The 10 Most Badass F-14 Tomcat Paint Schemes
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Ward reviews the 10 most kick-ass F-14 Tomcat paint schemes using the MOOCH TALLY, a scientific and proprietary algorithm that incorporates four factors: 1. Look of the paint scheme on the airplane (both hi and low viz) 2. Cool factor of squadron nickname and tactical callsign 3. Cool factor of the helmet tape job (both HGU-33 and 55) 4. Swag-ability and wearability (how does the squadron logo look on a t-shirt and other merch? - Zábava
Hypothesis: This plane could make any paint scheme look good.
hypothesis: playboy bunny tail emblems make ANY fkn plane look good!
@@LIONTAMER3D not the p-2, or a-3. Overall goofy looking airframes.
I mean your not wrong
Any plane can make anything look good, a painted on turd would look bad ass on the ugliest planes
highly likely !
On a less serious note, the jolly rogers paint scheme was also used in Macross/Robotech for the main protagonist VF-1S Valkyrie mech/.
Macross/Robotech was the first thing that came to my mind when he presented the scheme here.
for the TV version, it was only ever used by Roy Focker and later Hikaru Ichijo/Rick Hunter under the callsign "Skull One". The DYRL movie, had all fighters of Skull Squadron, painted with the emblem, some pilots adding their own personal colors. Focker's being the classic Jolly Roger Yellow, Hikaru's being Diamondback Red, and Max having a blue striping. The overall pattern was the same for most, if not all of them, the only difference was the color of the stripe.
Hikaru's original red-striped VF-1J (before he inherited Roy Focker's VF-1S "Skull One") resembles more the Wolfpack livery for me
Roy my boy still sorry to see you HP
It's in the Mechwarrior universe too. Love it.
I served with HM-14 on the "IKE" in 1980 with the Puking Dogs. However on a night hop, in the Persian Gulf, a "Dog" landed on the wrong carrier. They were known as the " Lost Dogs" for the rest of the cruise.
Semper Fortis
I was also on the Ike for the 1980 IO cruise with VAQ-132. I remember that incident and made up a song (take-off on the old "Car 54 Where Are You?" TV theme song) about it. "There's a foul deck on the Ike/mess deck's broken out in fights" But it wasn't in the Persian Gulf but in the Northern Arabian Sea. We never went through the Straits of Hormuz. But thanks for the memory!
@@edrobison3483 I remember the "Whales". For me Persian Gulf was the whole area. We were are helos & we cross decked to Independence, Midway, Diego Garcia doing cargo, Coronado & Duluth doing minesweeping. For us 1980 was afloat , we finally got liberty in Bahrain just before Christmas. We finally came stateside end of January.
Semper Fortis
I was there. Ships company, Weapons Dept., G-3 Div., Weapons elevators. The squadron that serviced that "lost dog" before they returned to IKE painted lost dog on the twin tails. I remember seeing it in the hangar bay.
My dad was in 143 just dont remember what years in the 80's that was.... He retired in 91' from Fighter wing at Oceana
Reminds me of an incident I read about as a kid where a US carrier in the western Pacific in 1944 was recovering aircraft at dusk. The last plane comes in after sundown. The LSO waves him down. He's almost on the deck when everybody on the ship realizes the plane is a Zero, and the pilot realizes the ship he's about to land on is not Japanese. According to the story, the Zero pilot jammed his throttles to WEP and barely cleared the planes on the forward flight deck (old straight-decked Essex-class), then scooted away at wavetop altitude before anyone could line up an antiaircraft gun on him. Hilarious little mutual "Oh shit!" moment.
The Tomcat was just a such beautiful plane, even though most of the squadrons lived on with Super Hornets and using the paint scheme, it just looks way cooler on the F-14.
The F-14 is an elegant-looking aircraft. Good plane though it may be, the F-18 just doesn't look right, with the vertical tail surfaces so far forward and the intakes tucked in so far back under the wings, plus so many hard corners compared to the Tomcat's smooth contours. It has the look of something a child would draw: everything is there, but it's in the wrong place with the wrong proportions, and it's not quite the right shape..
*Everything* looks cooler on a Tomcat.
The Tomcat is a BIG plane. Couple that with the fact that the stabilizers are nearly perfectly vertical and large making for a very visible and prominent canvass compared with the Hornet (even the Super Hornet due to the large angle on the tails).
@@smgdfcmfah Yeah, proportions too! I like the Hornet's nose but something about the tiny fuselage and all the stuff attached to it doesn't look right. But I must admit, the Viper is also a sexy bird and still looks fresh, even though it was designed in the 70s and actually isn't that much newer than the Tomcat, only 4 or 5 years, I think.
@DoNuT_1985 totally agree! In short, the F-18 Hornet or Super Hornet is ugly 😮
I knew Jolly Rogers was going to be #1 as soon as the one-off all black test squadron paint scheme was discounted. The Final Countdown was a good reference for popular culture, but also as a kid of the 80's I was absolutely enthralled by the Robotech anime cartoon and the Jolly Roger Veritech Fighter that look 98.9% just like the best fighter ever made....the F14 Tomcat.
Macross *coff loudly* Macross. *mumbles* and it's a "Valkyrie" Variable Fighter. When Macross Zero (I'm an idiot) was released in early 2000s, it was pretty clear in the storyline that the F-14 is what the VF-0 (and the mass-produced VF-1) was based of off. As for the Vandy, I actually got to see it up close in work, while i was stationed at Point Mugu in 2003-06. They didn't roll it out from the hanger to the south of where AIMD was located often but they certainly flew it enough...
Beat me to it.
