F-14 AT 50: Celebrating the Tomcat

Feature

Fifty years ago, on December 21, 1970, the first Grumman F-14 Tomcat twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter graced the skies for its inaugural flight. Thanks in part to this legendary aircraft, Maverick and Goose became household names overnight, but as we trace its development and history, we shall discover that the venerable F-14 is far more than just a movie star.

Tomcat [Ted Carlson]
An F-14A, BuNo 162698, attached to VF-32 ‘Swordsmen’ flies over the Arizona desert during a WTI (Weapons Tactics Instructors) exercise. A variety of platforms are integrated in these joint exercises and the Tomcat was no exception. Ted Carlson

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Originally published in Combat Aircraft Journal

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