British Night Owl

[RPadavan2]

Back at the end of April, I helped my mother sort through and pack up her house for a move.  While there, I came across a cardboard box in the closet of my old room.  Turns out inside the box was a collection of build models from the 1980s and 1990s I had stashed there prior to moving to Europe for a couple of years.  One of those models I now present to you...a British F-14A Tomcat!

The idea came from reading an article in a magazine in the late 1980s, Air Forces Monthly (if I remember correctly).  In the article, it was discussed the consideration of the RAF purchasing F-14s or F-15s instead of developing the Tornado.  For some reason the idea of a Tomcat in British livery appealed to me and I eventually made it in physical form.  Granted this is a very basic scheme and not based on any present or former flying unit.  Consider it a Proof of Concept paint scheme.

Model: Dragon F-14A
Decals: mix of kit supplied and donations from another kit (possibly the kit I used for my French Foreign Legion Sea Harrier.  https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=34561.msg547822#msg547822 )

[Scotaidh]

Very nice moggie! 

[Caveman]

seems to have survived remarkably intact!

[comrade harps]

Phoenix, Sidewinder and Skyflash, I presume. 

[PR19_Kit]

They would have made very good Bear interceptors over the North Sea and the Atlantic I'm sure. And with lots more range and strike distance than the Lightnings, Phantoms and Tonkas that we had for real.

But they'd have been VERY expensive................

[NARSES2]

Certainly suits that scheme 

[TheChronicOne]

Quite right!!!   I love it.

[Captain Canada]

Oooh what a sweetheart ! She looks so good in those colours and markings ! I mean, anything looks good in roundels but that ? Awesome. Nice one. Hopefully you can dig up a few more !

[zenrat]

Looks good.

[Leading Observer]

They would have made very good Bear interceptors over the North Sea and the Atlantic I'm sure. And with lots more range and strike distance than the Lightnings, Phantoms and Tonkas that we had for real.

But they'd have been VERY expensive................

We would have probably bought 13, 1 Squadron + a spare

[Weaver]

Nice one - looks good! 

Anciliary costs were another factor against it. The tanker fleet would have had to be enlarged and tankers are expensive. Also, at a million dollars a shot, and a standard RAF training requirement of every crew doing at least one live missile shot per year, the cost of simply owning Phoenix would have been sky-high, even if they never fired a shot in anger. And without Phoenix, the F-14 look over-spec'd and over-priced compared to the alternatives.

Also, you have to remember the mid-1970s context in which the decision was made. At the time, the F-14 was having severe engine troubles with the TF-30 and there seemed a very real possibility that Congress would cancel it before the UK could get around to buying any in the mid-1980s (the patrol-interceptor buy had to wait until the Tornado IDS spending had passed it's peak).

[PR19_Kit]

Why would the tanker fleet have needed to be enlarged? They must have had enough already to keep the Lightnings airborne long enough to get to the middle of the North Sea and back to base at least.