- Yes
- No
Grumman F-14A-95-GR Tomcat BuNo.160378 desert camoflage
History
As we all know, Iran was the only nation other than the U.S. that flew the F-14 Tomcat.
The Shah’s regime was frequently troubled by airspace incursions by Soviet reconnaissance aircraft, but Iran is mountainous and has almost no plains. Especially in the northern part of Tehran, which borders the Soviet Union, there were high mountains, which greatly limited the range of radar on the ground. Also, since there were no decent AWACS at the time and it was not practical to build a large number of radar sites, new fighters were needed that could intercept them while having a very strong radar.
Iran’s choice was between the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle or the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. After intense competition and much discussion about the pros and cons of both fighters, Iran decided to adopt the Tomcat.
They ordered 80 F-14s for Grumman and each Persian Cat was given a number from BuNo. 160299 to 160378 for control in the US.
Also, in accordance with previous practice, Iranian F-14As didn’t have IIAF roundels but USAF/US Navy roundels until they were delivered to the IIAF, with a few exceptions.
However, due to the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ayatollah and his regime didn’t want a close relationship with the U.S., so the last Persian Cat, BuNo.160378, was not delivered over to Iran and remained in the United States.
This particular F-14A was stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, mothballed and abandoned, but later refurbished in 1986 and used at PMTC(Pacific Missile Test Center) in Point Magaw, California.
During its long storage, the camouflage was not changed, so it had the desert camouflage characteristic of the Iranian Air Force, but also had the American roundel, which was weird, but quite unique.
That F-14A was also quite unique in that regard, as it was slightly different in appearance from the F-14 desert camouflage that was later used on the actual Top Gun.
The camouflage
This suggestion is for the following livery, F-14A Tomcat BuNo.160378 desert camoflage in early 1980s…
This F-14A is not 160378 but, it would help for skinners in Gaijin’s HQ because camoflage is almost same as BuNo. 160378.
Sources…
Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat (Combat Aircraft Book 49) written by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop ISBN: 178200761X, 9781782007616
http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-serial-07.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20120204042640/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_212.shtml#top
