A report on Grumman F-14 Tomcat, Grumman A-6 Intruder and USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

A U.S. Navy F-14D conducts a mission over the Persian Gulf-region in 2005.
KA-6D Intruder of Attack Squadron 34 (VA-34 "Blue Blasters")
Enterprise in 1967, showing the ship's SCANFAR antennas
A U.S. Navy F-14D conducts a mission over the Persian Gulf region in 2005.
KA-6D Intruder of Attack Squadron 34 (VA-34 "Blue Blasters")
Enterprise is christened at Newport News shipyard in 1960.
The F-111B was designed to fulfill the carrier-based interceptor role, but had weight and performance problems, and was not suited to the types of aerial combat that were predominant over Vietnam
YA2F-1 showing the original tilting tailpipes
Christening at Newport News shipyard in 1960.
Grumman's VFX entry was designed around the TF30 engine, AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 missile intended for the F-111B; this eventually became the F-14A
An A-6E landing on the aircraft carrier USS America (CV-66), showing the split airbrakes on the tips of its left wing
Sea Vixens of 893 NAS operating from Enterprise in 1962.
VFA-143 "Pukin Dogs" F-14B and F/A-18E Super Hornet in 2005
An A-6E Intruder aircraft assigned to USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69).
Task Force 1, the first nuclear-powered task force. Enterprise, USS Long Beach (CGN-9) and USS Bainbridge (CGN-25) in formation in the Mediterranean, 18 June 1964. Enterprise has Einstein's mass–energy equivalence formula E=mc² spelled out on its flight deck. Note the distinctive phased array radars in the superstructures of Enterprise and Long Beach.
An F-14D launching an AIM-7 Sparrow; a GBU-10 Paveway II is also carried.
S-3A Viking, A-6E Intruder, and an EA-6B Prowler aircraft are parked on the flight deck of aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) during a storm.
Sailors aboard Enterprise battle a huge ordnance fire triggered by a Zuni rocket. 14 January 1969
An F-14D(R) from VF-213 flying over Iraq on last Tomcat deployment with LANTIRN pod on starboard wing glove station and LGB underneath fuselage.
A U.S. Marine Corps A-6 Intruder destroyed by a rocket and mortar bombardment on Da Nang Air Base in 1968 during the Vietnam War
Sailors from the destroyer USS Rogers (DD-876) use their on board hoses to assist with the firefighting efforts aboard Enterprise.
F-14 Tomcat with wings in asymmetric sweep during testing for this possible in-flight malfunction
An A-6E Intruder prepares for launch aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
View of Enterprises stern during the fire, January 1969
Rear view of the F-14 showing the area between the engine nacelles
A-6A of VMA (AW)-242 in 1975
Enterprise during an underway replenishment with the fleet oiler USS Hassayampa (AO-145) in the South China Sea in 1973.
An F-14D prepares to refuel with probe extended.
A-6B on the USS Saratoga (CV-60) in 1971
Enterprise en route back to the United States following the evacuation of Saigon; the forward end of the flight deck contains a number of USMC CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters.
F-14 with landing gear deployed
A-6C of VA-35 Black Panthers
Maritime Mail – USS Enterprise – CVN-65 – U.S. Navy Dec 7 am 1978
F-14 Tomcat carrying an AIM-120 AMRAAM during a 1982 test.
A KA-6D refueling an F-14A in 1987
Enterprise in 1982 following her major 36-month refit
Two Iranian Tomcats equipped with multiple missiles, circa 1986, in the midst of a project to adapt I-Hawk surface-to-air missiles for F-14s
An A-6E SWIP Intruder of VA-34 flying over Spain during Exercise Matador.
Enterprise (right) operating with USS Coral Sea (CV-43) (top left) and USS Midway (CV-41) (bottom left) off Alaska during the FLEETEX 83 exercise.
An F-14A of VF-84 Jolly Rogers, in a 1970s color scheme
Final VA-34 A-6E SWIP Intruder launch from the flight deck of USS George Washington (CVN-73), 1996.
An F/A-18A Hornet lands on Enterprise in 1987.
An F-14A from VF-114 intercepting a Soviet Tu-95RT "Bear-D" maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
Norden AN/APQ-148 Radar
Enterprise patrols the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Fox
An F-14A of VF-32 during Operation Desert Storm with a KC-135 Stratotanker and two EA-6B Prowlers in the background
A-6F prototype in 1987
Former President Bush visits Enterprise on 5 December 1998
A Navy F-14D flying over the skies of Afghanistan on a precision bombing mission in November 2001.
US Marine Corps EA-6A Intruder electronics aircraft of VMCJ-2 Playboys aboard USS America in 1974 during a visit to Scotland.
Hootie and the Blowfish play for Enterprise crew on 5 December 1998
The last F-14 launch from a carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt on 28 July 2006
