RAF F-14 Tomcat

[smeds]

My 1/32 Tamiya RAF F-14 Tomcat  1980's. The RAF considered buying the Tomcvat in the mid 1970's, but ended up buying the F-4 Phantom instead. I have used Aerocraft 3D printed Spey engine nozzles and Revell Hawk T.1 ejection seats. Rescribed the rear section as Tamiya only did the nose section with recessed panel lines.

[PR19_Kit]

Very smart, and ultra-plausible too. 

[Steel Penguin]

very nice looking. 

[Spino]

In a lot of ways a Tomcat with Speys would have been better off than the F-14As with the TF-30.  Sure it wouldn't be as fast, but the increased thrust and better engine reliability would have more than made up the difference (obviously the real solution would have been the F401 or F110, but Speys would certainly do for the British).  It's understandable why the Brits went with the F-4 instead of the Tomcat once you realize that the Royal Navy never had a class of aircraft carriers that could safely handle a plane that big.  Even the USN Midway class ships didn't carry F-14s (although I'm not sure why the Midways were considered too small, they frequently operated the A-3 Skywarrior after all).

[kerick]

They could have flown them from Iceland or the Faroes Islands.
Great looking Tomcat!

[NARSES2]

Always liked the Tomcat and that model does it justice   

[Weaver]

That looks very nice indeed - well done!

In a lot of ways a Tomcat with Speys would have been better off than the F-14As with the TF-30.  Sure it wouldn't be as fast, but the increased thrust and better engine reliability would have more than made up the difference (obviously the real solution would have been the F401 or F110, but Speys would certainly do for the British).  It's understandable why the Brits went with the F-4 instead of the Tomcat once you realize that the Royal Navy never had a class of aircraft carriers that could safely handle a plane that big.  Even the USN Midway class ships didn't carry F-14s (although I'm not sure why the Midways were considered too small, they frequently operated the A-3 Skywarrior after all).

The F-4 was already locked in for the RN/RAF before the F-14 became an option. The Tomcat was seriously shortlisted for the post-F4 requirement that was eventually taken by the Tornado ADV (F.3). The primary requirement was long-endurance CAP over the RN's surface ships when they were operating in the GIUK Gap, in the face of intense jamming from large Backfires, Badgers and Bears, thus making a two-seater mandatory. It also couldn't be funded for production until 1985 at the earliest due to the expense of the Tornado GR.1 programme.

The arguments against the Tomcat were:

1. With AIM-54s, it would be horrendously expensive to operate because RAF training requirements demanded one live missile shot per crew per year.

2. Without AIM-54s, it was too big and expensive for an AIM-7 platform. With a cheaper aircraft you could get a bigger force, and hence more aircraft on CAP, for the same expense, and the same sized (expensive!) tanker fleet.

3. The F-14's engines were proving problematic.

4. There was serious talk in the US, at the time that the Brits had to make a decision, about ending F-14 production in 1979.

Some in the RN argued for the RAF to buy 50 F-14s (with Phoenix) with navy money to cover them and make up the rest of the force with whatever they wanted, but obviously that would entail tow separate logistics trains.

Other contenders were:

F-15: would need a whole new combat-capable 2-seater developing to meet RAF requirements, the RAF was unimpressed by it's radar's ECCM capabilities, and it was also having engine problems at the time.

F-16: didn't meet RAF requirements.

Dassault ACA: an entirely paper aeroplane that never, in fact, got built.

F-4 option 1: pay McDD to keep the F-4 production line intact for 5 years after 1979 (when F-4 production was scheduled to end). Obviously money down the drain.

F-4 option 2: buy the F-4 line from McDD and set it up in the UK. Major investment in an ageing platform that was expected to be out-competed in export markets by the F-15 and F-16 in the 1980s.

[SPINNERS]

Really smart! 50 years ago, this is exactly what I would have done... but without your skill! I do remember grafting a Foxbat nose onto a completed Airfix F-14A and re-painting it as a German Tomcat. I wish we'd had digital cameras back then!

[TomZ]

Ohhhh, This is nice!!!!!!!!!!

TomZ

[HarryPhishnuts]

Beautiful build.