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F-14A drop tanks 1/72


Vlad

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I'm building a couple of the old Hasegawa 1/72 F-14As and I've only just realised there are no drop tanks in the kit. Is a full missile load but no drop tanks plausible/correct for very early F-14As? If not then I would want to add them, but where might I acquire some?

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Thanks, that gives me ample justification to just leave them off and not jump through hoops to get some. Having said that, the pictures that show aircraft without the drop tanks are also unarmed or minimally armed.

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The problem with full missile loads is that you'll never find a picture of a Tomcat in operation with a full missile load as these were not generally carried, regardless of the tanks.

During the many years when Tomcats were only tasked with air defence, the standard loads were relatively light because a Tomcat with full load could not be retrieved on the carrier. The famous maximum load with 6 Phoenix missiles for example would have required a few of these to be dropped in the ocean to keep the aircraft under the maximum landing weight allowed, something that with a missile as expensive as the Phoenix was not really seen well by the Navy.

The typical combat load would have been the 2-2-2 configuration with 2 AIM-54 under the front fuselage pallets, 2 AIM-7 on the wing pylons and 2 AIM-9 on the shoulder pylons. During peacetime operations however the most common configuration was a 1-1-1, with 1 AIM-54 under one front fuselage pallet, 1 AIM-7 under one wing pylon and one AIM-9 on the opposite shoulder pylon. In some areas the AIM-54 was rarely carried and in this case a common load was 2 Sparrow under the wing pylons and 2 Sidewinders on the shoulder pylons. Missions that didn't require the Phoenix would have also seen a similar load

With all these configurations tanks could or not be carried depending on the mission, generally these were not often used during the '70s but by mid '80s they were practically always used.

The above applies to operations from carriers, when operating from land bases missiles were rarely carried unless on exercise or at the range for missile qualification. In both cases the loads were generally even lighter.

Then there are the publicity shots and there are pictures of operational Tomcats with heavy loads and no tanks. After all configurations like 6 AIM-54 and 2 AIM-9 or 4 AIM-54, 2 AIM-7 and 2 AIM-9 were cleared for operatons and sometimes Tomcats were loaded this way for PR photo shoots. Pictures of these are around, with and without tanks.

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Thanks for the detailed reply. I'm doing a grey and white 1970s plane so I'm fine with tanks off it seems. Will probably go 4-2-2 for the armament. In 2-2-2, are the rear pallets empty or removed entirely?

 

Since we're expanding this discussion anyway (and I'm continuing my crash course in Tomcats!):

 

What about the 4x AIM-7 and 4x AIM-9 loadout? Was this just an interim until enough 54s were available?

 

@Tony Oliver Thanks for the offer but I'm happy to leave the tanks off in this case.

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2 hours ago, Vlad said:

Thanks for the detailed reply. I'm doing a grey and white 1970s plane so I'm fine with tanks off it seems. Will probably go 4-2-2 for the armament. In 2-2-2, are the rear pallets empty or removed entirely?

 

 

The rear pallets were simply not mounted. Often a cover was used on the rearmost Sparrow well, this is IIRC included in the new mould Hasegawa kits.

One configuration that was cleared for use had two AIM-54 under the front pallets and one Sparrow in the rearmost well. I've only seen very few pictures with this configuration, don't know how common it was.

 

2 hours ago, Vlad said:

 

Since we're expanding this discussion anyway (and I'm continuing my crash course in Tomcats!):

 

What about the 4x AIM-7 and 4x AIM-9 loadout? Was this just an interim until enough 54s were available?

 

 

No, it wasn't an interim, simply it was a configuration for those situations where the AIM-54 was not considered useful. or when use of this missile was limited by rules of engagement.  Still in most cases it was preferrable to mount Sparrows under the wing and in the rearmost well, leaving the front pallets in place in case of need. There are only very few pictures showing this arrangement.

The Sidewinder wing pylons on the other hand were very commonly used by units when ashore, as it was common to carry training rounds and ACMI or similar pods on these pylons.

Notice how the use of AIM-54s under wing pylons has never been mentioned. These were very rarely used until the Tomcats started performing ground attack missions. At that point it became common to hang one Phoenix under the left wing pylon while the right was used for the LANTIRN pod. A Sidewinder would have been carried on the left shoulder pylon while the pallets under the fuselage carried AG ordnance

Edited by Giorgio N
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