Best F-14 Tomcat Dogfighting Tactics

F-14 Tomcast episode 4 guest Sam “Slammer” Richardson discusses how he routinely beat other aircraft, including other Tomcats with bigger motors, in his trusty F-14A by being a "master, not a trickster."
View the full episode here: • 4. Flying the F-14 Tomcat

[@marbleman52]

I was enlisted Navy and in a squadron based at N.A.S., Norfolk, Va. 71-75. We were at Miramar for exercises and I was a Plane Captain for our ERA-3B Skywarriors. I was out at the fuel pits waiting for our planes to return when I saw the first operational F-14's arrive. It was an incredible site. Our planes would land and disappear way down the runway and after a few minutes I could see them slowly taxiing back my direction. Not so these F-14's. They came in ever so slow with their wings full forward and touched down so lightly and slow that the tires did not smoke at all. What made my jaw drop was to see them turn off the runway in what looked like only about 75 yards....wow..!! Here it is almost 50 years later and I still remember it very clearly.

[@rodneywillissr9489]

I served as a maintainer (A/F's), did 2 Topgun dets with VF-41 in the mid 80's and several Redflags with VF-41 and VF-14 in the late 80's and mid 90's, I remember pilots returning from ACM flights at the Redflags just giddy after busting the F-15's and F-16.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

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[@BradAnderson153]

Slammer is a great guy! He was my last CO when I was at VF-14 Topphatters (97-00). Great to see you on here.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

🇺🇸

[@Jamrock626]

Brad were you an AT or AE

[@Jamrock626]

I was also in VF-14 when he was the skipper

[@SkullTeamShin]

Hearing Slammer describe how he was able to take on F-14Ds while using an F-14A leaves me itching to hear about his experiences in the F-14D. All of his tactics plus the power from the GE engines without the unreliability of the TF30s. Hope he talks about it on video 1 day(unless he already did and I missed it).

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

Nice to hear this again. Slammer is a real Tomcat legend and his descriptions always get me thrilled about flying skills and what great pilots can do when they truly understand their airframes.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

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[@wavehopper4183]

Such interesting stuff listening to the professionals. You do see a lot of those attitudes in the simulator "oh this is my one trick that guarantees success", and it never works against someone who understands proper BFM. Like you say, you need to think of it more as chess and thinking multiple moves ahead. Thanks for posting these interviews, they're fascinating to listen to.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

You're welcome, thanks for commenting.

[@elnach3240]

If you talk about the Tomcat, they will come. A well established KZbin Fighter plane axiom.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

We shall see

[@_Jake.From.Statefarm_]

@@FighterPilotPodcast Here for it!... and more.

[@mscottfq70]

Slammer Rocks!! Great Podcast. Thank you guys!!! Be great to have Slammer and crew in the Mediterranean now

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

The next generation has it.

[@paulbrooks4395]

Reminds me that every time I go to the DCS dogfighter servers I get schooled. The people who specialize really learn to get good, and they are just so hard to win against.

[@JG27Korny]

If you want to learn about pure dogfight go into ww2 scenario in DCS. Il2 great battles is also great. There you will learn the proper dogfight, no missile involved.

[@SnowTiger45]

That was truly interesting. It gives me a little tingle in my dingle that makes me what to start flying in DCS again sooner rather than later. I'd like to do "Top Gun-like" training in different DCS mods .. if I thought I was going live that long to learn it all.

[@Crunch104]

Crunch! :) Amazing callsign! Great discussions for aviation and DCS fans. Thanks for your work and sharing.

[@A2Moonclaw]

Now I want to fly the A more in DCS.

[@geemanbmw]

Snort and Nasty knew their craft beyond well

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

They among others, yes.

[@CombatAviationist]

Love this! Great stuff

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

😎

[@stijnvandamme76]

Not enough hours to try it all out.. Question , could you perhaps do a Tomcat Podcast on the Simulator Hoser mentioned it in his book : practicing in it for high aspect guns - How good was that Simulator? - What kind of Graphics did it have - What could it simulate Did it have realistic enemies, Migs, Harriers, Eagles , Mirages , other?? - Wo had the simulators, how many of them were there? - Do carriers have simulators on board , to get you guys extra hours practicing, while on cruise? - Do modern day simulators for the current fleet do the same? Would it perhaps be useful to have High end DCS based sims on the carrier (assuming they don't have big simulators there?) High end DCS, think a decent cockpit , big wrapping screen, and perhaps track IR or VR I would think there is much to be told about that?

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

At present, we do not have other hosts lined up for another season of the F-14 Tomcast. Just these first 26 episodes with Crunch and Bio.

[@EndlessAmmunition]

Bio crunch slammer. Good name for a breakfast cereal.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

😝

[@rickkyle5107]

Great stuff from the real pilots. Love it.

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

🤩

[@EveryoneIsFightingSomeBattle]

Continuously awesome content Jell-O! I been doing research on things like turning radius stats (ITR and STR), and not surprisingly coming to the same conclusion every time - the Tomcat (all models) had the best ITR of all (even better than the F-16), and the B and D models with the big dogs out (NATOPS prohibited move) and the burners lit had an even better STR than anything else (including the F-16). From what I'm finding, the only thing that could do better in these areas than the Tomcat, are thrust vectoring units like the F-22. There was an interview I watched featuring former Tomcat pilot Keith "Okie" Nance, where (if I'm not mistaken) he referenced the unbeatable STR with the flaps fully extending while in AB in the GE powered B and D models. Of course performing that with the flaps fully extended was the NATOPS prohibited part of that maneuver.

[@30AndHatingIt]

Hey, I’m in the research phase for a long form Tomcat video where I dive into just how good it was, that people don’t even realize it’s capabilities. I’ve specifically focusing on things like what you just referenced. If you have time, I’d like to chat with on here about what you’ve been able to dig up on this subject.

[@sabercruiser.7053]

Outstanding 🙌🙌👏👏🔥🔥🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ thank you

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

😎

[@konackt]

Are these dogfighting skills now considered obsolete?

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

Insomuch as the Tomcat is retired in the U.S., yes.

[@josephpadula2283]

Iranians still flying A’s !

[@johnhermann7498]

Short of the F-22 or the Su-57, in DCS, I've seen guys continue to DOMINATE 4gen fighters with the F-14 just by flying better than the other guy... Even the vaunted Viper can, in the right hands, get murked consistently by the F-14...

[@_Jake.From.Statefarm_]

No, no, no,. There's two O's in Goose.

[@dunbar555]

DCS guy here. I fully understood :)

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

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[@TyrannoJoris_Rex]

Why didn't they replace the TF30 with the TF41 when the F401 fell through?

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

🤷🏻‍♂️

[@TyrannoJoris_Rex]

Like you design this thing knowing the engine's gonna be replaced, but it gets cancelled. You have another option sitting right next to you in the A-7, that showed the old engine's problems in Vietnam and that one's replacement fixed it. But we're not gonna make that obvious change while our new $25 million state of the art fighter keeps killing itself; on top of its already limited production...

[@deantait8326]

Best F-14 dogfight technique…. Hop in a F-16 🤔😳

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

According to Slammer the Tomcat faired well against the Fighting Falcon.

[@aitke12]

Show some Leg!!!!

[@highlanderthegreat]

these little talks are great, a look into something that 99.5% of people know nothing about, and the only reason 99 % of people do know something about it is because of TOP GUN...thanks for some tiny inside look at military flying be it from the navy or air force.... general question, what if an air force pilot need to land on a carrier, could it ever happen in some kind of emergency?????

[@FighterPilotPodcast]

No.