Aircraft

Grumman F-14B Tomcat

MAPS tour discusses the "air superiority corner" in the large hangar.

The F-14B located at MAPS Air Museum started out life as the 540th F-14A built by Grumman Aircraft Corporation (GAC) at their Bethpage, NY plant. It was accepted by the US Navy at the GAC Calverton, Long Island, NY facility on 1 July 1986. Returned to the Grumman facility in St. Augustine, FL on January 11, 1995, it underwent upgrades to become a F-14B (KM) before being returned to the US Navy on 21 December 1995.

Following it's upgrade to F-14B status, our aircraft, BuNo 162694 served with the following NAS Oceana squadrons: VF-103 (to 7 August 1996), VF-102 (to 30 March 1999), VF-101 (to 27 March 2002) and finally, VF-32 (to 15 June 2005).


VF-103	VF-102	VF-101	VF-32

During it's active service life, 162694 accumulated 6723 flight hours, 2011 catapult launches ("cat shots"), and 2022 arrested landings ("traps"), and saw action during Gulf War I, Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was officially stricken from the active Navy inventory on 5 October 2005 and transferred to the custody of the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, FL before being delivered to MAPS Air Museum for static display.

BuNo 162694 arrived at MAPS Air Museum at 12:00pm, Tuesday, 4 October 2005. The aircraft was delivered by pilot LT Brian "Beke" Hodges and the RIO was LT Ashley "Ciao" Augostini. The plane was actually Lt Augostini's own aircraft, and her name will always be kept on the side of the plane.

Thank you to the United States Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL for allowing us to have the aircraft to display.

More history coming soon!