Warbird Information Exchange

in 34 years of u.s. navy service the f-14 shot down only 5 planes in anger, with 4 being from libya. that's not a put down...... that's a compliment........ in all u.s. actions, & pissing contests with rogue nations since it's service began, the type has been a feared deterrent where ever it was used against a hostile force, with usual results being the adversary usually bugged out when realizing what they were going to potentially "F" with with the bad assed cat!!

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

As it turns out, we have the F-14 that shot down that first Libyan bad guy here on static display at CAF HQ. I reckon I could round up a picture if folks were interested.

Gary Austin

Wouldn't mind having a picture of it for the F-14 Registry

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Roger that. I'll get on that project ASAP.

GA

Gary, does 160403 still have VF-211 markings and, if so, are there plans to repaint the jet?

For those interested, the other Sukhoi Killer, 160390, was destroyed in the accident that claimed the life of Kara Hultgreen.


Fade to Black...

All they did in Desert Storm was to bore holes in the sky killing dinosaurs while waiting for a threat that never existed while the A-6s took the war to the enemy. The F-14 community was in a state of near revolt afterwards and many aircrew left the service. After the demise of the USSR and until the advent of the Bombcat, the F-14 never had a mission to full-fill.
Imagine F-15s without a air-to-ground capability.........Yikes!

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Don't touch my junk!!

Cool!
Lt. Muczynski was the pilot...he is a distant cousin of mine. I have met him a few times...including on the day of his last F-14 flight.

I imagine he knows the airplane is there..but I will try and get ahold of him anyway. It would be cool to reunite them..

Z

I found this pic on the Tomcat Association website

'Music' wasn't flying 160403 (the jet at Midland) on the day of the engagement, he was flying the other jet, 160390.
That jet is now scrap, unfortunately.

The pilot flying 160403 was VF-41's skipper, Cdr. Henry 'Hank' Kleeman. Sadly, Cdr. Kleeman was killed in a landing
accident at NAS Miramar in 1985 while flying an F/A-18A.


Fade to Black...

Well ratz....ruin all my fun!

Thanks for the info.

Z

Those were some interesting days in CAG-11, I had just reported to my squadron and was in training when that happened. The circus that followed that left a real bad taste in a bunch of peoples months. VF-213 was one messed up unit at that time, I was always very glad I was not in that squadron.

Tim

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www.tailhookstudio.com

Okay, here's pictures of the Tomcat from this morning. I'm told that the airplane has been in three (?) different squadrons since shooting the Sukhoi, so it's still in the paint scheme of the last squadron it was with...and yes, it does need to be repainted.







Gary

Actually, during Desert Storm, some were fitted with 2,000 pounders and let loose a few.

Sorry but that incorrect. Take it from a AO. Fleet squadrons weren't cleared to drop dumb bombs until July 1992 and first combat use was over Bosnia.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Gary,
Thanks for sharing the photos, this particular pic brings back plenty of memories, as I was an F-14A engine guy with VF124 back in the 80's. Those frickin clam shells doors were always a pain in the a**, every a/c had a secret sequence to close and fasten these doors. Most plane captains and engine guys had to resort to laying on the ground and kicking them closed, only to have one latch not close (dagger not engage), it only took a couple of times of this nonsense, and you commited the closing sequence to memory. If the a/c was really tweaked you would have to use a tail jack at the stabilator to relieve pressure to close the door. That would always resort in a multi-person goat rope. The front doors were always opened for the preflight walkaround, and of course the post flight, and our birds always had flight deck boot camoflage.



The F-18 accident, I was on the ramp launching an F-14 and while this accident took place, if memory serves me, wasn't that a VX bird with the VX CO or CAG flying it, this a/c was landing on a wet runway, anti-skid was either inop or malfunctioned and the a/c for what ever reason got sideways and flipped. I can't remember the dates but, either very late 85 or sometime in 86 would work, because I was still attached to the line shack and not in the engine shop.

Warren
Suddenly feeling ancient

I will have to dig through my photos.....We had 3 F-14's stop in a location I cannot tell you in saudi arabia, but they were mounted with 2000lb LGB's

I think I have photos of them, because I was like WTF are those loaded up for ground pounding for?!