if we had both Tomcats off-station. JTIDS was once again invaluable when it came to deconflicting all the assets in our package that were flowing in and out of our Area of Responsibility (AOR) as required, and holding in the same relative area with their lights out. It also allowed us to release the sections on-station when we saw their relief headed inbound without having to constantly query the AWACS as to the status of our support assets. JTIDS provided deconfliction with attacking assets while prosecuting targets on the ground, and most importantly, it let us accurately find the ranker when gas became critical so that we could drive him to us if required.

‘Initially, things went pretty smooth for what seemed to be the first 20 minutes, so we headed to the ranker to top off and left our wingman on station to run the show. The tanker was its own unique type of pain this evening. It was WARP (wing aerial refueling pod) configured, with a boom in the center. That way it could refuel the USAF assets with the boom or stream the baskets from the wingtips for the Navy jets, which probe refueled. As we got to the ranker, we joined up on the left side after it streamed the basket. We had to stay pretty well topped off on gas because we would need a significant amount to get to a divert field should we be hit, suffer mechanical difficulties, or have a problem refueling.

‘Three things soon became readily apparent as we closed on the tanker: 1) we were stuck with manual (unboosted) throttles, so it was like driving a Mack truck without power steering, and therefore very fatiguing on the pilot who was trying to make the minor throttle correction to get in the basket; 2) our probe light, which illuminates the otherwise pitch black basket and lees the pilot sec where he’s putting the refueling probe in the endgame, was not working; and 3) there was a lot of turbulence at the canker’s altitude which was causing the wing rips to bounce up and down like a big lumbering bird. This caused the basket to move up and clown sporadically about four feet at a shot.

‘I stayed on NVGs in the back seat and tried to help talk the pilot into the basket, which was difficult to see without a probe light. Tanking on NVGs was also difficult, as it can seriously distort your depth perception. My pilot got in on the third try, which made us very happy, as the closest divert field was nowhere as close as we wanted it to be.

‘As we headed back to the AOR and switched back to the working frequency, things had obviously moved along to the next phase of operations. Our wingman was controlling the engagement of a AAA piece that had started opening up, and we had A-10s and F-15Es attacking vehicles that were moving in the general direction of the SOF units on the ground. We quickly arrived on-station and received control from our wingman as he headed toward the tanker. We were able to cake out one of the targets pointed out by the ground element ourselves with an LGB before the dust settled a little bit.

‘Now that the initial exchanges had subsided, we gave ourselves about a ten-minute break. The next target that the ground element wanted us to address was located in a revetment about a kilometer away from their present position but between them and their objective. We had soon located and verified the target with the LTS, and were also able to see the ground unit with our NVGs, but we could not see die target visually with the goggles.

‘The release cues from the LTS showed an aim point after we were past the ground element position. The SOF team wanted us to illuminate the target with an infrared (IR) pointer to confirm its position before we dropped our LGB on it since it was close to their position. We told them that we couldn’t visually put the IR pointer on it because we could not see it through NVGs, but that the LTS indicated that it was clear of their position. After making two passes, and asking for clearance to release, which we did not get because the SOF unit did not acquire us until we were past our release solution, we brought in an F-15E which was fitted with a new Litening II pod. We talked the crew onto the target and verified the ground position with them as well.

‘The Litening II-equipped F- 15E has an internal IR pointer (unlike our handheld version, which required us to see the target with NVGs), and they illuminated the target that they had located with their FUR. We saw that the F-15 had the target about 800 meters away from the friendly position, and we passed terminal weapon release control back to the ground element, which in turn authorized the F-15E crew to drop their LGB on their first pass, scoring a direct hit as verified by our LTS. We now headed back to the tanker for round two, as our wingman was on his way back to station.

