Service History of 158985
- Delivered: 12/17/1973
- 4/1974 VF-2, NAS Miramar
- 4/1980 VF-124, NAS Miramar
- 3/1983 VF-1, NAS Miramar
- 8/1986 NARF, NAS North Island
- 8/1987 VF-191, NAS Miramar
- 8/1989 VF-124, NAS Miramar
- 3/1990 NADEP, NAS North Island
- Stricken: 3/1992
Born out of the failed TFX program to replace the F-105 and F-4 for the USAF and US Navy, the F-14 was offered to the Navy in place of the F-111B. The production of the F-14 put Grumman back in the naval fighter business after 12 years. Designed at the height of the Cold War, the F-14 was designed to protect the Navy’s supercarriers from long range Soviet bombers. The Tomcat’s AWG-9 and Phoenix missile combination was capable of tracking and engaging targets at ranges never before possible.
Beginning in 1981, the F-14 also served as the carrier air wing reconnaissance aircraft with the Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS). TARPS is a combination of vertical, oblique and panoramic cameras as well as an infrared scanner. While every F-14 can be wired for TARPS, usually two or three aircraft per air wing were used for this role.
The F-14 was made famous by the 1987 movie “Top Gun” and its portrayal of the Naval Fighter Weapons School. This F-14 was acquired by Yanks in 2001 and bears the markings of VF-2 (Bounty Hunters).
