‘We did a quick 180 and got really low (for nighttime) and really fast. Dropping to ~1,000 feet we took it to 800 knots IAS (1.2 Mach) which is the book limit for the F-14 at sea level,’ Chuck Hunter, US Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot.
The legendary F-14 Tomcat participated in more combat than is commonly recognized, actually surpassing the combined combat records of other ‘teen fighters,’ such as the F-15, F-16, and F/A-18. Throughout the 1980s alone, it engaged in eight years of extensive combat during the Iran-Iraq War, where it achieved its first kill (a gun kill against an Iraqi Mi-25 attack helicopter). Later served with the US Navy off the coast of Iran during the Iran hostage crisis, as well as in reconnaissance missions over Lebanon and Syria, and in Libya, where it was involved in two air engagements and numerous ‘close calls.’
Chuck Hunter, a former US Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot, recalls a distinct mission he flew in the skies over Libya in an interesting post on Quora.
‘When doing operations off of Libya one evening, we got the opportunity to demonstrate “speed is life.” The Libyans had these huge surface-to-air missiles called the SA-5 Gammon. It had long-range capability, and they kept locking us up and then shot at my squadron one afternoon. A mission was scheduled that evening to get them to shoot at us again, and when they did, our HARM shooters would take out their site.’
Hunter continues;
‘My 2-plane flight of F-14s was designed to be the bait. We started at a nice high altitude, so we were very visible, and then pointed straight at the site and accelerated and descended on a simulated attack profile (a really stupid one, but looking very obvious). Sure enough, in the darkness at quite a distance, we see the missiles launch in our direction. They fly up to a high altitude, giving them the distance to get to us. As we saw them top out, still heading our way, we figured it was time to get out of there. We did a quick 180 and got really low (for nighttime) and really fast. Dropping to ~1,000 feet, we took it to 800 knots IAS (1.2 Mach), which is the book limit for the F-14 at sea level. If I needed more, I would have used it. That put us well below their radar horizon and out of the dynamic range of the now high-altitude SA-5. So much for being the bait.’
Hunter concludes,
‘The Tomcat was very comfortable at those speeds, though things do go by quickly. At higher altitudes, we were limited to 1.88 Mach with external tanks. When we needed to get somewhere quickly, speeds of 1.7–1.8 were fine, but you burned a lot of gas to get there. Doesn’t come close to somebody doing Mach 2.5–3, but if they are pointed at us, it just means they will get to my missile faster.’
SA-5 picture with people for perspective:
Photo by MilitaryImages.net and Dave “Bio” Baranek