‘The next duel with the tanker took additional tries to get in the basket and left my pilot with a good cramp in his throttle (left) arm. ‘As we arrived back at the fight to join our wingman, the ground unit had reached its objective and was ready to egress the area, which involved moving across a major “enemy line of communication” – a road. We were tasked with sanitizing the area where the crossing was to occur, searching out any possible resistance. There were a few vehicles moving along the road, but none were presenting a direct threat to the ground element. We then caught sight of a real fast mover on NVGs doing about 80 mph – easily three times the speed of any other traffic observed and headed directly for the ground unit. We passed the information to the ground controller, who instructed us to rake the vehicle out.

‘We rolled in the same direction that the target was heading and tried to lead it with an LGB, but he was seriously moving. The LGB hit about two vehicle lengths short, but the blast forced the driver off the road. We observed four individuals get out of the vehicle once it had stopped, and they ran into a ditch next to the road. The final person leaving the vehicle had a pretty good heat signature on the PLIR, and he appeared to be severely injured based on the way he rolled into a ditch on the roadside. We watched as the group continued to head away from the damaged vehicle and toward the ground unit. Before we could come back around to see how close the group was getting to the crossing site, an F-15E crew “cleaned up” the scene with their own LGB, and this group was no longer a factor. We covered the rest of the egress by the ground unit, directing other fires as required until we proceeded off-station.

‘There was one more trip to the ranker left, and if we topped off, we could make it all the way back to the boa[ at high altitude on a conservative profile. By the time we got back to the tanker, my pilot was dragging. It was early in the morning hours and still pitch black all around. We had been pumped up during the action, and the flight had been fairly fatiguing. The basket was really bouncing and we were low on gas. We made the decision to take the Tomcat down to the lowest possible Fuel state before heading off to the divert airfield (where we could be stuck for days).

‘After many attempts. and a severe forearm cramp from running the manual throttles all night, my pilot just steadied about ten feet behind the basket for about a minute. I asked, “Hey, you know we’ve only got about 400 lbs of gas to play with here before we gotta go?” He replied, ”Yeah, I know, but I’ve got to give it a little break or I’m not gonna make it in”. ‘With 200 lbs to go (enough for another ten seconds of trying to get in), my pilot made one more attempt and successfully plugged into the basket. The fuel gauge touched the bingo number just as it reversed and started showing good flow from the ranker into our ranks!

‘Now we still had the long ride home to end in a Navy-specific event, the night trap. En route, we consumed two mocha flavor power bars and a bag of spicy teriyaki beef jerky—a meal that would not be repeated during the war! Once we were feet wet, my pilot leveled with me and said that he was pretty tired—something that a RIO never wants to hear, but I appreciated the honesty.

‘I implicitly trusted him with my life, and had a little worry about his ability to get aboard, It just may have taken us a few tries. I passed him two Red Bulls to see if they would help. He had one right away, and saved the other for closer-to-die boat – it really did the trick. I don’t remember if it was an OK 3 wire, but we were aboard safely on the first pass.’

The next time VF-2 would launch jets in anger, they would lead the initial assaults on Baghdad at the opening of “Shock and Awe.”

The book US Navy F-14 Tomcat Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom is available to purchase here.

September 1, 2023 0 comment

US Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot Dale “Snort” Snodgrass was killed when a SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019 crashed

by Till Daisd August 13, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Dale “Snort” Snodgrass, a renowned F-14 Tomcat pilot and accomplished airshow performer, was reported to have perished on July 24, 2021, in Lewiston, Idaho, when a SIAI Marchetti SM.1019 crashed

Dale “Snort” Snodgrass, a renowned F-14 Tomcat pilot and accomplished airshow performer, was reported to have perished on July 24, 2021, in Lewiston, Idaho, when a SIAI Marchetti SM.1019 crashed. AvWeb claims that the specifics are still hazy. Based on the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, the SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019 is an Italian STOL liaison monoplane produced by SIAI-Marchetti for the Italian Army.

Dale’s father was a test pilot while he was a child growing up on Long Island, and he introduced Snort to flying. According to Erik Hildebrandt’s story in Anytime, Baby! The last Navy F-14 Tomcats, after graduating from high school, Dale enlisted in the NAVY ROTC program to train to become a pilot and attended the University of Minnesota, where he studied biology.

