| Model manufacturer: | Hobby Master Aircraft |
| Order code: | HA5206 |
| Scale: | 1:72 |
| Material: | Combined (Metal / Plastic) |
| Weight: | 0.9 kg |
| Registration number: | VF-32 |
| Air company: | US Navy |
| Aircraft manufacturer: | Grumman |
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.
Libya declared the Gulf of Sidra as territorial waters but the US disputed this and in 1981 Libya
lost two jet fighters. On January 4, 1989 there was a second Gulf of Sidra incident when two
Libyan MiG-23s headed towards the USS Kennedy battle group. F-14s from VF-32 “Swordsmen”
turned toward the MiGs as a warning. As the opposing forces advanced the F-14s broke off
several times to tell the MiGs they didn’t want to engage but the two MiG-23s continued and were
destroyed.
