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.

Iconic Shot: Last of the Tomcats

(click to enlarge)

"That's right!  Ice... man.  I am dangerous."

Aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, an F-14D Tomcat assigned to Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31) completes the last ever catapult launch of a Tomcat fighter on July 28, 2006.

Initially deployed in 1974 from the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the F-14 replaced the F-4 Phantom II and was utilized as the Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter and fleet defense interceptor.  The F-14 was retired by the United States Navy on September 22, 2006 after 32 years of distinguished service.

Photo taken by Nathan Laird

Mass Communication Specialist, 3rd Class, USN