Dale-Snort-Snodgrass — Dale “Snort” Snodgrass

After getting his B.S. in biology and completing ROTC training, Snort established a new standard for the naval aviation program by being the first flight school graduate chosen for the F-14 Tomcat pipeline. He was the first nugget to ever qualify for carrier in the F-14 RAG (both night and day). The US Navy named Snort “Fighter Pilot of the Year” in 1985. Dale received “Topcat of the Year” awards from Grumman Aerospace in 1986 for being the top F-14 pilot.

Snort served as the VF-33’s CO during “Operation Desert Storm.” He served in 12 operational Fighter Squadron/Wing tours, leading 34 missions as the overall Strike or Fighter Lead. He received awards, including the Bronze Star for Leadership and Valor. He was appointed Commander of the US Navy F-14 Tomcats for Fighter Wing Atlantic in September 1994.

Here's the story and video of Dale — Snort’s infamous LSO Banana Pass

With over 4800 hours and more than 1200 arrested carrier landings, Dale was the “highest time Tomcat pilot” in the Navy and the front-seater with the most F-14 flying time.

Dale “Snort” Snodgrass retired from the Navy after 26 years of service and continued to fly warbirds to expand his cockpit knowledge. He qualified in the F-86 Sabre, MiG 15, MiG 17, P-51 Mustang, F4U Corsair, Curtiss P-40, T-6 Texan/Harvard, and 8KCAB Super Decathlon in addition to flying F-14 demos at airshows for 14 years. Only ten USAF Heritage Flight Pilots have been selected, and Dale was one of them. During the span of 20 years, Captain Snodgrass participated in over 850 airshows and qualified in both formation and surface aerobatics. Because, as some said, “he keeps the grass mowed between the runways,” airshow enthusiasts love watching Date perform his signature low-level banana pass.

Captain Snodgrass most recently held the positions of Chief Pilot, Director of Deployed Operations, and Congressional Liaison with Draken International.

Photo by U.S. Navy

August 13, 2023 0 comment

War attrition between Iran and Iraq in 1983

by Till Daisd August 2, 2023

written by Till Daisd

At least 24 of the 80 Iraqi aircraft that were shot down by IRIAF air defenses between 16 January and 18 February 1983, according to several Western publications, were credited to Tomcats. However, a thorough investigation within the small group of Iranian fighter pilots has shown that just a handful of kills were recorded during this time. This stage of the conflict was very quiet, according to official Iranian media.

The IRIAF High Command had accordingly instructed all units to undertake operations with caution after realizing that the fight had turned into a war of attrition. Nevertheless, the Iranians started employing a new strategy in which interceptors and SAM sites were combined to create ‘killing fields’ for Iraqi fighters. The fact that so little is known about this strategy suggests that it is still effective. Nonetheless, it appears to have involved F-4 or F-14 aircraft acting as the “hammer” to drag or force Iraqis onto the SAM “anvil.”

For instance, it is known that three unidentified Iraqi fighters (likely J-6s, which were Chinese MiG-19 duplicates) were shot down on January 16. They were followed on the 21st by a Mirage and a MiG-23, the 27th by a Su-20, and the 29th by another MiG-23.

Despite Iranian caution, fighting persisted throughout the rest of 1983 at a similar pace, with both forces conducting constant airstrikes against different targets. Even with the addition of more than 200 new aircraft from China and the USSR, the IrAF nevertheless suffered losses. Even the improved MiG-25s that were outfitted with the most recent Soviet avionics and ECM equipment continued to show themselves to be vulnerable to IRIAF interceptors.

