Grumman F-14 Tomcat

AVAILABLE APRIL 2025

It was the perfect combination, a powerful two-seat, swing-wing fighter – a potent long range radar capable of tracking and engaging multiple targets, the ability to carry no less than four different types of air-to-air weapons: an internal Vulcan cannon for close in, the AIM-9 Sidewinder for short range engagements, the AIM-7 Sparrow for medium range work and the unrivalled AIM-54 Phoenix -long range killer extraordinaire - it could only be one aircraft, the incomparable Grumman F-14 Tomcat. From failed beginnings with the F-111B the US Navy finally had the aircraft it desired, and one that stood the test of time and combat and met both with the same determination and alacrity. Born during the desperate days of the Vietnam War, the F-14 became an unparalleled icon of naval airpower and the Grumman design excelled at its role of long range, carrier borne interception, and indeed the Tomcat remained one of the world's premier fighter aircraft right up to its retirement. The biggest factor that separated the Tomcat from other fighters was apart from its obvious size and its design as an air superiority fighter from the outset. That is not to say that its air-to-ground capabilities were not realised. Indeed, with the retirement of the A-6 Intruder and its replacement the ‘Super Hornet’ still a way off, the Navy turned to the F-14 to plug the gap – developing the so-called ‘Bombcat’ as an interim measure. This book is designed for the modeller and enthusiast alike with historic details, walk arounds, colour profiles and how to model the Tomcat in popular scales.