Much love for the robotech reference..... made the tomcat my fav plane of all time.... blew starscream from transformers out of the water.....
Took the words right outta my mouth Scott. Skull 1 was the SHIT back in the day.
Was going to mention the same thing. Glad to see so many Robotech/Macross fans.
My father was a Ghostrider, VF142 ‘69 USS Enterprise.I still have his coffee mug to this day. He was very proud of his squadron.
Fun fact while it was in dry dock being overhauled before a spinal deployment USS enterprise CVN 65 Herr Captain Dan Roper would often sit on the bridge wearing the “monster maroon“ uniform from the Star Trek movies we tried to get him as a guest of honor for a convention we were holding but unfortunately he had orders that would not allow this Because of time constraints but he was a very down to earth guy.
As a young child, I built a model of the "Black Bunny" Phantom. I know it was just an honorable mention, but that scheme looks so darn cool on just about anything.
somehow I found this video and your comment by complete accident after just talking to my dad about his time in the navy, squadron vx-4 to vx-9. I was born in camerillo just outside point mugu, and we were stationed there from the late 80s to early 2000s. My father still has the "unofficial" and "official" palyboy stencils in the garage that they used to paint onto the F-4s and F-14s. He was very proud of his time in. Anyways have a good one
Ward. My name is Jim. I am an ABH-3. I got the full experience. Worked my way from Blueshirt from chocks to elevators to tractors to Yellow. Our Handler was Commander Jim Carroll. Our C.O.s were Dan Pederson and Tony Less. Our Tomcats were the Wolfpack and the Bountyhunters Which had kool Strips. All aboard Ranger CV-61. In Reagans Navy. What a great time. Go Navy!
I shot the paint on the Wolfpack jets(AMH3 in the corrosion control shop). The prep and layout was the work of 4 or 5 techs at any given time. It was against SOP at the time (88-92) to paint 100% of the jet. So we would pop under the belly and draw around a quarter and leave that alone. voila, not 100% of the jet. The Wolfie was done with a stencil, the rest was done with tapelines. Took a full day with 5 people to prep/sand the plane, another day to mark it, then a halfday of non stop paint to complete, with a bucket brigade mixing paint and passing the paint pots over. Low vis was easier to mark, but harder to prep. Had to wear a full bunny suit with forced air respiration on the beach, the paint was polyurethane then. On the boat we used epoxy, still made an atmospheric mess for other folks around the hangar bay.
On the beach once we had the CC team paint a bird over the weekend inside the hanger. We came in Monday morning to about 30 dead pigeons laying about the hanger. Not our finest environmental hour.
@@jameshisself9324 😳
@@jameshisself9324 didn’t seem to hurt the population though lol I’d consider it a service. Also thank you for your services. Lol
Damn man good to know! Thanks for telling
@@jameshisself9324 oh shit
I put together a Tomcat model and I used the Jolly Rogers Christmas theme paint scheme. The skull has a Santa Hat and two candy canes for the bones. Drop tanks say “Seasons Greetings”
The 1/48 Hobby Boss kit? Got that one in my stash.
@@TheJer1963 no, it was just a 1/48 Monogram, I bought the Christmas theme paint scheme decals separately
Leopard 2 gunner here, loved the STP Plush guitar intro. These F-14 vids are my candy, I used to bulld models and drew them as a kid. It is one of the most beautiful planes ever made, albeit obsolete. Those lines and power.....and Top Gun!!!!
I served on the USS Nimitz from 1978 to 1981 and worked on Catapult Number 1. I was part of the launch crew for Cat 1 and launched VF 84 and VF 41 the flying Aces.
Launch any A-6's? VA-35 Black Panthers here
Solid choices. Besides the Jolly Rogers, I've always been partial to their sometimes sister squadron VF-41 "Black Aces", great livery, solid pedigree.
That was my first model from the gift shop of the museum. Great choice!
@@ronaldkonkoma4356 My 1:48 Tomcat is a VF-41 in low-vis scheme.
Kind of surprising the Black Aces got missed out.
Mark, I had the honor as serving with both VF-84 & VF-41 1974-1981 (NAS Oceana VA). F-4B Phantoms and F-14 Tomcats. Walked the wings and repaired "black Boxes" on both. AT1 Brown checking in...
@@mgold4685 you just reminded me of a trip to the Rhode Island air show. At the time, they had a Tomcat on site at the museum and the chief for the Blue Angels came over and asked to take a look. They shut down the display and let him walk the plane and thoroughly examine the cockpit. I loved that the guy running the greatest attraction of the weekend was like a kid with the Tomcat.
VF-84's livery is so iconic that it found its way into pop culture as the "Skull Squadron" design from Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Robotech back in the 80s, and they're still using it in Macross sequels.
Roy Fokker and than Rick Hunter were squadron leaders.
Macross / Robotech are classic!
@@anthonymuzyczek5599 I think Rick Hunters livery when he was with Vermillion squadron is based on the high vis from VF-1
Everybody wanted Skull Leader's toy over all the others. lol
Former AIC from Enterprise (CVN-65) here. My input should be no surprise. I think the Black Lions VF-213 had a super cool look on all criteria. Glad the Aardvarks VF-114 made the cut.
I think those Ardvarks are pretty bad ass too.
Proud to have served at Oceana while these were still in heavy use. Also served on Ike. Had the time of my life. And loved seeing the squadron COs fly the wings off of their birds the beginning of October each year. Guessing that's when they got their fingers into next year's fuel and maintenance budget....
“It’s science not opinion”. 🤣 who can argue with that. 👍🏼 Fun vid, thanks!
I didn't mind VF-2 being left out, but personally, I love the VF-2 livery. It was iconic. Had so many posters in my room as a kid. Thank you for the video sir!