On August 6, two MiG-25PD aircraft suddenly appeared near Tabriz while flying through Turkish airspace. Nevertheless, their scheme was thwarted by a single TFB 1 F-14A that was on CAP nearby with its AWG-9 in standby mode to conceal its position. Once the MiGs had flown far into the AIM-54 engagement envelope, the Iranian crew turned on their radar and fired a Phoenix. The Iraqi pilots responded swiftly as they had in similar MiG-25 interceptions before once they knew the danger they were in. The AIM-54 cut the range and detonated near one of them, destroying its engines and fins. Both fighters turned around and accelerated. Although fatally injured, the MiG was still in flight.

Although his wingman had successfully eluded capture, the aircraft’s pilot attempted to nurse it out of Iranian airspace without support. Meanwhile, below the action, IRIAF Capt. Kazem Zarif-Khadem was in command of two F-5E Tiger II aircraft equipped with AIM-9 and napalm as they attacked Iraqi positions. Zarif-Khadem was busy navigating his way through the target while flying at a very low altitude as per usual. He was shocked to see a MiG-25 flying low and quickly cross his path. As soon as the MiG was hit, Zarif-Khadem dropped his bombs and drop tank, pushed the throttle to full afterburner, and made a U-turn behind it. He then fired both of his Sidewinders while in a “deep-six” position a few seconds later.

As the Iraqi pilot became aware of the strike and broke, the missiles were halfway to the target. The pilot ejected and was recovered by the Iraqis, but it was too late as both AIM-9s hit their targets and exploded. This was the fifth “Foxbat” that IRIAF interceptors claimed, and as a result of its loss, the IrAF stopped making other ventures into Iranian airspace.

The book Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat is available to purchase here.

August 2, 2023 0 comment

F-14-Wing-Swept-Forward

Despite having wings swept forward, the F-14 is capable of reaching supersonic speeds

by Till Daisd July 20, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The aircraft’s highest speed with its wings swept back was 1,544 mph. So what was the F-14’s top speed when its wings were swept forward?

A fleet defense fighter that could engage high-altitude bombers from well beyond of visual range was necessary due to improvements made during the Cold War in Soviet long-range patrol and bomber aircraft. Grumman’s response was the iconic F-14 Tomcat. With their long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles, F-14s could fight numerous adversaries from a distance of nearly 90 miles. With this hefty load, an interceptor’s fast speed was required, therefore Grumman created the F-14’s very effective variable-sweep wing, which allows it to fly at a variety of airspeeds.

AIM-7 Sparrow missiles were carried for medium-range combat, while AIM-9 Sidewinders and an M61-A1 20mm gun were available for dogfighting. In the latter role, the F-14 was given a battle maneuvering capability by the Tomcat’s variable-sweep wings that was not possible with a “standard” fixed planform wing.

The aircraft’s highest speed with its wings swept back was 1,544 mph. So what was the F-14’s top speed when its wings were swept forward?

“I guess there is a couple ways to answer this question. How fast is it supposed to go if the wings were stuck forward? Or how fast could it physically go looking at thrust verse drag?”, says Chuck Hunter, ex-F-14 pilot with the US Navy, on Quora.

Despite the Tomcat’s variable-sweep wings being computer controlled the F-14 driver had “the ability to manually position the wings wherever we wanted by pulling up on the emergency wing sweep handle and physically positioning the wings. (the yellow and black covered handle),” Hunter says. “We NEVER did this except to put the wings into oversweep for parking on the carrier (taking the wings from 68 degrees to 72 degrees) The aircraft can’t fly in this position.

“However, if you manually put them at 20 degrees or they were stuck at 20 degrees because of a failure in the CADCn(Central Air Data Computer) or other systems, you would be limited to about 0.5nIndicated Mach Number. You have plenty of thrust to exceed that, but that is what the aircraft was designed to fly, and it would be very comfortable. You can pretty much do anything with the aircraft except go fast.

“On the other side, just from a point of discussion, how fast could you go with the wings stuck at 20 degrees? The wings are not all that draggy and while you would generate strange limit moments with the afterburners lit I see no reason you wouldn’t be able to push it up to the transonic range even straight and level. It would not be comfortable or smart, but it is doable. It is not designed to do it, but the basic physics of thrust verse drag could get you there. Kind of like the J79 engine on the F-4, with big enough engines, you can make anything go fast.

