Full Description
A lavishly illustrated celebration of the much loved workhorse of the US Navy - the F-14 Tomcat - and a unique insight into its crucial final operational tour over the skies of Iraq.
The Last Catfight charts the combat experiences of the US Tomcat crews that took the jet into action during Operation Iraqi Freedom, flying hundreds of missions all over strife-torn Iraq to try to ensure the safety of Coalition troops on the ground. The F-14 units played a key part in protecting the polling stations during two vital government elections held in 2005, and were also in the vanguard of Operation Steel Curtain, when the US Marine Corps went head-to-head with al-Qaeda near the Syria/Iraq border.
Combat accounts from the men and women flying these missions bring the F-14's exploits to life as Grumman's last fighter is put through its paces in the world's most demanding combat environment. Whether conducting convoy patrols, looking for IEDs, chasing insurgents through the streets of Baghdad, destroying bomb-making factories or strafing and bombing enemy strongholds, the Tomcat was never found wanting thanks to the professionalism of the crews and the new technologies debuted by the iconic naval fighter on its very last cruise.
Aviation author and editor Tony Holmes has interviewed the commanding officers, pilots and radar intercept officers, and their first-hand accounts are featured alongside a stunning array of colour photos.
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: Cruise Work-Ups
Chapter 2: Haze Grey and Underway
Chapter 3: Into Action
Chapter 4: Operation Steel Curtain
Chapter 5: Defending Democracy
Chapter 6: Sharpening the Cat's Claws
Chapter 7: Strafing, Bombing and Flybys
Chapter 8: Tomcat 'Tweakers'
Chapter 9: A New Year and the Homecoming
Appendices: Deployment statistics and missions flown, hours flown, number of missions per jet.