Keep in mind that VF-2 was an all-star squadron. Crazy amounts of awards and achievements..Mooch is obviously mad that he didn't make the cut. Most don't. This is aircrew and maintenance. The mighty bullets are like the Skulls of aviation. The truth hurts. I do appreciate the videos, entertaining
I have to tell my Blue Angels story. I was working at the end of the runway at NAS Corpus about 50 years ago.Checking avionics in an aircraft .Just me, the airplane and the ocean. Because the end of the runway was on a small peninsula it was eerie sometimes . All of a sudden the Blue Angels just whizz by! They were coming for a show that weekend but they didn't just fly in they were doing all kinds of stunts! I had the best view ever! In my cockpit all alone WOW!! Then they landed right in front of me one after another turned and parked beautifully in unison. Wow what a great day that was!
VF-84 has always been my favorite. I used to build scale models, and one of my best looking kits was a 1/32 low viz version.
One more cool thing about that squadron, is that the skull and femur bones of one of the WWII pilots who died in combat, ENS Jack Ernie, were encased in glass and are on display with the squadron so they can always remember his heroism.
I held my breath when we got to number one. If it wasn't the Jolly Rogers, I was going to lose my faith in humanity and go live in the woods. That's saved me buying an axe and a lifetime's supply of toilet roll. I was surprised not to see VF-2 Bounty Hunters. That would have been my third place with the top two as you have them. Great video. Thank you.
I feel you. I was going to unsubscribe from several other channels if the Jolly Rogers weren’t #1. I would still stay subbed to Ward. I’m not stupid.
I'm a former Bounty Hunter (AKA Bullet)... I'm OK with VF-84 hitting the top spot, but, no mention at all of a pioneering squadron and its paint scheme? Massive oversight.
There’s a lot to be said for a Sharp, well maintained Axe!
And Toilet Paper is Overrated… when you’re young.
😈
@@belliott538 "hot water, good dentishtry and shoft lavatory paper"
I was also surprised that VF-2 did not even make it in the top ten. One of the coolest looking schemes in my opinion. Not VF-84 cool, but still badass
How The World Famous VF-2 Bounty Hunters not make it in the top 10 is beyond me! Amazing paint scheme! The Langley stripe, Skull and crossbones, the helmets were cool, tactical sign Bullets! What more do you need!
I was also surprised it wasn't in there!
I did a tour with VF-103 Jolly Rogers. Much better than 84! When we came back during an autumn deployment, all the squadrons added a Christmas theme to their high vis jets. Jack Ernie wore a santa hat and the crossed bones were changed to candy canes.
As a kid in the 80’s, VF-84 was THE Tomcat squadron. The look was sheer perfection. If I were a time traveling fighter jock, it would either be 1980’s VF-84 or 1940’s VMFA-214 for me. A Jolly Roger F-14 or a Black Sheep F4U, can’t lose either way.
I've always been an AF guy (F-15), but I've learned so much about naval aviation, I can't help but have complete respect for all naval operating units ... land, sea and air.
Proud of my country and all military groups. Thank you all!
Fly Navy!!
The F-15 is as sexy as the F-14.
@@zam023 close. Mostly for size and capability.
Starfighters' "compressor stall" nose art cracked me up. Great stuff all around.
Around 1990-ish I was at an air show in Burlington, VT. There was a stripped down F-14D Super Tomcat demo there. It shook the whole airport and was the highlight of the show. He did a max climb until nearly out of sight. I believe they called it a “Devil’s Staircase.” While the Thunderbirds were impressive, the F-14 was incredible.
It was great to see my Ghost Riders in the top ten! I hated changing all of our helmets over to the white reflective tape in 1985/86.
My brother was in VF-111 the Sundowners around 1968 when they flew F-8 Crusaders off the Ticonderoga. Made a Westpac tour off Vietnam. He enjoyed it. We grew up directly across the street of NAS Alameda in 1960 to 1966. Saw every plane the Navy had to offer then, from P2V Neptunes to A3H Demons and Skyhawks and Skyraiders. We always knew when an aircraft carrier came in to port because the sky would fill with its planes landing at the base. Fun times.
Something about the Jolly Rogers' design is just eye-catching and cool. And I was a kid in the 80s, so seeing the design on Roy Fokker's veritech may have made me a bit prejudiced.
The Wolfpack paint scheme made me think other planes from that but also the Transformers rip off.
Preach Brother, preach it! 👍
I was a Pukin' Dog from 97 to 01. #4 is awesome for our squadron. I was 13B AME shop. Thanks for the awesome video Sir!!!
A few years back we had one of your guys over here in the UK dogfighting our typhoons against one of your F15's I'll never forget it the sound of that thing ! Jesus Christ I nearly pissed myself it sounded like the sky was being torn apart I literally jumped ! It made the local papers it was so loud. What a beast of a plane. Couldn't see it for cloud cover but it must of been low. Insane noise.
I always loved the VF-143 Pukin Dogs livery, very iconic and very bold.
That is my favorite more subtle paint job
@@deekamikaze it’s very subtle on low vis, but in high vis, I do believe the blue and black livery with the griffon is iconic.
I have to agree. But then again, I'm biased.
When I was a PC with VF-143, my bird was a VF-142 Alpha that was upgraded to a Bravo (and then a Bravo Plus) and assigned to the Dogs when the Riders were decommed.
I have a large, white Pukin' Dog decal on the back window of my work truck. But just for fun, I might scrape it off and get a new pair of black dogs and hand cut a set of AGs.
@@jeremyhess7977 that's good to know.
