|
The Tomcatters of VF-31 joined Navy surface vessels, Air Force bombers and additional aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 8 in honing their ship-sinking skills during a “Sink-ex” (sinking exercise) that took place June 7, 2006 nearly 275 miles off the North Carolina coast. Two retired guided missile cruisers, the Comte de Grasse and Stump, met their fate that day and another chapter in the storied career of the F-14 Tomcat came to a close as the Tomcats dropped their last live ordnance. |
|
Earlier in the day back at NAS Oceana five Tomcats and four Hornets prepared for their participation in the Sink-ex. One of the Tomcats would act as an observer while the others would carry live bombs. Three Tomcats were loaded with two Mk83 1,000lb bombs while the fourth carried a pair of Mk84 2,000lb bombs. The Hornets would each carry a pair of Mk82 500lb bombs. At approximately 0930 the Tomcats and Hornets departed Oceana to engage the destroyers |
|
On the way to the target area the Tomcats, Hornets and Vikings met up with the tanker to get some gas. The Tomcatters arrived first. Their five jets were topped off in approximately twenty minutes. The end of the Comte de Grasse was near. |
The view from inside the F-14D Tomcat
Other participating aircraft
|
When VF-31 arrived damage had already been inflicted on the retired destroyers by Navy surface ships but the Tomcats were there to finish the job and display the F-14 Tomcats precision strike capability one last time. The Mk84 and Mk83 bombs dropped by the Tomcats sent the largest destroyers ever built to the bottom of the ocean. The Tomcatters retired their final F-14D on October 4, 2006 when AJ-101 was flown to the home of the Tomcat, Bethpage, NY. VF-31 will now transition to the single-seat F/A-18E Super Hornet and become VFA-31. |
________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
I would like to thank the Tomcatters of VF-31, Supafly, Thumbs, Puck, Corky, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Murphy, Eric Hughes and Eddie Rivera for making these photos possible. |
All photos contained on this site are copyright 1989 - 2007 by Jon M. Houghtaling. All rights reserved. Permission for use is required.