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F14 K the Tomcat the RAF never Purchased


224 Peter

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I have a Tamyia 1/32 F14A that i was given as a Christmas Present way back when the kit came out.  

I'm not that interested in US aircraft, unless used by the RAF, so it has say, the cockpit assembled and some interior bits painted, ever since. 

 

So, what to do with it? 

In a flash of insanity i thought 'what-if the MRCA Tornado project had been scrapped and the RAF had purchased F14s" They would have been used in the Gulf War. 

SO.... a couple of cans of Desert Pink, some transfers intended for the Tornado and we have something different...that i would be interested in finishing. 

 

What is the collective opinion on such a flight of fancy? 

 

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Peter,

 

It's your model, do what you want with it!

 

I do reckon though that the Tomcat would have been used in an air defence role by the RAF so markings for a Phantom FG.1/FGR.2 or Tonka F.3 may be more appropriate than a bomber Tonka.  But as I said, it's your model...

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I agree, the F14 is really more about air superiority than ground attack, but I cannot find a photograph of a Phantom in Pink...

Buccaneer, Tornado, Jaguar all went pink, but not the Phantom of F3...

 

As this is all about what if I'm going to stretch my imagination and conclude that the F14K was developed by BAE and Grumman to be equally at home as ground attack as air superiority....so it would have been Pink in the Gulf. 

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Well, don't forget the F-14 was developed into the so-called Bombcat version, who's to say the Brit's didn't get there first?

 

Find some Brit bombs, keep some Sidewinders for self-defence and add a couple of HARMs and Robert is as they say your mothers/fathers brother!

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Absolutely.... The Grumman F 14K Bombcat...

Developed by BAE and Grumman.

 

I'll post details of the build when I get on with it, it is about 4 months delayed back in the waiting list! 

Edited by 224 Peter
Correction.
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You are not so far off the mark as you possibly realise. There was a faction in MoD Air/RAF that wanted the F-14 instead of the (then) proposed ADV Tornado as it was (correctly?) assumed that the Tomcat actually fit the brief better. The Tomcat would have had the legs to reach out into the GIUK gap and was much further down the development path so would have been a 'shoe in' had it not been for Politics.

 

Duncan B 

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21 minutes ago, Duncan B said:

You are not so far off the mark as you possibly realise. There was a faction in MoD Air/RAF that wanted the F-14 instead of the (then) proposed ADV Tornado as it was (correctly?) assumed that the Tomcat actually fit the brief better. The Tomcat would have had the legs to reach out into the GIUK gap and was much further down the development path so would have been a 'shoe in' had it not been for Politics.

 

Duncan B 

When one thinks logically, not politically, the F14 developed for the UK (as the Phantom was) would likely have been better and cheaper than the lumbering lump the Tornado became. 

Mind you, had the TSR2 not been canned then it would probably have served in the Gulf War as well! 

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I seem to remember that after the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, there was a widely held belief that Iran would offload it's Tomcats back to Grumman and Grumman were suggesting that either the UK and Canada may be interested in them. As we now know this never happened and Iran kept hold of their Tomcats and we got Tornado ADV and Canada the CF-18.

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PInching an idea from the USN and their heritage schemes a few years ago, I did slap together an Esci F-14 (1/72) and finished it in a heritage RN scheme of Dark sea grey, Slate grey and sky with red/blue roundals.

 

It didn't look very convincing.

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I think it has to be the next re-start!!

After the Hurricane, Typhoon and Harrier are finished I was going to re-start the Revell Hunter, but the "Bombcat" in Pink seems to be more fun! 

 

I'll need to find suitable 1/32 period RAF bombs: the Sidewinders are OK, but it will need bombs to replace the Phoenix missiles. 

I guess a set of Tornado after market parts will be needed with, perhaps, a laser target designator pod between them and underwing tanks and either air defence missiles or anti radar ones. 

A lot to think about!

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On ‎02‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 9:40 AM, 224 Peter said:

I think it has to be the next re-start!!

After the Hurricane, Typhoon and Harrier are finished I was going to re-start the Revell Hunter, but the "Bombcat" in Pink seems to be more fun! 

 

I'll need to find suitable 1/32 period RAF bombs: the Sidewinders are OK, but it will need bombs to replace the Phoenix missiles. 

I guess a set of Tornado after market parts will be needed with, perhaps, a laser target designator pod between them and underwing tanks and either air defence missiles or anti radar ones. 

A lot to think about!

Flightpath do 1/32 RAF post war weaponry....

 

https://www.djparkins.com/home.php?cat=272

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I originally planned to follow the F4 designations, so the F14 for the RAF should be the F14M, although as the F4K followed the F4J the F14 only reached the F14B.

So assuming the proposed ground attack version would have been the F14C, that aircraft purchased for the RAF would have been the F14D.

 

Weapon Load for the mythical F14D

 

Wing pylons:

Port: 1 ALARM, 1 Sidewinder

Starboard: TILAD Pod, 1 Sidewinder

Under belly: 

Front: 2 x 1000lb Paveway 2

Rear : 1 x ALARM on centre line

Plus auxiliary fuel tanks. 

 

I've ordered the bombs, Alarm missiles and TILAD from D J Parkins...., this is getting quite expensive! 

 

Although the catapult gear would have been deleted I'm assuming that the arrester hook would have remained, as it was on the F4M. 

 

 

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10 minutes ago, 224 Peter said:

I originally planned to follow the F4 designations, so the F14 for the RAF should be the F14M, although as the F4K followed the F4J the F14 only reached the F14B.

So assuming the proposed ground attack version would have been the F14C, that aircraft purchased for the RAF would have been the F14D

 

But there was a real F-14D.  I would still go with the K/M designations, it's not unusual for the US to give out of sequence designations, stick to your original plan!

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On 12/29/2017 at 1:21 PM, Duncan B said:

You are not so far off the mark as you possibly realise. There was a faction in MoD Air/RAF that wanted the F-14 instead of the (then) proposed ADV Tornado as it was (correctly?) assumed that the Tomcat actually fit the brief better. The Tomcat would have had the legs to reach out into the GIUK gap and was much further down the development path so would have been a 'shoe in' had it not been for Politics.

There's also the minor matter of cost...the Tomcat was too rich for the USA's blood when it was being developed; Grumman had to be bailed out by the Shah of Iran. Just replace the Shah with Harold Wilson, should be easy to imagine.

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13 hours ago, Wez said:

 

But there was a real F-14D.  I would still go with the K/M designations, it's not unusual for the US to give out of sequence designations, stick to your original plan!

The French E-3 is the E-3F. Ours is the E-3D. There is no E-3E.    And tbh, these are American designations.  In RAF use it would be the Tomcat FGR.1

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