Great list, Mr. Carroll. Agree with most of your picks, but mine would be slightly different.
1. VF-2 Bounty Hunters
2. VF-33 Starfighters
3. VF-211 Checkmates
4. VF-21 Freelancers
5. VF-142 Ghostriders
6. VF-111 Sundowners
7. VF-32 Swordsmen
8. VF-213 Black Lions
9. VF-84 Jolly Rogers
10. VF-154 Black Knights.
It's VF-1 Wolfpack for me, for personal reasons - I have JP in my blood. Deployed aboard Enterprise, Flagship at the time, they were tip of the spear. I was aboard '74-'75 WESPAC and worked on those bird's engines as an ADJ working AIMD. 40 years after my Naval sevice, I was throwing trash into a dumpster and there on top was an 18 x 24 picture... a clip of it in your video that came from that picture I now have on my wall, "F-14 Tomcats on the prowl". The meanest looking jet aircraft I ever saw. If Wolfpack wasn't featured in your video I was going to get in your ass about that!
Well Done. I have the highest respect for Naval Aviators, Thank you Sir for your service!
The Jolly Rogers was my first pick too, this is one bad ass squadron paint scheme and squadron name that needs to stay around as long as there is US Navy Aviation.
VF-2 not only deserved to be included, but would have been in the top 3, in my opinion. The red white and blue Langley stripes will forever by iconic in my eyes.
My thought exactly.
The iconic fuselage stripes, ultra-cool tail logo and badass tactical callsign (BULLET) should have scored way more on that Mooch-O-Meter thingy.😎
Former Bounty Hunter here... couldn't agree more. And... they're still active as a Super Hornet squadron!
Yeah I agree, those colors are amazing. I'm building a 1/48 VF-2 CAG Super Tomcat now.
@@seph7450 I have the AMK F-14D in my stash... the "Bullet 106" option does look awesome!
Though, I'll have to fork out some more bills to get the Tamiya SuperTomcat which is said by many, to be superior to the AMK one.
@@lorenzcassidy3960 Another modeler here! AMK has many features that the Tamiya doesn't. However, the build can be challenging. I have a Tamiya Super Cat waiting in my stash. Definitely the easiest to build and it has great quality. My VF-2 one is the Hobby Boss make. Other one is the Eduard Danger Zone F-14 which will be made in VF-111 colors.
Perhaps VF-2 should be in there somewhere. Their hi-viz scheme is also vewy vewy noice.
Love the “Plush” insert! Probably one of my favorite riffs of all time. Great playing!
hehe.. was perfect!
This a double win for me. 1st and 2nd. I was PC when VF84 was flying F4s in 70 and 71 and a PC with VF1 IN 76 AND 77 on the second F14 cruise aboard the Enterprise. Thanks for creating your channel. Love it. And, thanks for your service.
Hard to argue with the list. Always liked VF-213’s emblem as well.
That's what I asked ward how are you gonna pick an arvark over a black lion! Lol
I think he just tried to pick one from each Miramar hangar. Hangar 4 had 3 better offerings with the Black knights, Renegades, or the Checkmates.
Happy to point out the Sundowners ("Sun Downers") live on as VFC-111, an adversary squadron at NAS Key West
Sporting sharks teeth I hope.
@@travisbickle3797 Most definitely! Their F-5/T-38 aircraft liveries are epic!
@@Whiskey11Gaming The Marines have an F-5 aggressor squadron as well, I saw them once in the coolest paint scheme. Desert camo with a red star on the tail fin, and inside the star was a black USMC emblem.
@@RCAvhstape the marines adversary f5s are sweet looking. The f5 is a pretty sweet aircraft. I so wish the f20 tiger shark was successful. It's crazy to thing that an airframe that small could take so much thrust. Fast little bugger
@@ryankiesow8440 Looked it up. It's VMFT-401, the Marine F-5 aggressor squadron.
Was great to see VF33 in your list. I was a Starfighter until 1990. Was detached to the USS America CV66 . Great video, great plane . We also loved the “screaming monkeys” aka Tarziers. This patch was on Several jackets in TOP GUN. Thanks
You probably know of the F4B Phantom squadron that was aboard the Kitty Hawk during Vietnam cruises ‘67-‘68 and/or ‘68-‘69 when I was ships company Air Missile Division. The Aardvarks, my favorite bird. The Phantom did look like an Aardvark and I cracked-up every time I looked at one. Also had the orange stripe on the fuselage.
Figured the Jolly Rogers would win. While, personally, I like some other designs slightly more, I can not deny that the skull and crossbones is THE iconic Tomcat scheme.
I agree on that as well, because the first time that I watched "The Final Countdown", I fell in love with the mighty F-14, and the iconic Skull and Crossbones logo made the Jolly Rogers my favorite fighter squadron, of all.
It is such an iconic logo and the Jolly Roger has a long history in the US Navy. While not a flag that is often flown, there is one USN ship that is allowed to fly the Jolly Roger, the USS Kidd (DDG-100) The ship is the third US Navy ship named after Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd who was the first American flag officer to die in action in WWII. There are many great images of this Arleigh-Burke class destroyer flying a huge black flag with the skull and crossed bones.
US submarines have flown a Jolly Roger flag since back in WWII where the crews of those boats got the idea from British submariners. They would fly the flags on return to their home port after a successful mission. There are images as recent as September 2017 of the USS Jimmy Carter returning home to Kitsap-Bangor flying their Jolly Roger flag. But with submarines they adorn the flag with other symbols that mean certain things. Makes a person wonder what the most secretive sub in the USN was doing. The Navy doesn't really like it when the subs come back flying these flags during times of peace. It means they did something and in the case of the USS Jimmy Carter, they don't want to signal anything.
