Model F-14 Tomcat – Best 10+ Model Kits in 2023

Grumman F-14 Tomcat: Best X+ Model Plane Kits in 2023

by Silvio LeGrand

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a carrier-based, variable-geometry interceptor. It was designed to protect the fleet from air attacks and was the first US fighter to incorporate the lessons learned from the Vietnam War. It became world-famous later, thanks to the movie Top Gun.

The F-14 had the main role of replacing the naval version of the F-111, the F-111B, which proved too large and heavy, being unsuitable for carrier operations. For this reason, the F-111 development was abandoned prematurely in early 1968, but a proper fighter was still needed.

• Scale: 1/32
• Skill Level: expert
• Kit Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 5 inches
• Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Recommended age: 16 years and up
• Brand: Tamiya

Grumman F-14 Tomcat History, Facts & Specifications

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Scale Model Plans, Drawings, Blueprints
Grumman F-14 Tomcat Scale Model Plans

The release of new Soviet bombers, such as the Tu-16 or the Backfire, as well as the lessons learned during the Vietnam War, prompted the US Navy to launch a tender for bids on June 18, 1968, for a fighter with the primary role of defending the Navy fleet. This required powerful radar and long-range missiles. The F-111B had all of them: the Hughes AN/AWG-9 radar, AIM-54 Phoenix missiles, and TF-30 engines. However, this aircraft proved to be a failure, as it needed to be lighter and more adequate.

That was when Grumman presented its project: the G-303, designed by Michael Pelehach. This aircraft had the main characteristics of the F-111B, namely radar, missiles, engines, and a variable wing span. However, it had a double vertical stabilizer and was a tandem two-seater, not side-by-side like the F-111B. Designated winner of the VFX design competition on January 15, 1969, two pieces were first ordered under the name YF-14A.

The first of them took off for the first time on December 21, 1970, with William “Bob” Miller and Robert Smythe at command, but crashed nine days later on its second flight. The pilots were able to eject, but the hydraulic system breakdown that caused the crash was to be the first of many. The second prototype flew on May 24, 1971, and 10 other pre-production aircraft followed. But the development difficulties shadowed the program to the point that its existence was threatened: the 5th and the 10th prototype were lost, the latter killing Bob Miller.

In 1974, the Shah of Iran, looking for an aircraft capable of intercepting the MiG-25s violating his country’s airspace, chose the F-14 after months of discussions with his top military officers. He was determined to get it and didn’t hesitate to invest in the program, so he ordered 80 units. As a result, the influence of the later F-14 and F-15 demonstration he attended was undoubtedly less important than many generally believe.

The F-14A Tomcat entered service in September 1974, initially operating within VF-1 and VF-2 squadrons on the aircraft carrier Enterprise. The US Navy received 545 of them, which replaced the F-4 and F-8 in the front line. The AWG-9, equipped with a 91 cm antenna, could track 24 targets simultaneously and engage 6 of them. It had a 315 km maximum range and 140 km as a fighter. However, it was also equipped with 2 Pratt & Whitney TF-30 engines, which will be the Achilles heel of the Tomcat. Unreliable, they tended to stall at 60° of incidence or during missile fire.

Finally, the AIM-54A missile, which exclusively equipped the F-14, still remains the largest air-to-air missile built. It was intended to destroy bombers and cruise missiles had a 184 km range, and could reach Mach 5. The F-14 can carry up to 6 Phoenix missiles, but in reality, this arsenal proved too heavy for landing and therefore was rarely used. However, on November 22, 1973, 6 were fired in 38 seconds and hit four targets. The most common combination was 4 Phoenix missiles under the belly, 2 Sparrow missiles and 2 Sidewinder missiles, and a 20 mm M-61 Vulcan gun. This covered all possible ranges in air combat, including dogfights.

18 US Navy units were equipped with this aircraft. 52 F-14As were also able to perform reconnaissance missions with the TARPS (Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System), which entered service in 1982.

The sweep could vary between 20° and 68° and could be adjusted automatically according to the flight profile or manually. Occasionally, F-14 landed with wings folded, even in an asymmetrical configuration. On the deck, these are folded at 75°.

