Tomcat finale: the last ever carrier ops of the original F-14A model and why the Fighting Checkmates are the US Navy’s last and only fighter squadron

Tomcat finale: the last ever carrier ops of the original F-14A model and why the Fighting Checkmates are the US Navy’s last and only fighter squadron

By Dario Leone
May 21 2020
Share this article

VF-211 would make its final Tomcat trap and catapult launch on May 20, 2004 as USS Enterprise conducted local operations off Virginia. 

On Jun. 2, 2002, VF-211 Fighting Checkmates (tactical callsign NICKEL) switched from Pacific service with CVW-9 to CVW-1 and brought with them the last frontline F-14As flying in the US Navy. As explained by Mike Crutch in his book CVW: US Navy Carrier Air Wing Aircraft 1975-2015, the squadron would conduct just one cruise in USS Enterprise (CVN-65, and CVW-1’s assigned carrier from July 2002), over Aug. 28, 2003 through Feb. 29, 2004. VF-211 flew some 220 combat sorties during the cruise, mostly for IRAQI FREEDOM, though with some Afghanistan theatre taskings including Operation MOUNTAIN RESOLVE during November, a US Army division-level assault on Al Qa’ida/Taliban fighters in the north of the country.  However, the inability of the F-14A model to drop the weapon of choice for accuracy – the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) family – relegated the Tomcats to mostly TARPS and target designation roles.

Tomcat finale: the last ever carrier ops of the original F-14A model and why the Fighting Checkmates are the US Navy’s last and only fighter squadron

VF-211 would make its final Tomcat trap and catapult launch on May 20, 2004 as USS Enterprise conducted local operations off Virginia. The ‘Fighting Checkmates’ were the last squadron to operate the original F-14A model, which had entered fleet service in 1972.  VF-211’s move towards VFA status began in earnest soon after, and the last F-14As to serve (BuNos 161612, 162610, 158632, 161626 and 161297) departed Oceana on Sep. 13, 2004 and entered AMARC later that day.  NICKEL 103 (BuNo 158632) was the last to land in Arizona and therefore became the last F-14A to fly in US service.  

VF-211 embarked on the road to becoming a strike fighter squadron on Oct. 1 as they began F/A-18F conversion at Lemoore, and would become the first LANTFLT-assigned Super Hornet squadron. 

Tomcat finale: the last ever carrier ops of the original F-14A model and why the Fighting Checkmates are the US Navy’s last and only fighter squadron
NICKEL 100 F-14A 159428, the CAG bird of VF-211, operating off USS Enterprise in late 2003. The fin markings contain no less than four award markings – Battle ‘E’, ‘Clifton’, ‘Precision Strike Award’ and ‘Grand Slam’. Also note, under the tailcode, the ‘fast check’ , it having appeared on and off with VF-211 designs since the passing of its original owner VF-24 in 1996.

Mike Crutch also discovered an interesting mistake that’s been lost in history – and Pentagon paperwork – while writing volume one of his book. Although the CVW-1 command history states VF-211 became VFA-211 in October 2004, it seems that no one within the squadron, air wing or Fighter Wing, US Atlantic Fleet (FITWINGLANT) – the parent ‘type commander’ for fleet Tomcats – saw it as their job to formally re-designate the unit.  

F-14 print
This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS.F-14A Tomcat VF-211 Checkmates, AB101 / 161603 / 2004, Final Tomcat Cruise

Indeed, FITWINGLANT itself deactivated on Oct. 1, 2004 though the official paperwork for such was not promulgated until Jan. 27, 2005, at which point its list of remaining subordinate units (which were to be re-assigned with immediate effect to Strike Fighter Wing, US Atlantic Fleet) still included ‘FITRON 211’. This lack of paperwork – the lifeblood of the Pentagon – was acknowledged in OPNAV Instruction 5030-4G ‘Navy Aviation Squadron Lineage and Naval Aviation Command Insignia’ issued in April 2012, and gave the re-designation date as Aug. 1, 2006 even though no actual paperwork has been raised for that date either. To make matters worse, a double typographical error in a footnote makes two mentions of the oversight pertaining to VF-213 (not VF-211!) and this error is duplicated in the latest edition of ‘United States Naval Aviation 1910-2010’, published by the Naval History & Heritage Command. As a result of this oversight, the failed attempt at correction and the perpetuated error, the Fighting Checkmates to this day could technically claim themselves to be the US Navy’s last and only fighter squadron! Last year, thanks to this research, the squadron ordered some VF-211 patches to make the point…

CVW: US Navy Carrier Air Wing Aircraft 1975-2015 is available to order here.

F-14 model
This model is available in multiple sizes from AirModels – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS.

Photo credit: U.S. Navy


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.

Comments

  1. Somto Nwankwo says:

    👍

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.



    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