Its an interesting history to read about.
As a PC at NAS Dallas, we would get transit flights stop in all the time. We would joke around with the Pilot and Rio and try to get a patch from them. I had one Pilot from vf-143 that didnt have a patch but ended up sending me one in the mail. One other time it was VF-84 but the pilot wouldn't give me a patch (which wasn't a big deal). On launch I was called out to the line to check a fuel leak on the port engine, I ended up downing the bird because it was out of the limits for DPM. The Pilot was so mad to get downed. Maint had me replace the main fuel pump and when the pilot was doing his walk around he looked over at me and ripped his patch off his flight suit and threw it to me with a big ole grin. Still have that VF-84 patch to this day with the Velcro still on it. VF-84 did have the cool factor unlike my squadron lol
Hey Chad, This is Gary. I taught an ALQ-126 DECM training class at the NAS there in the mid 1970s Was TAD for 10 weeks. Had a real adventure while there. Never made it back. I was wondering if it was still open. Many of the Reserve bases have been closed. Spent most of my active duty at NAS Oceana. A couple of years ago had the chance to visit Millington TN but the training base was closed and it is civilian now.
Things have changed in 50 years.
I'm glad your professionalism got recognized.
@@mgold4685 I left NAS Dallas in 95 and they were getting ready to move the base to JRB Fort Worth but Im not sure when that happened. So to answer your question, no it isnt open any longer. In fact the base, my squadron and the 14 are all decommissioned :(
@hitecredneck54 I was with 201 from 91-95
@@mgold4685 That NAS in Grand Prairie was bought out by General Motors. And now they have all there vehicles there....
I was in VF-301, the Devils Disciples, we couldn't put the devil on our tails just a red arrow, but we had great patches and a very cool T-shirt when we won fighter derby. Every christmas at Miramar squadrons use to put wooden christmas decorations at the east and north gates entrance roads. We put ours at the child care center down from the north gate which prompted a phone call from the base chaplin via the base skipper. Evidently you can't put a decoration of the devil in a santa suit driving a sleigh with presents at the daycare center.
My dad spent 19 years working on Jolly ROgers F-14s ~ He also has a plaque for saving some lives of Pilots by not letting them take planes out arguing that they would have definitely crashed on the carrier. Thank you Ward Carroll SIr. Beautiful pics.
One of the first models I built as a kid was the F-14A VF-1 Wolfpack. 1/48 scale. I think it may have been Monogram, but possibly Revell. Besides the bad ass decals it was one of the first models I remember that came with rubber tires. Amazing how the design of an aircraft can also attribute to whether the markings look great or not. This goes for high and low viz versions.
Michael, Airfix 1/72nd scale circa 1977 for me. I recognise the supplied decals in some of Ward's real life videos.
Made that same model and had it, and many other planes, hanging from my ceiling. Thanks for the memories of fun times!
@@jamess7264 , I had a 72nd scale Gloster Gladiator hanging from ceiling , but I figured the F14 was too big and heavy for that. Plus I liked to fiddle with the swinging wings :-)
Definitely fun times - hours looking at plans and cut-aways ...
@@lokmanmerican6889 Roger that on the swing wings hell I busted mine so many times it's not funny. Had a 1/48 B-29 and a 72nd B-52 hanging on the wall by the tail as a kid. I also remember building "Showtime 100" in 48th many times as it was like 8 bucks and Kmart stocked it so thats where the grass cuttin money went haha.
My only Tomcat toy was a diecast VF-1 in full colour 70's scheme.
VF-84 and the IRIAF desert camo are by far the best looking Tomcat liveries ever put on that aircraft
Sorry, certainly not an F-14 but honorable mention…my first F-16 squadron the 614TFS Lucky Devils, check ‘em out! As well as for your Desert Storm stuff. We had a hell of a day three over Baghdad, two shot down and one dodging multiple SAM’s. Love your videos!
I was in the USAF, and even I knew who the Jolly Rogers were.
'Nuff said.
(Honerable mention: though I don't think they ever flew Tomcats, there was that unit that operated Skyraiders in Vietnam, that had the giant bumblebee with a lightning bolt for its stinger.)
That was VA-176 "STINGERS", CALLSIGN: "PAPOOSE", and they were the second ATKRON, to score a MiG Kill, during the Vietnam War. The other squadron, which, by the way still exists today, VA/VFA-25 "FIST OF THE FLEET" CALLSIGN: "FIST," previously "CANASTA", was the first Skyraider ATKRON to shoot down a MiG.
The high vis VF-41 Black Aces planes were on display for a lot of retirements at Oceana on several occasions. I was “unlucky” enough to do a TAD tour in the corrosion shop and had to paint those dudes. That black spade was iconic and ended up spray painted on several LT’s bare chests in the hanger bay as “initiation” back in the day.
Black Aces VF-41 is my favorite.... 2nd the Sundowners!
We use to send our boots over for “training.” They’d send theirs over for the same. Jolly Rogers for life.
Great Video ! After learning about the radar & computer system at Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles, I was in VX-4 in 72 - helped bring the F14 into the Navy. The Playboy Bunny was really awesome to see. Then to VF-143 onboard the USS America for the 76 med cruise. Pukin Dogs Forever !! Parky - AQ1 USN 67-77
The F14 is not only most beautiful plane ever made it has the most charismatic paint schemes.
Of course the iconic Jolly Rogers with the beautiful stripes on the forward fuselage had to be first. Happy that my favourite low viz scheme Pukin Dogs was in the top 10 as well as Aardvarks and Diamondbacks. Bit sad that VF-211 checkmates missed the list.