A-6E Intruder of VA-52, 1981
Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered carrier (left) with what was then the newest: French carrier Charles de Gaulle, 16 May 2001
Iranian ace Jalil Zandi is credited with shooting down 11 Iraqi aircraft during the Iran–Iraq War, making him the highest scoring F-14 pilot.
A Grumman A-6 Intruder on display at Grumman Memorial Park
Members assigned to USS Enterprise Damage Control Team test their fire-fighting agent prior to entering the simulator round of the Damage Control Olympics during Fleet Week 2004.
Formation flight of Iranian Tomcats, 2008
An A-6 Intruder on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
USS Enterprise Sailors of the Year appeared on the set of the Paramount Television series Enterprise to present the cast and crew with an American flag in 2003. The flag was flown in their honor as gratitude for the support the cast, and crew of the TV series have given the crew of the carrier.
Close-up view of the distinctive afterburner petals of the GE F110 engine
An A-6F Intruder prototype on display at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, New York City
Enterprise meets with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in the Atlantic in July 2011; Enterprise is returning to Norfolk at the end of her six-month cruise to the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf, while Eisenhower is working up following a six-month maintenance period.
An upgraded F-14D(R) Tomcat with the ROVER transmit antenna circled with USS Theodore Roosevelt in the background
An A-6E Intruder on display at Patuxent River Naval Air Museum
Enterprise enters Norfolk for the final time on 4 November 2012.
Grumman's proposed F-14 Interceptor for USAF Aerospace Defense Command in 1972 with the simulated "Buzz Code" and Aerospace Defense Command livery and emblem on the tail
Orthographic projection of an A-6 Intruder
USS Enterprise on 1 December 2012
F-14 Tomcat operators as of 2014 (former operators in red)
A-6 ordnance, 1962
Having been de-masted, Enterprise is towed from Norfolk to Newport News in 2013 for the process of de-fueling, prior to the ship being broken up.
An IRIAF F-14 Tomcat landing at Mehrabad, Iran.
Enterprise at Newport News in December 2014
F-14A Tomcat of NFWS (TOPGUN) NAS Miramar c. 1993
The decommissioned Enterprise alongside her replacement, USS Gerald R. Ford, at Newport News, July 2018
Front view of an F-14A at Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, Japan, 2003
Maritime Mail – USS Enterprise – CVN-65 – U.S. Navy Dec 7 am 1978
F-14A BuNo 162689 at the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California, 2009
An F-14A on display at Grumman Memorial Park in New York
F-14A BuNo 160661 on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center's Aviation Challenge facility in Huntsville, Alabama, 2009
YF-14A at the Cradle of Aviation Museum
F-14B at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
F-14A of VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" at the Museum of Flight
Grumman F-14 Tomcat drawings
F-14A of VF 111 "Sundowners" (USS Carl Vinson)
F-14B from the VF-211 Fighting Checkmates carrying six AIM-54 Phoenix missiles.
Tomcat logo

The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65), replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.

- Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Thus, when the A-6E was scheduled for retirement, its precision strike mission was initially taken over by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat equipped with a LANTIRN pod.

- Grumman A-6 Intruder

Minutes later, a second launch with a launch bar was made by a Grumman A-6A Intruder, demonstrating one of the primary design goals of reducing launch intervals.

- USS Enterprise (CVN-65)

In the 1990s, with the pending retirement of the Grumman A-6 Intruder, the F-14 air-to-ground program was resurrected.

- Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Nine of those carriers lost A-6 Intruders: USS Constellation (CV-64) lost 11, USS Ranger (CV-61) lost eight, USS Coral Sea (CV-43) lost six, USS Midway (CV-41) lost two, USS Independence lost four, USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) lost 14, USS Saratoga (CV-60) lost three, USS Enterprise (CVN-65) lost eight, and USS America lost two.

- Grumman A-6 Intruder

After the cease-fire in Vietnam in 1973, Enterprise proceeded to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, where the carrier was altered and refitted to support the Navy's newest fighter aircraft – the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.

- USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
A U.S. Navy F-14D conducts a mission over the Persian Gulf-region in 2005.

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