U.S. Navy Grumman F-14A Tomcat.
Registration: 159830.
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a US Navy interceptor fighter delivered at the time by Grumman Aerospace. It served as a replacement for the F-4 Phantom II fighter, which was phased out from the U.S. Navy in 1986. A total of 556 F-14As were built for the U.S. Navy.
The F-14 was the backbone of air defence for all Carrier Task Forces from 1972 to 2006 and became best known to the general public through the film Top Gun.
In July 2006, the last take-off took place from an aircraft carrier and on 22 September 2006 was the last official flight of the F-14D Tomcat to Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana where it was decommissioned.
This photo was taken 4 October 2025 at Torrance Municipal Airport - Zamperini Field, during a visit to the Western Museum of Flight.
I am Jaap van den Berg and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. Since then I travel all over the world to take pictures of military aircrafts. But besides aircraft I also love to photograph other subjects like landscapes, architecture, flowers, animals, .. Read more…