I've got so many still in box F14 models from the 80's to 2000's to keep me busy when I retire from work.
Ward gets a " Mooch Factor " of 10 out of 10. Best channel ever!
I'm gonna give this vid a 28.6 on the Mooch scale. It's got some flare
I was at Miramar, when the F-14’s arrived to the fleet, I’ve always been saddened when they retired that incredibly beautiful bird 🦅! I feel they should bring it back in a updated version, It was the most incredible bird ! I use to sit on a tug, watch and wait for them to take off and come in.
Grumman had more than one Super Tomcat variant designed in the 90’s and ready for production. They basically all featured upgraded radar (AESA), engines capable of supercruise at Mach 1.3 (the same engine currently on the F15E), thrust vectoring nozzles, increased fuel capacity, and modified control surfaces for improved carrier landing takeoff and approach speeds. There doesn’t seem to be a good enough reason for me as to why the Navy didn’t order these Super Tomcats but I guess they just preferred the F/A18. I think Super Tomcats would have been superior to F15s so maybe the Air Force pushed back.
I work close to Miramar. I remember the F-14 flying when it was Naval air station, to when the marines took over with their F-18 and CH-46’s and later the Osprey. Lately the F-35s have joined the group. Lots of fun to watch.
They took up too much flight deck space and leaked like sieves. Yeah, awesome in the sky but they were atrocious on the flight deck.
@@ohroonoko actuality it was Dick Cheney in Bush Sr Administration that made Final Decision he's Responsible for the Fate of the F-14 . Goes to show He did not have the Knowledge to make that call Grumman Showed Cheney the New Variants of F-14 they had still Cheney said no. So they bet the House on that POS F-35 which took 25years to develop and Billions over Budget other Nations we're interested in Buying that Turd but saw had way to many Issues and Costs a lot of Countries Bought SU-35 and Interested SU-57 which is a Bad Ass Plane. Don't know why the Navy agreed on Single Engine Fighter F-35 which they haven't Flown Single Engine Fighters since mid 50s. I wouldn't want to Fly a Navy Fighter over the Big Soup or Pond with only Single Engine, Russia and China still making new Gen Stealth Fighters with Twin Engines. F-14 pilots that Flown F-18 a few times said they like F-14 way better. F-14D's we're Super Nice Came out mid 90s if the Military is Smart they should have Moth Balled all F-14D's in Tucson. Many went to Airfields and Museums Shame they don't fly that Magnificent Plane in Air Shows or use them in Naval Reserve such a Fuckin Waste. But Govt good at Waste and No Common Sense. Wish I was one of lucky pilots flew F-14D still one of the Best in my Book.
@@Paiadakine When you were at the beach in Coronado, F14’s descended to land at NASNI right in front of you. It was awesome.
The Pacific Coast Air Museum in Santa Rosa, California has their F-14A from the Jolly Rogers and is painted in the proper scheme. It was painted as Wolfpack for many years
Your videos never disappoint, awesome to hear from someone who has been around the diamondbacks,
102 is absolutely badass.
served with diamondbacks 65-67 as a PC it was truly one the honera of life..
during my tour aboard Theodore Roosevelt, we had Vf-84 and Vf-41 the black aces which i feel should be top 10
Jolly Rogers gotta be the most recognized squadron out there, but NAS Oceana in the late 80's had about all of em. Thanks Ward for taking me back again.
As a 20-year veteran of the Royal air Force specializing in aircraft refinishing (Tornado GR1/GR4/F3 and Nimrod), the paint schemes depicted here were most impressive! Squadron markings had to be drastically scaled back in size after the mid 90s to limit the unnecessary refinishing requirements to airframes. Sqn markings were reduced to fit in removable panels as a workable and practicable solution.
Garry Harriman, South Carolina. RAF Retired.
I was deployed with VA 105 in the late 70's under CAG 3 with VF 31 when they were flying the F4's. I remember the Flying Flix's and how cool the logo was. The Tails were all a solid color, red with stripes and AC on the tails and the Flix with the bomb on the fuselage. That logo always stuck with me in later deployment with F4's and even the the F14's. I even got to deploy with VF 111 flying F14's on the world curse on the USS Carl Vinson CVN70 in 1983 with CAG 15 serving in VA 37, the bulls. I think of them both, VF 31 was the most memorable. Just saying from a maintainer.
Actually Playboy did authorized the bunny logo. If look at some of the F-4's during the early 60's, the bunny looks pretty crude. When Playboy found out that the VX squadron was using the likeness of the bunny Playboy served them with a cease and desist order. Course the Navy complied. Shortly after, being the good sports that they are, Playboy contacted the Navy and said they could use the bunny but ONLY if it was the Playboy copyrighted version. Course the Navy said YES! Playboy provided them with the template and all were happy...
That explains it thanks. I'm currently building the F4 Black Bunny and couldn't figure out why some of the bunnys looked well like a goat and some looked the stuff.
VMCJ-2 began painting the bunny logo on their birds - F3Ds and EF-10s - back in late 1955 early 1956 receiving official authorization in 1959/1960. The original letter can't be found in the squadron archives and probably made its way into someone's private collection. Playboy contacted VMCJ-2 again in 1967 posing the same questions and were sent a copy of the original letter. After the three VMCJs were reorganized into VMAQ-2 and VMFP-3 in August of 1975, Playboy's general counsel then contacted Q-2, for the third time, in October of 1975 inquiring as to who and when permission was granted. The CO - LtCol Royal Moore - responded in December of 1975 and received a letter - which is preserved in antiquity - in January of 1976 from their general counsel's office giving the squadron the go ahead to continue using the logo which had by then been updated. The original had the leading ear bent forward and the eye and bow tie had to be red.
