Bob Belter. You’d think more people would know the name of a man who bought 70 F-14 Tomcats!
Bob enjoyed a varied and exciting career as a Navy pilot, earning his wings in 1950. In fleet squadrons, he flew the AJ Savage, A-3 Skywarrior, and several other aircraft. He later became an Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer (AEDO) and served at the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent River, Maryland, where he flew F-8 Crusaders as often as possible. He was also among the small number of Navy pilots who flew the F-111B (the proposed Navy version of the F-111), and he says he “helped put the nails in its coffin.” He went on to become the Naval Air Systems Command Design Officer for the A-6E Intruder, flying the jet while also helping to oversee the program.
However, this article focuses on his connection to the F-14 during his tenure as Skipper of the Naval Plant Representative Office (NavPRO) at Grumman Aerospace’s Bethpage facility from 1971 to 1974. When he assumed command of NavPRO Bethpage, he was the first officer in anyone’s memory to hold that job who actually flew aircraft, accumulating flight time in A-6 Intruders. Although he never flew the Tomcat himself, he “bought” the first 70 F-14s for the Navy, as well as Grumman’s other products of the era: the A-6E, EA-6B, and E-2C.
His time at NavPRO was marked by turbulence. Not long after he became involved with the Tomcat effort, Bob foresaw a cost overrun serious enough to potentially bankrupt Grumman and halt all operations. As described in Arthur Reed’s 1978 book “F-14 Tomcat,” unexpectedly high inflation drove up Grumman’s expenses while its revenue remained fixed under a firm-price contract. To win that contract against stiff competition, Grumman had already reduced its price as much as it could.
Bob explains that one way they addressed these financial problems was by advancing Grumman’s progress payments at a favorable rate—essentially a loan—which was deposited into a dedicated account at First National City Bank of New York (now Citibank). To withdraw money from this account, checks had to bear the signatures of both a senior Grumman corporate officer and Mr. Belter. One such check is shown here, displaying Bob’s signature as the “countersigning agent.” In the end, Grumman absorbed a manageable loss, secured several loans, and renegotiated the contract, and Bob still laughs about the time he signed a check for “thirty-eight effing million dollars … and eighty-five cents!”
A clear example of Bob’s aviation-related responsibilities came when the F-14 began experiencing early TF30 engine troubles. In January 1975, while operating in the Western Pacific aboard USS Enterprise, squadron VF-1 lost two F-14s within a short period: aircraft 158982 on 2 January and 159001 on 14 January. Fortunately, all crew members survived. The day after the second accident, a ten-person team of specialists was dispatched to the ship.
As most readers here likely know, the TF30 was chosen as a “proven” interim engine so the Tomcat program could concentrate on developing the airframe. However, in a 2012 email, former Grumman vice president Butch Satterfield pointed out that the TF30 had never really been proven in a fighter role, which demanded frequent, large throttle changes.
Bob explains that when a pilot selected a burner, the TF30 nozzle opened and raw fuel was sprayed in and ignited to light the first flame holder (a component in the afterburner section, explained here). If the burner failed to ignite and raise pressure in the afterburner section, the nozzle would then close, but in the few seconds this took, the fan became unloaded and sped up to 106–108%. In Bob’s words, “The second fan stage would go into a flutter like a palm tree in a typhoon and overstress the disc.”
Several engine specialists had predicted this issue and briefed the response team on what to look for. Once aboard the Enterprise, the team tore down the engine fan sections and inspected the second-stage discs using dye penetrant, X-ray, and eddy-current methods. The eddy current test pinpointed the fault. To save weight, US Air Force program managers had machined the titanium containment ring around the fan section into a thin waffle-like structure. When the afterburner ignition issue caused a fan blade to fail, this weakened ring could no longer contain the damage, allowing debris to tear into nearby vital and flammable components—and ultimately costing the aircraft.
Sailors examined every TF30 on the Enterprise and discovered three additional cracked rings. The ship’s Tomcats were soon cleared to fly again, but under tighter monitoring while the Navy rolled out a program to contain debris and shield critical components in case similar issues occurred in the future.
While more early issues with the Tomcat would surface, Bob Belter played a key role in keeping Grumman afloat and in guiding the F-14’s development into a fighter with a long, distinguished service life. Now 94 years old (as of this writing), Bob is among the very few remaining who experienced the Tomcat’s early acquisition years firsthand, and he’s still glad to tell his stories.
Photo by Bob Belter, Bill Barto and Bill Lindner
