USS Hornet (CVS-12)

Nope! That’s a TA-4.The subsequent photo is


This is the F-14

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On the flight deck:

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This F-5 played a Soviet "MIG-28" in the '80s Top Gun movie, thus the red star on the tail.


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Hey, can anyone here on BITOG identify this aircraft for me? ;)

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Propeller-driven T-28 Trojan trainer
Given the 😉 after the photo, I suspect you already knew. That’s an F-14A model, painted up in VF – 101 “Grim Reaper” colors.

I cannot see the bureau (Buno) number, which is on the engine nacelle under the horizontal stabilizer, but there’s a reasonably good chance that I flew that exact aircraft at some point when I was with the Grim Reapers.
 
Given the 😉 after the photo, I suspect you already knew. That’s an F-14A model, painted up in VF – 101 “Grim Reaper” colors.

I cannot see the bureau (Buno) number, which is on the engine nacelle under the horizontal stabilizer, but there’s a reasonably good chance that I flew that exact aircraft at some point when I was with the Grim Reapers.
Awesome! I wish I had taken a photo of that part of the aircraft so you could confirm. Perhaps I'll have to make another visit. We had a morning there, and I felt we could have easily spent a couple of days.
 
Awesome! I wish I had taken a photo of that part of the aircraft so you could confirm. Perhaps I'll have to make another visit. We had a morning there, and I felt we could have easily spent a couple of days.
From the Hornet Museum web page:

https://uss-hornet.org/exhibits/f-14a-tomcat/

The F-14 on display (BuNo 162689) was built in 1986 and served with several squadrons: VF-14, VF-41 and VF-101. During Desert Storm, as a part of VF-41, it lead the first strike against Iraq from the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). In April 2002, 162689 was retired and delivered to the USS Hornet Museum from VF-101.

I flew that aircraft on a 2.4 hour night carrier qualification mission on 4 March, 1996 with LT Bergstrom from VF-14. I had four catapult launches and four arrested landings on CVN-74, the USS John C. Stennis. Shown here is the page from my logbook, and the mission is the 3rd line down.

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From the Hornet Museum web page:

https://uss-hornet.org/exhibits/f-14a-tomcat/

The F-14 on display (BuNo 162689) was built in 1986 and served with several squadrons: VF-14, VF-41 and VF-101. During Desert Storm, as a part of VF-41, it lead the first strike against Iraq from the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). In April 2002, 162689 was retired and delivered to the USS Hornet Museum from VF-101.

I flew that aircraft on a 2.4 hour night carrier qualification mission on 4 March, 1996 with LT Bergstrom from VF-14. I had four catapult launches and four arrested landings on CVN-74, the USS John C. Stennis. Shown here is the page from my logbook, and the mission is the 3rd line down.

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Sweet! You flew E6's, too! Growing up in the area of AFS Whidbey Island, I got to experience some of those up close and flying super low altitude. I also got buzzed by one while traveling over the Columbia River bridge on I-90 at Quincy, WA. About soiled my pants over that one it was so loud and unexpected. They would do training flights through the Columbia River gorge.
 
Sweet! You flew E6's, too! Growing up in the area of AFS Whidbey Island, I got to experience some of those up close and flying super low altitude. I also got buzzed by one while traveling over the Columbia River bridge on I-90 at Quincy, WA. About soiled my pants over that one it was so loud and unexpected. They would do training flights through the Columbia River gorge.
I was very fortunate in that. I got to fly a lot of different aircraft while I was on the air wing staff.

I flew the F-14 (most of the time) and was qualified in the F/A-18C, and the E-2C.

In addition, I flew the S-3 Viking, the HH-60 helicopter and the EA-6B Prowler, though to be fair, I was ECMO 1 in the Prowler right seat, and didn’t have flight controls.
 
I was very fortunate in that. I got to fly a lot of different aircraft while I was on the air wing staff.

I flew the F-14 (most of the time) and was qualified in the F/A-18C, and the E-2C.

In addition, I flew the S-3 Viking, the HH-60 helicopter and the EA-6B Prowler, though to be fair, I was ECMO 1 in the Prowler right seat, and didn’t have flight controls.
You flew helicopter too? That is awesome!
 
You flew helicopter too? That is awesome!
I had a great time during that tour, and flying the helicopter with LT Jeff Scarritt and HS-9 was a particularly cool experience.

The mission (Search and rescue) was too serious when flying off the carrier to put unqualified jet guy like me in the left seat, but flying around the desert in Fallon, we met the crew requirements, and I got to do it a couple of times.
 
Seeing these Essex class carriers takes me back to the late 60s when I served aboard her. I was one of the lads here:View attachment 272174
I love this photo - I was in Grade 6, and this was the first spaceflight I followed closely. My youngest granddaughter's birthday is October 22, so she's my "Apollo 7" baby.

The crests of the Hornet's (CVS-12's) sister ships are displayed on a wall of the hanger deck. (These are not all of them.) Included here is the Essex's crest (CVS-9):
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We have the USS Yorktown here in Charleston harbor, and its awesome. Sister ship to original post.

Good pics!

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The pic below refers to the original USS Yorktown carrier, CV-5. It was badly damaged during the Battle of Coral Sea, hastily repaired at Pearl Harbor, then sunk at the Battle of Midway. The 2nd Yorktown carrier CV-10 was originally named Bonhomme Richard, but was renamed after the Midway battle to Yorktown.
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Any visit to Charleston SC should include a visit to the Yorktown.

Thanks for looking!
 
esRv9Ho.jpeg


Uw48bWK.jpeg


Y7pLJPc.jpeg


Qcz8N7S.jpeg


etMFLuH.jpeg



The pic below refers to the original USS Yorktown carrier, CV-5. It was badly damaged during the Battle of Coral Sea, hastily repaired at Pearl Harbor, then sunk at the Battle of Midway. The 2nd Yorktown carrier CV-10 was originally named Bonhomme Richard, but was renamed after the Midway battle to Yorktown.
9RzNouR.jpeg


Any visit to Charleston SC should include a visit to the Yorktown.

Thanks for looking!
I visited the Yorktown with my sons several years ago and it was an excellent experience.

As strange as it sounds, my strongest memory of the visit is the odor. As soon as I stepped aboard, I could smell that wonderful elixir of JP, NSFO, hydraulic fluid, salt air, sweat and a hundred other things. It brought back wonderful memories. After all the years of inactivity, she still smelled like an aircraft carrier. And that pleased me greatly!
 
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