VMCJ-2 was one of many Marine squadrons visited in 1959 by "Miss Marine Reserves" - aka Miss February 1959, Eleanor Bradley - on a company sponsored promotional tour of bases around the country.
I have one VF-31 and 3 VF-84 t-shirts but yeah i definately need VF-1 too :)
Where do you buy them?
where did you buy those?
I bought my house about 4,000 feet from NAS (now MCAS) Miramar back in 1987. Of the billions of air shows I attended there not once did I purchase a squadron t-shirt. I regret it now!
Ward, love your channel!
My older brother was an f14 pilot back in the day and now is closing in on 50 years of flying. Loved this episode but was hoping the Bedevilers would be in the mix. I remember getting a card from my brother with that insignia on it and thought it was awesome. Keso up the good work. Your channel is interesting and very infomative. Love it! Thank you for those years of service!
As a ROTC midshipmen I got a hop in an F-4 from VF-84 in 1967. I ended up a pilot in VC-2 flying F-8 and A-4 at Oceana and VF-84 was in the same hanger with there ready room was next door to ours. They had skull and cross bones in a glass case in their ready room. VF-84 was number 1 with the Grim Reapers number 2 in my book.
I built a model of the Jolly Rodgers Tomcat as a kid. I ended up in a AV-8B Squadron. Not the same animal but Aviation non the less. Ward Carroll didnt mention it but a HUGE SHOUT OUT TO CC AND AIRFRAMES WHO SPEND HOURS ON THOSE PAINT SCHEMES!
Maybe your the one to ask. How do they go about that? I mean do ya sand the whole thing down or dump stripper on it prime it and shoot it? Lacquer or Enamel?
Which Harrier squadron? Yuma or Cherry Point?
I was in the Corrosion Control shop in VF-111 (yes, top 3 finish!) in 1982, and we sanded the entire aircraft, then painted it in Light Gull Grey, THEN laid out the rising sun and shark face (duplicated on the drop tanks, btw), then sanded and laid on the lo-vis for all but the CAG bird, who got high-vis.
**NOTE** This full repaint was explicitly forbidden by NAVAIR. The polyurethane paint used was not good if inhaled, coated your lungs with plastic as well as exuded isocyante vapors (think Bhopal, India!), but we mixed it and saddled up anyways! Squadron Pride!
It irritates me to see the shark face used on Navy aircraft that do not come from the VF11-VF111 bloodline. If you have the ancestry, fine, otherwise don't appropriate something that was fought so hard for.
@@marksroberts4880 Holy crap I hope you guys had a few power sanders an F-14 is one big airplane. That's a shit pot load of sanding! And I thought my 69 Coronet superbee was a bitch to sand out.
Many thanks Mooch! The Skull & Bones on the most Badass fighter to ever grace a carrier's deck!!!👍👍👍
Your opinion. The F4 Phantom J was my bird.
First visit and awesome content. Guessed your list nearly perfectly and picked the Jolly Rogers for your all time best. Was hoping the Sluggers and Satans Kittens would have got a mention but a great list. Worked alongside many of these squadrons during my Aussie navy service over 30 years. The Naval aviators loved nothing better than hearing a “Freelance Approved” over the comms. Thanks for your service!
Great video ! Huge military and civilian aviation fan. Been "skywatching" since I was a little kid. ( 50+ yrs ago)
Have 5 die-cast models of F-14's including your #1. My all time favorite fixed wing military aircraft.
IMO, the men & women who fly, and have flown, both military and civilian aircraft are amazing, however, fighter pilots are somehow superhuman. THANK YOU, and all who serve and have served, for your valiant efforts, service, and sacrifice.
As a AMH3 airframer in VF-31 from '94-'97, I'm glad to see my squadron make the top five. I love the channel. Keep up the great content sir.
PR2 1979-83 VF 31
The Tomcat liveries were all awesome, but that cover of the intro to Plush... absolutely killed it.
A few have mentioned VF-2, also VF-32 is pretty awesome but my favorite not listed is VF-14 (the top hat is unique and classy - also the oldest active squadron in the Navy!). Great video!
I was with VF 74 The Bedevilers, we were there for desert shield and storm. We had to cover our logos while ported since it was a devil looking through a scope with a lightning bolt through it. It was to sensitive for the middle east when we ported. I feel they should have been on this list.
This is super cool watching a video of a man who actually flew these beautiful and badass war fighting machines...everything that you say means a lot because you flew these. And getting your opinion is huge. Im so glad you made a CZcams channel
One I would have included is VF-41. There's no more emblematic logo than the Ace of Spades! Plus the definition of "cool" with the first ever F-14 kills, in 1981 - with the added bonus of it being the first time variable wing geometry aircraft shot down other variable wing geometry aircraft! Huge Mooch factor for that alone!
And our squadron callsign was Fast Eagle...not too bad.
VMA-231 is also the Ace of Spades
Have to agree on this one…
VF-41 and VF-84 will forever be my favorite squadrons because of their prominent role in Tom Clancy's book Red Storm Rising.
Damn right! When I was with them in '01 we had the oldest 'Cat in the fleet (Fast Eagle 103)... and she was our most capable jet during the opening stages of OEF. First to Fight, First to Strike!
Good choices Mooch, except now I have the "Felix The Cat" theme song going through my head. Thank you Sir!
Now I do too! AAAAHHHH!
@@WardCarroll Ehhh, could be worse. I was driving to work and on the first station was "Walk of Life" by Dire Straits, then on the next one was(also) "Walk of Life". By the end of my drive I was singing the chorus when I clocked in AND clocked out.
