Above: The VF-14
CAG bird, F-14A
BuNo 161855,
seen in 1992
complete with
live armament
including Mk83
bombs on the
centerline
stations. Tailhook
Association via
Peter B. Mersky
Below left to right:
The early era
of toned-down
markings — a
VF-14 F-14A lands
back at Fallon
during work-ups
in September- Michael
Grove
F-14A BuNo
159593 of VF-14
on the fl ight line
while visiting
NAS Miramar in
November 1976.
Michael Grove
disestablishment loomed. However,
VF-14’s unbroken history (along with
a suspected push by Pentagon-based
‘Tophatters’ alumni ‘ma a’) seems to have
given it a unique edge to survive the cuts,
especially compared with the number
of other ghter squadrons that were
disestablished around this time.
VF-14 nally returned to the order of
battle proper on January 1, 1996, joining
CVW-8 and the USS John F. Kennedy —
the squadron’s old ride. At the time, the
air wing was one of only two that was
assigned a pair of Tomcat squadrons,
which in this case placed the ‘Tophatters’
alongside VF-41 ‘Black Aces’ — the start
of an association that remains to this day
in CVW-9. That summer, the squadron
received a massive leap forward in strike
capability via the addition of laser-guided
bombs (LGBs) and its rst Low Altitude
Navigation and Targeting Infra-Red for
Night (LANTIRN) pods.
CVW-8 was next assigned to USS
Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and in
the summer of 1998 started to receive
F-14As equipped with the new Digital
Flight Control System (DFCS) to vastly
improve aircraft handling. It meant that
VF-14 and VF-41, despite ying ‘old’ F-14A
models, were arguably at the cutting
edge of the eet when they embarked
for CVW-8’s next full cruise from March- It coincided with NATO launching
Operation ‘Allied Force’ to target Serbian
forces in their home country, as well as
the occupied territory of Kosovo. CVW-8
ew its rst missions from April 6 under
the US codename of ‘Noble Anvil’, with
the Tomcats rmly in ‘bomber mode’.
They proved invaluable in the Forward Air
Controller (Airborne) mission, using the
LANTIRN’s ‘eyes’ coupled with the F-14’s
great endurance, two crew members to
share workload and also being able to
deliver their own ordnance or to laser
designate for others.
The end of this campaign in June
released CVW-8 to continue onwards
towards the Arabian Gulf to cover
Operation ‘Southern Watch’ over Iraq
through the summer months. It was a
time of huge advances for the Tomcat
crews, working tactically in mixed sections
with the embarked Hornets as well as
sweating the new technologies. Arriving
too late for Kosovo but applied mid-cruise
was Tomcat Tactical Targeting software
being built in to the LANTIRN pod, which
allowed GPS co-ordinates derived from
the pod to be used for mobile targets for
the rst time. Uniquely, VF-14 had one of
its F-14As take the rst eet installation
of a Fast Tactical Imagery (FTI) capability,
enabling theater commanders to receive
near-real-time stills images from the pod,
thus providing bomb damage assessment
and other information in minutes.signs of possible movement beyond
Kuwait, they were directed through the
Suez Canal on September 14 to join with
USS Saratoga (CV 60) in the Red Sea. Both
carriers alternated between there and
the eastern Mediterranean as Operation
‘Desert Shield’ evolved.
CVW-3 was in the right place at the
right time and it launched its rst combat
missions of ‘Desert Storm’ in the early
hours of January 17, 1991. VF-14 and
VF-32 ew continually throughout the
campaign; VF-14 totalled some 371
combat sorties by the time operations
ceased on February 28.
As the post-war move to give Tomcats a
strike capability gathered pace, VF-14 and
VF-32 underwent the Tomcat Advanced
Strike Syllabus (TASS) during February
1992 to foster strike planning and delivery
skills among eet crews.
A further cruise saw Kennedy arriving
back at Norfolk on April 7, 1993, ending
CVW-3’s 12-year association with the ship
as the air wing moved to the USS Dwight
D. Eisenhower. Although the ‘Tophatters’
participated in under-way periods with the
new CVW-3/CVN 69 team in early 1994,
they detached to Fighter Wing Atlantic as
part of a navy-wide move to reduce each
air wing to a single F-14 squadron.
So began 20 months of limbo for VF-14;
an initial plan to assign it to CVW-17
in August 1994 was abandoned andhttp://www.combataircraft.net // September 2019 57
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