No information implies an F-14 ever flew from the USS Midway. The interesting thing, however, is that long ago, two Tomcats did land on and launch from the Midway
Visitors to the USS Midway Museum in San Diego can see an F-14 Tomcat displayed on the flight deck. However, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, there is no evidence that an F-14 ever operated from the Midway (CV-41). Historical records indicate that F-14 squadrons were never assigned to the carrier because its flight deck and supporting infrastructure were not suitable for routine use of such a large and heavy aircraft.
What is interesting, however, is that two F-14s did reportedly land on and take off from the Midway many years ago, according to Mike Crutch’s book CVW: US Navy Carrier Air Wing Aircraft 1975–2015.
On September 29, 1982, after USS Enterprise (CVN-65) launched an alert sortie in response to one of the Soviet probing flights, AARDVARK 111 (F-14A BuNo 159874, flown by LT Rick Berg and LT Lee Ducharme) encountered dense fog while returning to the carrier. LION 202 (F-14A BuNo 159859, with LT Tom Lawson flying and RIO LT Dave Willis) faced the same conditions. During one wave-off, LSOs reported that they could see only the wheels of Berg’s Tomcat, and both aircraft were subsequently directed into an airborne holding pattern while possible courses of action were weighed.
The urgent issue of the F-14s’ low fuel was met by the courageous crew of a VA-95 Green Lizards KA-6D tanker, which was said to have effectively “vanished” immediately after launching from one of Enterprise’s catapults. Diverting to airfields in the distant Aleutian Islands was never a realistic option because of poor weather there as well, and ditching was considered especially dangerous given the frigid water and the slim chances of survival for the F-14 crews.
About 100 miles east of the worsening situation, USS Midway (CV-41) was operating under emissions control (EMCON) to avoid detection by Soviet electronic surveillance. At first, decision-makers aboard Enterprise dismissed the idea of diverting the Tomcats to a carrier not configured for F-14 operations. However, once every other option had been ruled out, VF-114’s commanding officer, CDR Jay Yakeley—widely regarded as the fleet’s most seasoned F-14 pilot—was finally authorized to pass the F-14 landing, or “trap,” data to Midway’s Air Ops team so they could evaluate the chances of a successful recovery. The question of how to launch the Tomcats from Midway would be dealt with afterward.
Conditions around Midway were also deteriorating. The carrier had already recovered the brave VA-95 Intruder tanker along with its own aircraft and was making flank speed in an effort to stay just ahead of an advancing fog bank. At last, AARDVARK 111 and LION 202 were transferred to Midway’s air traffic controllers for recovery. After overcoming some early problems in relaying certain pieces of information—details not publicly known but critical to allowing the F-14s to land openly over the radio—the Tomcats began their approach as Midway turned into the wind and headed toward the fog bank. Time was running out quickly.
In his account of the incident published in the Fall 2004 issue of The Hook, LT Berg wrote that his greatest surprise when he emerged from the steadily lowering cloud ceiling was seeing Midway itself, whose size and layout were strikingly different from the newer carriers he had previously landed on. Owing to the efforts of everyone involved—especially Midway’s engineering crew, who managed to squeeze an extra four knots beyond the ship’s normal speed from its boilers—Berg received an “OK 2” from the LSOs, an impressive result given that CV-41 had only three arresting wires. The VF-213 Tomcat also landed safely, and only a few minutes later, the fog bank completely engulfed the ship.
After spending the night aboard, attention shifted to how the stranded F-14s might be launched from Midway. The decision was made to fly the aircraft off rather than leave them unusable until a future port visit could remove them by crane and then send them onward ‘from the beach’. With the weather now clear, Enterprise dispatched a catapult officer along with an F-14 launch bar. Having made the first F-14 recovery aboard Midway the night before, the VF-114 crew generously offered Lawson and Willis in LION 202 the honor of making the ‘first Midway F-14 launch’; perhaps a gesture of courtesy, or, as Berg put it, ‘…a good confidence check on the catapult system’!
As the two aircraft finished their post-start and pre-takeoff checks, the VF-213 jet took longer to get ready than the VF-114 crew was willing to wait for, so they ended up launching first under the close attention of Midway’s crew, who were enjoying their second burst of excitement in less than a day. Both catapult shots were tight but successful, and afterward the Tomcats formed up for a section flyby in full afterburner as a small expression of gratitude for the exceptional teamwork and hospitality shown by Midway and CVW-5 during their stay aboard.
Note: As Mike Crutch pointed out, the Midway museum’s F-14 Tomcat is painted in VF-114 and VF-213 markings, although the MODEX numbers do not match those of the diverted aircraft—so a nice opportunity was missed there. Also, Midway’s sister ship, Coral Sea, did previously have VF-101 “Grim Reapers” F-14As land aboard for carrier qualification work, albeit under strict weight restrictions.
CVW: US Navy Carrier Air Wing Aircraft 1975-2015 is available to order here.
Photos by U.S. Navy