I was a short kid with glasses until my growth spurt junior year of high school. My nickname was 'Poindexter'. Not much of a Felix the Cat fan after that!
Dam it! I shouldn't have read all this now I'm singing the dam thing.
@@warrenchambers4819 To quote Alice Cooper "Welcome to my nightmare. I think you're gonna like it."
I remember seeing "Final Countdown" as a kid and that started my life-long love affair with the F-14. In my head, VF-84 was THE definitive Tomcat squadron simply because the impression the F-14 scenes in that movie, along with the VF-84 tail art made on a 12-year old kid who loved military hardware. Great video, thanks for putting it together.
I grew up watching the Nevada Air National Guard F-4 High Rollers out of Reno. Always liked their design.
Always loved my first squadron VF-301 “Devil’s Desciples”, NAS Miramar. F-8, F-4 and F-14A
Come on, their Tomcats looked §h!† ...
Their F-4Bs and Ns were stunning though, as were the later Heater-Ferris F-4S's
Awesome stuff, love the "Mooch Tally/MT" too! Another great Tomcat/Super Hornet squadron is VF-2 Bounty Hunters; surprised they didn't make the Top 10. Enjoyed as always.
Best nose stripe
@@krostouin Agreed- believe they call it the "Langley Stripe"?
Love that squadron making on the old Tomcat with stars on blue rudder, lost some of its luster on the Hornet in my opinion
I would've added the "Bounty Hunters" in there somewhere! Great video, Mooch!
Thank you Ward much appreciated as always! 👍🏾
VF-33's callsign was "Starfighter" when I got there in early 885.The old tarsier patch was still in use, and was known as "Minky". The new patch was adopted at the end of the 86 cruise. Then CDR "Smiles" Bucci hated Minky and made the change as soon as he was CO. I heard he retired as a three star --AT2 CJ Martin, VF-33 IWT 85-88
Whether your skull and crossbones were emblazoned on your G.I. Joe SkyStryker F-14 (had to paint that one yourself) or your Macross/Robotech Valkyrie/Veritech, the Jolly Rogers paint job was iconic for millions of 80's kids.
I was with VF-84 during Desert Storm. Great choice for #1 and a great ranking of F-14 squadrons! I appreciate your channel and content.
Thank you so much! I always wanted to know more about the different liveries
The Pukin Dogs is over the top cool! Yet, the Jolly Rogers gave me chills. I knew then I had to agree 100% that they took the number one spot! Great video! Thanks!
The MT tally was right on! Well done 👍
I agree. The Final Countdown immortalized The Jolly Rogers.
Really glad you mentioned the diamondbacks, they were one of my dad’s squadrons back when he was an air mechanic! They’re really cool😎
I served on the USS Enterprise in the 80's and had the Aardvarks assigned to the ship. Always liked that logo.
@@jim7576 The Redcocks were an A7 squadren. I had one of their t shirts for a long time. VF21 and VS33 were not on the enterprise while I was on. 84-88.
@@jim7576 VF-21 deployed in Dec 88 onboard USS Constellation (CV-64), CAG-14 or CAG-15 if memory serves.
Me too vf114 86-88.
@@johnpimlott1843 Black Lions! Is that right?
Yea VF114 was with VF213 on the Enterprise, then the Lincoln. I was an Aardvark AT back then.
The VF-84 logo and high vis paint scheme was also the inspiration for the Skull Squadron in the 1982 Japanese animated series Super Dimensional Fortress Macross ( distributed in North America as the first part of the Robotech series). The airplane mode of the transformable Valkyrie veritech fighters from the series were based off of the F-14.
And that toy was also licensed by Hasbro to become a Transformers toy: Autobot Jetfire.
First, as a former Evaluator, I can tell you that the black bunny wasn't a hanger queen or an air show display. There were 2 when I arrived in '77. One was a white F-4 and a black F-4. Vandy 1 was photographed in formation with the Playboy DC-9 that was also black. The actual paint schemes, however, besides being the coolest ever (next to the screaming eagle bi-centennial F-4) were also interesting in that visually, you couldn't tell if the plane was coming to you or away.
As for the F-14, that was my brother in law's aircraft as the last squadron commander. VX-4 had some of the most proficient pilots and RIO's in the business. Our function was to write the missile tactics to ensure our pilots had the best chance of shooting down their adversary when employing a missile.
Point Mugu was a great place to be stationed, and these were the best aircraft ever.
Great video! Brings back memories. Spent some time with my godfather Tom McKenzie with vf-111 sundowners. He was my childhood hero!
The Mooch rating system gets a 10 from me. Great and interesting content. Max demo points for the Plush cover.
Mr Carroll, just wanted to congratulate you for the exquisite quality of the content you upload. I'm ESL speaker and the way the material is shown, makes it easy for a thorough comprehension of a perse complex matter. Those facts made me, as an avgeek, a big fan of your channel since episode #1. Best regards and keep it up. Frank.
I think that your list is perfect! Especially after having to leave out the Vandy 1 Black Bunny, which would have been #1 in my book. The rest would have followed in pretty much the same order, except that VF-2 would have been in there somewhere, possibly as Honorable Mention. I first fell in love with the Tomcat after seeing the VF-1 model kit which I promptly built! But the Vf-84 is my ultimate favorite, especially after I saw it on the old F-4 Phantom II. I'm not sure which I would leave out. They all look GREAT! Especially in full color! Thank you so much for just being you! Keep up the great work!
I'm an Aussie and I picked the Jolly Rogers right at the beginning. Great video. Thanks.
Ya got me with "The Mooch Tally is science, not opinion." Great video as always! 👍