The F-14B was originally called F-14A +. It was re-engined with the engines used on the F-15 and F-16, namely the General Electric F110-400 while keeping the original avionics. Testing began in 1982, and the aircraft was delivered in 1987. 48 F-14As were also upgraded, and 38 new units were built before being renamed F-14Bs in 1991. 67 F-14Bs had their structure reinforced, and their avionics modernized in the late 1990s. They were then named F-14B Upgrade.

The Bombcat is the result of adding a bombing capability to the F-14A and F-14B Upgrade. Relaunched in the late 1980s, the Bombcat became operational in 1992. It carried avionics similar to the F-14D, then from 1994, a LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) pod, an infrared camera, and a target designation laser. In 2003, it was equipped with GBU-38 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition).

The F-14C was an abandoned project, an F-14B powered by two F-401s (the engine originally requested by the US Navy) and improved avionics for multi-role use.

The F-14D was the last version of the Tomcat and by far the best. It had the same engine as the F-14B but was equipped with an APG-71 radar (an AWG-9 modernized with modules from the F-15E’s APG-70, whose maximum range was extended to 370 km), a cockpit with multi-function displays and Link 16. 18 F-14As were converted into F-14D(R) and 37 new examples were built. It was delivered starting in 1991.

The first operational flight of the Tomcat took place in Vietnam when the aircraft flew over Saigon during the evacuation. The American F-14s saw two air battles: on August 19, 1981, two F-14s of the VF-41 squadron shot down 2 Libyan Su-22 Fitter using Sidewinder in self-defense. On January 4 1989, two F-14s of VF-32 shot down two Libyan MIG-23s again in the Gulf of Sirte.

The aircraft served in the Gulf War, carrying out patrols over the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, as well as escort and reconnaissance missions. One F-14 was lost, and an Iraqi Mi-8 was shot down. It was the F-15 that took the lion’s share, the AWG-9 radar being too well known to the Iraqis. It was deployed in Bosnia in 1995, in Kosovo in 1999, and in Afghanistan in 2001. Its last war mission, a bombing of a target in Iraq, was carried out on February 8, 2006, by an F-14 from VF-31. It was withdrawn on September 22 of the same year.

Iran received 79 F-14A Tomcats before the fall of the Shah of Iran, and the last one was given to the US Navy following the embargo caused by the change of regime. The Iranian F-14s, ordered in 1974 and delivered from 1976 to 1978, had a slightly deteriorated radar but were equipped with Phoenix missiles. They seem to have served successfully in the Iran-Iraq war, shooting down several dozen Iraqi aircraft, including MiG-21s and 23s. According to Tom Cooper, the number is as high as 130 kills and 20 probable kills. Their radar range also allowed them to play the role of AWACS. They also shot down Russian infiltrators, such as MiG-25s. Two F-14s were shot down by Mirage F1EQ-6s with powerful CMEs. Today, there are about 25 Tomcats in service and another 20 in reserve. It is difficult to say today to what extent they are being modernized.

A total of 712 F-14s were built from 1969 to 1991. Grumman offered a Super Tomcat 21, capable of super-cruise, with a reduced radar signature and greater range, but Congress preferred the F/A-18E and put an end to the F-14 in 1994.

The F-14 was a legendary aircraft, and it deserves it. It was the best carrier-based interceptor and among the best fighters during the 1970s and 1980s. It influenced its era, and the famous movie “Top Gun” is proof of that. If it did not really demonstrate its combat value in the West, it undoubtedly had an intimidating role, especially at a time when almost all US Navy aircraft carriers had 24 of these aircraft on board.

At the time, it was costly (one aircraft was estimated to cost 38 million dollars in 1998), and was not intended to be exported. Unfortunately, aging very quickly in the 1990s, requiring nearly 50 hours of maintenance for one hour of flight, and increasingly dangerous for its crews, the Tomcat met a sad end. Although a few examples were donated to museums, most of them were scrapped to prevent spare parts from falling into the hands of Iran.