"Sweet Little Miss", the last Tomcat to land on an aircraft carrier, has found a new home

“Sweet Little Miss”, the last Tomcat to land on an aircraft carrier, has found a new home

By Dario Leone
Oct 25 2018
Share this article

On Oct. 17, 2018 “Sweet Little Miss” has arrived at its new home at the Museum of Flight in Rome, Georgia

On Oct. 17, 2018 Grumman F-14D BuNo 164346 “Sweet Little Miss” has arrived at its new home at the Museum of Flight in Rome, Georgia. This jet is the last Tomcat to land on an aircraft carrier.

On Jul. 28, 2006 in fact F-14D 164346 then assigned to the “Tomcatters” of Fighter Squadron Three One (VF-31) and piloted by Lieutenant Chris Rattigan and Lieutenant Paul Dort completed the last scheduled arrested landing of an F-14 fighter aircraft landing aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the Atlantic Ocean.

The F-14 was officially retired on Sept. 22 2006, after 32 years of service to the fleet."Sweet Little Miss", the last Tomcat to land on an aircraft carrier, has found a new home

As we have previously reported, the Museum of Flight has been given the extremely unique opportunity by the National Naval Aviation Museum to host and display Georgia’s only Tomcat, a living relic that tells the story of brave men and women who have flown and fought in the mighty F-14.

The F-14 Tomcat was the premier fighter aircraft for the U.S. Navy, from the end of the Vietnam War to 2006. The fighter was glorified on the big screen in movies like The Final Countdown and Top Gun and regarded by its pilots and aircraft engineers as the best aircraft of its time. But when F-14s were retired from service, there was concern that Iran would begin to acquire the spare parts through the black market as the U.S. Navy Tomcats were being demilitarized. The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) in fact still flies several of the F-14s that the U.S. sold to Iran in the 70s when the countries were still on good terms.

"Sweet Little Miss", the last Tomcat to land on an aircraft carrier, has found a new home

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. F-14D Tomcat VF-31 Tomcatters, AJ110 / 164346 “Sweet Little Miss” – The Last Tomcat Trap

The Department of Defense began destroying the planes and their parts as a result, and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon drafted the Stop Arming Iran Act in 2008 to prohibit the sale of any parts to any entity other than museums.

Museums are now the only place where the F-14 survives, and are the best places to celebrate this unique fighter.

BuNo 164346 was delivered to the Evaluators of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX-4) in 1992 and before ending its career serving with VF-31, it flew with the Grim Reapers of VF-101 and the Bounty Hunters of VF-2. BuNo 164346 flew combat missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom."Sweet Little Miss", the last Tomcat to land on an aircraft carrier, has found a new home

Photo credit: Museum of Flight and Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Laird / U.S. Navy

Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

Error: Contact form not found.


Share this article
Back to top
My Agile Privacy
This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

List of some possible advertising permissions:

You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices