Posted on 04/05/2015 8:55:11 AM PDT by pinochet
Did You Know that American advanced F-14 Tom Cat Fighter Jets, helped to keep Ayatollah Khomeini in Power during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s? When Iran was under the pro-American Shah of Iran, America sold 79 F-14 Tom Cats to Iran in 1974-1978. The world's most experienced combat pilots in the F-14 are Iranians. According to Wikipedia:
"...In 1980, an Iranian F-14 shot down an Iraqi Mil Mi-25 helicopter for its first air-to-air kill during the Iran–Iraq War. According to research by Tom Cooper, within the first six months of the war Iranian F-14s scored over 50 air-to-air victories, mainly against Iraqi MiG-21s and MiG-23s, but some also against Su-20s/22s. In exchange, one F-14A was lost to a MiG-21.
Between 1982 and 1986 Iranian Tomcats were to see use in a series of slowly developing campaigns: mainly tasked with patrolling the skies over objects vital for the survival of Iranian regime and economy, like Tehran or Kharg Island. Most of these patrols were supported by Boeing 707-3J9C tankers, and some lasted as long as 10 hours with up to four in-flight refuelings. Time and again, they were involved in new air battles, and performed well but their main role was intimidating the Iraqi Air Force. Cognizant of previous heavy losses in battles against Iranian F-14s, the Iraqis avoided any engagement with them, so that the sole presence of a Tomcat over the target area was enough to force Iraqi formations to abort their attacks. Because of this, and because of the precision and effectiveness of the Tomcat's AWG-9 weapons system and AIM-54A Phoenix long-range air-to-air missiles, the F-14 maintained air control over a lengthy period of time.
Iranian ace Jalil Zandi is credited by Tom Cooper with shooting down 11 Iraqi aircraft during the Iran–Iraq War, making him the highest scoring F-14 pilot. By 1987, the Iraqis had suffered such heavy losses to Iranian Tomcats that they were forced to find a solution with which they could engage them under equal circumstances. In early 1988 France delivered Mirage F.1EQ-6 fighters, armed with Super 530D and Magic Mk.2 air-to-air missiles, to Iraq.
Overall, Tom Cooper claims that Iranian F-14s shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the Iran-Iraq War, which include 58 MiG-23s, 23 MiG-21s, nine MiG-25s, 33 Dassault Mirage F1s, 23 Su-17s, one Mil Mi-24, five Tu-22s, two MiG-27s, one Dassault Mirage 5, one B-6D, one Aérospatiale Super Frelon, and two unknown aircraft..."
Thanks Jimmy Carter
IIRC somebody here said that the F-14 is still better than most planes in the air — but too expensive to maintain?
I would not want to be anywhere near 40 year old jets that have been poorly maintained.
Not to worry I imagine we will soon have a “Diverse” group of pilots admitted by lower standards. That will make things fair if we ever have to engage in aerial combat with Iranians.
No. The best F-14 pilots are now F-18 pilots. The Iranians are the most experienced F-14 pilots still flying F-14’s because they are the ONLY ones still flying F-14’s.
F-14 is obsolete in the U.S. replaced by the F-18. Although I never worked around the Tomcat I know many who did (maintainers, Military and civilian). A lot of folks loved that platform and were saddened to see it go.
Poor analysis based on limited facts.
I’m waiting to hear that Obama has agreed to selling F-14 replacement parts to Iran.
It was a 60's design built in the 70's. They got old and were deck officer nightmares thanks to all the maintenance they required.
It was designed as a platform for the AIM 54 Phoenix missile, a white elephant that never worked as planned. It was only launched twice in combat with no hits.
One of my favorites simply based on looks.
>>>I’m waiting to hear that Obama has agreed to selling F-14 replacement parts to Iran
Iran has gained expertise in reverse engineering. They are already manufacturing spares for their F-14s. Iran began manufacturing its own fighter Jets based on the American F-5 fighter jet in the 1990s, and has already learnt how to make technology upgrades. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HESA_Saeqeh
How old are those jets and how is the maintenance on them plus where would they get spare parts?
During the 1970’s I trained Iranian pilots at Moody AFB in Valdosta Georgia. I found them to be sex-crazed, booze addled morons. We had to place a safety pilot in the aircraft when they soloed to keep them from getting lost.
So? A bunch of so so Iranian pilots bested a bunch of D+ Iraqi pilots. Now put them up agains’t our Top Guns. Can you say massacre?
Had a friend who worked on the assembly of the F-14’s built at the now defunct Grummans Plant at Bethpage, NY on Long Island. Northrup later bought out Grumman and that was that.
One of the marketing points of the F-18 was a significantly reduced mmh/fh.
And of course, that means more sorties in maintained aircraft, in theory.
How is that a solo then?
The trainers that I knew (in California) said that one of the biggest hurdles in teaching the Iranians/Middle Easterners, was that in their culture, it was denigrating to appear eager to learn and a good student.
Our guys were extremely frustrated by the ‘too cool for school’ attitudes against learning, that made it so hard to teach them well. Pilot trainers said that even when the student loved the classes, that he would act indifferent and as though it was beneath him.
Young Iranian men were also the most cliched rich guys I ever saw, they lived very well in their homes in La Jolla, with silk shirts and rich clothing scattered around the bedrooms and the party life, all being sons of the wealthy leaders from back home in Iran. I did like the Iranians though, both the very rich sons of the 70s, and the “colonels” running small businesses and pizza parlors after the Shah fell, and they fled to America.
I thought all F-14s and parts were destroyed in the US.
To the point that the static F-14 on the JAG TV show had to be surrendered (even though it’s backbone had been severed to make it unusable).
So Iran could get no parts.
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