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Once again I had the urge to
make the long journey from my home in the UK to NAS Oceana in Virginia. This
journey was to witness the last public performances
of the legendary F-14 Tomcat at the NAS Oceana Airshow between 16-18th
September 2005. The internet had been rife with rumours ever since the gates
closed at the 2004 show and confirmation of F-14 attendance for the 2005 show
came very late. But the news was good, as not only would the F-14 fly a
tactical demonstration at the show they would also be included in the fleet fly-by
and stunning air power demonstrations.
For the show the Tomcats would come from VF-32 Swordsmen and VF-101 Grim
Reapers. VF-32 will be transitioning to the F/A-18F Super Hornet in October
2005 and only had 8 aircraft on strength. VF-101 had technically already been
decommissioned on Thursday 15th September, but still had three airframes left
at Oceana.
Aircraft AD-160 flew a tactical demonstration
on the 16th and the last ever F-14 tactical demonstration on
the 18th. It left Oceana on the 19th for its new home at Castle Air Museum in
California.
Aircraft AC-104 flew the
penultimate tactical demonstration
on the 17th.
VF-32's retro painted aircraft
AC-112 did not fly over the Airshow weekend (it was on standby as a
spare). It was flown to AMARC on the 20th.
For the record, the Tomcats in
attendance were:
VF-32 Swordsmen
| F-14B
BuNo 161860 AC-101 Click on images below to see larger images |
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F-14B BuNo
161428 AC-111 Click on images below to see larger image
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VF-101 Grim Reapers
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F-14D BuNo
163900 AD-155 Click on images below to see larger images
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F-14D BuNo
163903 AJ-210 (VF-213 markings) Click
on images below to see larger images
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| The
crew of AD-160, Rocco & Smokin' after the very last F-14 tactical
demonstration. |
Click on
image below to see larger image
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It should be noted that these are
not the last flying Tomcats in existence. VF-31 Tomcatters and VF-213 Black
Lions deployed onboard USS Theodore
Roosevelt as part of CVW-8 on
01/09/05 for what is the very last Tomcat cruise. Both squadrons will convert to
the F/A-18F in 2006.
| Also tucked away
on the base was a solitary F-14A BuNo 160690 attached to the Strike
Fighter Weapons School. This aircraft was used for weapons loading
practice. |
Click on
image below to see larger image
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| At the main gate
is the very last F-14 ever built, F-14D BuNo 164604. It was painted in a
very fetching VF-143 Pukin' Dogs paint scheme to commemorate the squadron
winning the Clifton award. |
Click on
image below to see larger image
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A big thanks must go to following
for their help in making this article possible:
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Troy Snead (NAS
Oceana PAO)
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LCDR
Jeff 'Spotan' D'Alatri - VF-32
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LCDR Chad
'Vinny' Vincelette - VF-32
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Beth
Vincelette
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Henk
van der Lugt
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ANA
Hampton Roads - Squadron 16
All photographs were taken with a
Nikon D70 fitted with either a Nikkor 18-70mm IF-ED
AF-S DX, or a Sigma 50-500mm EX APO
RF HSM lens.
Jeremy
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