Introduction
F-14 TOMCAT IN ACTION is a new Squadron Signal Book. Authored by David Doyle, and illustrated by artists Ike Anderson, Mark Tutton and Piotr Forkasiewicz, this 88-page softcover book measures 11 x 8.5 inches and is catalogued with Squadron's SKU:SS10267, and ISBN 978-0897478618.
For modelers and historians of a certain age, Squadron Signal Publications have been an industry standard since their first book was published in 1971. Their original F-14 book was their 32nd title of Aircraft in Action and published in 1977, with a revised second edition in 1990, enhanced to 50 pages of content and black-and-white or color photos. This iteration is bigger. As Squadron tells us;
In Action® books are books that trace the development of a single type of aircraft, armored vehicle, or ship from prototype to the final production variant. Experimental or "one-off" variants can also be included. The first In Action® book was published in 1971.
Okay, for those 3 or 4 people in the world who do not know of the F-14, it was a highly sophisticated United States Navy (USN) dedicated aircraft carrier-based interceptor fighter, designed and built by Grumman. In the early 1960s, secretary of defense Robert McNamara ordered a ludicrous attempt to create one aircraft, the General Dynamics F-111, to do everything for the US Air Force and Navy. It became obvious it could not be a fighter, with Adm. Thomas F. Connolly famously telling a congressional hearing, "There isn't enough power in all Christendom to make that airplane what we want!" (F-111 became a successful USAF bomber). Under Adm. Connolly's oversight, the Navy cast off that albatross and in consideration of hard lessons learned in air combat over Vietnam, commenced the VFX (Navy Fighter Experimental) program. VFX begat what became the F-14. Like the F-111, the F-14 was a swing-wing design with TF-30 turbofan engines. Unlike the F-111, the F-14 had air-superiority performance. And like the intended naval version of the F-111, the F-14 was armed with the incomparable AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missile/AWG-9 radar system; it could also carry medium- and short-range missiles, and packed a 20mm cannon. Since their Second World War F4F Wildcat, Grumman named their fighters after big cats. In honor of Adm. Connolly, the aircraft was named "Tomcat". Late in its life, when the air-superiority F-14 was equipped for air-to-ground, wags nicknamed it "Bombcat".
Grumman's F-14 Tomcat entered service in 1974 and was retired in 2006. Well, not quite. USN ordered almost 500 F-14s and it was not the only F-14 operator. Eighty were ordered by Iran and 79 were delivered before the Islamic Revolution took over. Several are reported to still be operational although their capability is unknown. Supposedly, during the revolution, Grumman technicians or American agents sabotaged the closely guarded AIM-54s. Iran reportedly repaired and fired several in combat and when their supply of Phoenixes ran out, reports state Iran figured out how to mount and fire I-Hawk surface-to-air missiles from the Tomcat.
F-14 may be better known than the F-15 because it is a movie star, appearing the The Final Countdown, and Top Gun. During its career, USN F-14s scored all four of America's air-to-air victories between the end of the Vietnam War and Desert Storm, and scored its fifth (and last) kill in Desert Storm. Almost all other kills since were scored by F-14's rival, the F-15, flown by rival USAF. While F-15 is considered the undefeated premier aerial killer with a 102-0 kill ratio, F-14 possibly has more kills - Iran claims to have popped over 130 Iraqis with the F-14. Interestingly, in 1976 when Lieutenant Viktor Belenko defected to Japan with his MiG-25 Foxbat, the nightly news reported that the only US fighter that could touch the MiG was the F-14.
That is a look at the F-14. Now let's look at the book.
Content
F-14 TOMCAT IN ACTION does not include a table of contents in the front of the book but here are the sections, as highlighted in banners at the top of the subject introduction.
Introduction
F-14 Development
F-14B
F-14A+
F-14D
Super Tomcat 21
Fleet Service
Interestingly, there were two F-14Bs. The first one of 1973 was cancelled and the second one was the 1991 re-designation of the F-14A+.
Each section features historical content to various degrees although this book is mainly visual history of the F-14. As such, we have a splendid reference of informational and inspirational content. Don't hate me but I used to not be enamored with the F-14. Thanks to this book, I am considering just which Tomcat model to build. With the written content and captions provided, astute readers readers can pick up on certain phases of the aircraft, such as the mottled appearance and changes to insignia, based on the author including dates.
Photographs, Artwork and Graphics
So what do you want to see in this book? Glamour shots of F-14s? Close-up details of components and airframe structures? F-14s on the ground or in the air? Colorful Toms or low-visibility markings? Ideas for a standalone F-14 model or inspiration for dioramas? I think you will find what you seek within this book. The photos are predominantly high-quality. There are a few that are not studio quality but they are good and present fine narratives.
Photos of the F-14 span the gamut from proposal models of the VFX (Navy Fighter Experimental) program (five companies submitted designs), through mock-ups, test beds and operational Tomcats, to retired F-14s being cut to scrap. These includes a full sized mock-up for the Air Force, seeking a replacement for its F-106 Delta Dart interceptor. There are a great deal of photographs beyond the airframes. If you want to know how to paint your deck crews, you will find many nice color close-ups of them, showing the special color coded jerseys, some of them looking like they just came out of the laundry, some of them almost and recognizable under the soot and grease and grime of the carrier deck. Other interesting images and close-ups are:
- A shot of F-14s that might have inspired one of the iconic scenes in Top Gun
- Tactical air reconnaissance pod system cameras
- Winching up a phoenix missile with a handheld winch
- Four photos show BuNo 157900, the 11th per-production F-14, during deck trials for carrier suitability
- Ordnance men loading ammo into the 20 mm Vulcan cannon and the gymnastics entailed for one of them to perform the task
- Close up of refueling a tomcat and the refueling port
- On deck through Suez canal with canopies cocooned against the sun
- VF-21 and VF-154 Tomcats with Bill the Cat on their tails!
Artwork
F-14 Development: line art profiles of the eight F-14versions.
Upper Speed Brake: two line drawings.
"Beaver" Tails: four line drawings.
Chin Electronics Pods: five line drawings depicting changes to the F-14A.
Engine Development: F-14A; F-14A+.
Color profiles of six F-14 types including four close-ups of vertical tail markings.
TARPS pod keyed to 11 components.
Tables
F-14 Specifications: 19 specifications for each of theF-14A; F-14B; F-14D.
F-14 Bureau (Serial) Numbers: by fiscal Year; Block No.; BuNo. (Bureau Number); number of such aircraft purchased.
This book is worth acquiring for all or any of these images. Also, of all of the cool aircraft you will look at in this book, Squadron makes Squadron Decals for F-14 Tomcats so you can model the Tomcat featured on the front cover and others. Squadron Decals offers this decal set in 1/48 and 1/72 scale and several other decal options for Tomcats as well.
Conclusion
Students and fans of the incomparable Tomcat should be pleased with Squadron's newest edition of F-14 Tomcat in Action. Featuring mostly color photos and several crisp illustrations, backed up with detailed text, the reader can learn a lot about the F-14, or simply adore the jet. Modelers can find subjects to build and diorama inspiration.
Treat yourself and find a copy for yourself. Recommended.
Please remember to mention to Squadron, David Doyle Books, and retailers that you saw this product here - on Aeroscale.
