Friday, February 18, 2011

Iconic Shot(s): The F-14 Tomcat

I was born and raised just a few miles from the once-bustling Naval Air Station in Millington, Tennessee (now NSA Mid-South), so I was very much in awe of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat several years before "Goose" and "Maverick" announced their need for speed to the world.

Each of our fighters are beautiful in their own way, but the Tomcat is perhaps the only one that has earned the right to be called majestic. Retired by the Navy in 2006 after 35 years of blasting our would-be aggressors out of the sky, the F-14 will always be among the standard bearers of American air superiority. Below is a humble tribute to our fly boys, highlighted by the legendary Jolly Rogers of Strike Fighter Squadron One Zero Three {VF-103}.


Note: Each shot was pulled from a file I hadn't looked through in probably a couple of years. The source of the individual pics were not recorded as a result, and any possible copyright infringement is completely unintentional.

2 comments:

Kid said...

Nice pics. Course, I love airplanes. I know that F-14 pilots are not happy about the plane's retirement.

AMW said...

The F-14 was turned into a bomber towards the end of its illustrious run, but the Tomcat could still go air-to-air with practically anyone. It is truly an iconic aircraft.