Hobby Master HA5237 | Grumman F-14D Tomcat NE100/163894, VF-2 “Bounty Hunters”, USS Constellation, 2003

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a twin-engine, variable sweep wings capable of supersonic flight. The aircraft is crewed by a Pilot and a Radar Intercept Officer who share the tasks of navigation, target acquisition, ECM and weapons usage. The Tomcat was operated by the United States Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force only. The name “Tomcat” is said to come from the call-sign used by Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly which conformed to the USN tradition of giving Grumman aircraft feline names.

The fourth time the designation VF-2 “Bounty Hunters” was resurrected was on October 14, 1972. After training, VF-2 received its first F-14A in early 1973 and it wasn’t until early 1974 before they reached full strength of 12 F-14As. VF-2’s initial deployment came in 1974 in Vietnam as part of the air support for the evacuation of Saigon. The first production F-14D completed its maiden flight in early 1990 but it wasn’t until the early 1993 before VF-2 received their first F-14Ds. In 2003 VF-2 re-equipped with the F/A-18F and became VFA-2.