Grumman F-14 Tomcat. One of the most well-known and documented fighter jets of all time, famous both for its performance and for its appearance in films such as Top Gun - Indomitable Aces (1986) and Nimitz – Back to Hell (1980)
We have already written an article with 14 curiosities about him that he is one of the most famous “cats” of Grumman Aerospace, but today we are going to talk about a characteristic that the Tomcat shares with the F-11F-1 Tiger, another fighter from the same manufacturer: it is one of the only planes that shot itself down. same.
The bizarre accident occurred on June 20, 1973 with the sixth F-14 prototype. The aircraft with registration BuNo (Bureau Number) 157985 was used in flight weapons separation tests and evaluations.
During the development of an aircraft, a series of test flights are carried out in the most diverse parameters, which normally leads to the manufacture of multiple prototypes or pre-production aircraft. The F-14 project itself, for example, had 12 of these planes, three of which were lost in accidents.
In the case of combat aircraft, the development phase also includes tests of separation of weapons from the plane. Before entering service, a fighter must be ready to be used safely and this includes the use of the most diverse weapons, especially those that will be used to shoot down an enemy plane (missiles and cannons).
And it was one of those tests that the F-14 No. 6 would do in June 1973. The fighter was manned by two Grumman test pilots: Pete Purvis, in the front seat and Bill “Tank” Sherman right behind. Both were veterans of the Vietnam War, where they flew the F-4 Phantom II, the fighter the F-14 replaced.
On this flight, the successful separation of an inert version of the AIM-7E-2 Sparrow missile, fired from the station in the middle of the “tunnel” between the two engines of the F-14A, the Pratt & Whitney turbofans, would be tested. TF-30. This section was called a pancake.
The test would be carried out at 5000 feet, Mach .95 and at 0 G. In other words, the missile would not have gravity assistance to “fall” from the fighter. Additionally, the Sparrows were semi-flush mounted in the fuselage, with the control fins fitted into the aircraft.
To assist in the separation of weapons, the F-14 also had "explosive" pins connected to semicircles that pushed the missile away from the plane as soon as the pilot (or the Radar and Interception Operator - RIO) pressed the trigger. This technology was not new and was already present in the F-4, for example.
However, the AIM-7E-2 was already an obsolete version and made of a more fragile material than the AIM-7F, which would be used by the F-14 when it entered service, which occurred in 1974. Therefore, the engineers decided to lower the load of the explosive pins, fearing that the force could damage or even break the missile when firing.
Despite all the concerns, Purvis, Sherman and the test team hoped that the test would proceed without further events. Previous trials with the same missile were successful. Calculations and tests carried out by the teams also showed that everything would work out. But that's not how it happened.
They took off from Naval Air Station Point Mugu in California and headed out to sea with the missile, where it would be fired at the Pacific Missile Test Range. The F-14 was accompanied by an F-4 Phantom that acted as a "flirt aircraft" (called the Chase Plane in the US).
Final checks done, everything ready for shooting. Purvis pressed the trigger on the F-14's stick, hearing the distinctive “Ka-whumpf” sound of the shot. But a louder sound than expected. Then he saw the AIM-7 overturning at high speed in front of him, leaving a shower of debris that was swallowed by the left engine.
The missile did not separate far enough from the fighter. He was supposed to fall out of the aircraft and then start the rocket engine, but he ended up hitting the plane itself, rupturing a fuel tank.
By radio, the pilot of the F-4 Paquera, Lieutenant-Colonel Fritz Menning, warned that the F-14 was on fire, while alarms sounded in the cockpit of the fighter. In the back seat of the F-4, photographer Bill Irving captured it all. Seconds later, the aircraft landed hard, G-Force preventing the Purvis and Sherman from ejecting immediately.
Soon, the pressure eased and one of the crew pressed the ejection seat lever. In two seconds, both were out of the F-14, which went into a flat spin, disintegrating as it hit the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Between the firing of the missile, the ingestion of debris and the ejection of the crew, only 40 seconds ed. Purvis and Sherman safely landed in the sea and floated in their lifeboats until they were rescued minutes later by a pair of Navy helicopters. Menning also flew over the two before being forced to return to base due to fuel.
Telling about what happened, Purvis says that he and Tank still had a bowling match with the Grumman League scheduled for that very day. They were, even after the grave and accident: “Fortunately, none of us dropped the ball on our feet.”
As of 1974, the F-14 was in service with the US Navy. Years later it was acquired by the Iran, its only export customer, where it operates until today. In the United States, the Tomcat was retired in 2006, replaced by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Via F-14 Tomcat Association; The National Interest; Pete Purvis – Flickr
