As many of us in the U.S. settle in to enjoy Thanksgiving with our family and friends, we thought what better way to help celebrate “Turkey Day” than with a slideshow of gorgeous images featuring an altogether different kind of turkey, the beloved and much-missed Grumman F-14 Tomcat. While the moniker ‘turkey’ is often synonymous with ‘failure’ when it comes to aircraft, this was anything but true for the F-14 which has enjoyed a remarkable career spanning four decades of military service in the USA, and still continues to fly elsewhere… The Tomcat apparently received the nickname ‘turkey’ because it mimicked the awkwardness of a turkey in flight when coming in to land aboard a carrier – waddling in the air with its wings spread, and flaps and undercarriage splayed out in uncomfortable inelegance. But of course, that all changed as soon as the Tomcat transitioned to fly with its wings tucked back for speed…
Here’s to the spirit of a remarkable aircraft and all those who served with them… HAPPY TURKEY DAY!
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Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.
After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.
Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.
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