Hobby Master 1/72 HA5211 Grumman F-14A Tomcat 160382/AJ 202, VF-84 Jolly Rogers, USS Nimitz, 1977

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a twin-engine, variable sweep wings capable of supersonic flight. The aircraft is crewed by a Pilot and a Radar Intercept Officer who share the tasks of navigation, target acquisition, ECM and weapons usage. The Tomcat was operated by the United States Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force only. The name Tomcat is said to come from the call-sign used by Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly which conformed to the USN tradition of giving Grumman aircraft feline names.
Grumman F-14A 160382 C/N 238 was delivered to the USN on April 8, 1977 and assigned to VF- 84 Jolly Rogers making its first cruise on board the USS Nimitz between December 1, 1977 and July 20, 1978 to the Mediterranean. 160382 had a role in the 1980 movie The Final Encounter. This aircraft was also the main feature in the well known lithograph Tomcat. Later 160382 spent time with VF-11 and VF-51 then retired to the National Naval Aviation Museum and now loaned to the Museum of Flight wearing a 1977 VF-84 scheme.