“So that was straight and level, there is also no doubt that if I dropped the nose with burners lit I could get it to go supersonic. Not sure for how long before something ripped off the airplane or the controls stopped working correctly, but we would be supersonic before we died.”

Hunter concludes;

“I have taken the F-14 from ~130kts to 1.2nMach in the blink of an eye when 90 degrees nose down, unloaded, and burners lit. Those wings at 20 degrees would not be a factor in getting there. I only stopped at 1.2 Mach (800kts) because that was the aircraft speed limit at a low altitude.

“So, two answers. What is was designed for ~0.5 Mach, and from a thrust verse drag as fast as you have altitude for or until it stops flying for many reasons.”

Photo by U.S. Navy

July 20, 2023 0 comment

F-14-Bombcat-1200x955-1

The F-14 Tomcat was designed from the beginning to be a “Bombcat”

by Till Daisd July 16, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The F-14A Tomcat’s AWG-15 fire-control system was always configured in CCIP-mode, meaning the jet could always drop “dumb” bombs

For those who still don’t know: the F-14A Tomcat’s AWG-15 fire-control system was always configured in the CCIP-mode, and the jet was always capable of dropping “dumb” bombs. AWG-9 only refers to the radar, whereas AWG-15 is the entire fire-control system of the Tomcat.

As can be seen in the main image of this post (which features one of the 10+1 prototypes equipped with Mk.82s, AIM-7 Sparrows, and AIM-9 Sidewinders), Grumman actually oversaw the associated flight-testing in 1973–1974.

This is also the reason why, despite the fact that the Iranians were the first to use the F-14A as a “bomber” – either in 1982 or 1986, it appears even they cannot agree on this – all 80 F-14As made for Iran were built and delivered (aside from one that was never delivered) with the CCIP-mode as well as all the shackles and other equipment required to carry and deploy bombs in combat.

In fact, the USN’s VF-32 Squadron conducted several bombing exercises in the period between 1973 and 1974, just after switching to the new jet.

The idea that the F-14 is a “pure interceptor” was only established by modern Navy “flags” (admirals), and it was subsequently repeated in virtually all related English-language sources until it was accepted as dogma. It was a similar dogma like ‘AIM-54 is only good to kill bombers and cruise missiles’ – while the weapon was perfectly capable (and thoroughly tested, and then proven as such in combat) in deployment against ‘small and nimble’ fighters (which was no surprise: already the AIM-54’s predecessor, AIM-47 Falcon – which was to be armed with a nuke, and then installed on the stillborn YF-12A Mach-3-capable interceptor – scored 7 direct hits in 9 tests).

Unsurprisingly, a little over ten years later, when a new generation of flags realized their error, it was no problem for USN’s F-14-units to (re-)start “flight testing” and even do some training in the release of bombs, in the late 1980s. This paved the way for what eventually developed into the “Bombcat” of the late 1990s and early 2000s, as youngsters know it.

AGM-53-Condor — AGM-53 Condor

Iran was quite eager to get its F-14s outfitted with the Rockwell International AGM-53 Condor when it placed an order for them. A TV-guided missile with a range of approximately 60 km (nearly 30 miles), Condor was something of a “predecessor” of what we today refer to as “precision guided munition” (PGM). It was being developed for the USN since the late 1960s.

Well, on the surface it may appear to be “not much more than the modern AGM-62 Walleye,” but Condor was considerably more advanced and, as shown above, also had a significantly greater range (AGM-62 was, essentially, a glide-bomb).

Unfortunately, Condor was discontinued in 1976 before the Iranians could place any orders due to its prohibitive cost: a single round cost more than AIM-54A Phoenix.

Check out Helion & Company’s website for books written by Tom Cooper.

Photo by U.S. Navy

July 16, 2023 0 comment

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