F-14 Tomcat Top Gun History

In the late 1960s, the U.S. Navy needed a fleet defense interceptor that could defeat Soviet bombers long before they threatened the carrier group. The answer was the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. First flown in 1970 and entering service in 1974, the Tomcat was a revolution with its variable-sweep wings for both slow carrier landings and Mach 2.3+ intercepts, and its powerful AWG-9 radar that could track 24 targets at over 100 miles and fire the AIM-54 Phoenix missile. With a ceiling above 77,350 feet and unmatched presence, it became arguably the most iconic Navy fighter of all time.

Our jet, F-14A BuNo 160665, holds a special place in that legacy. Delivered in 1978, ‘665 was the very first Tomcat delivered to the famed VF-51 Screaming Eagles at NAS Miramar, the home of TOPGUN. For seven years she served as a frontline Cold War fighter before being pulled from the squadron in 1985 for Hollywood.

Wearing the movie's fictional 'VF-1 Screaming Eagles' insignia, ‘665 became the main hero aircraft for the film *Top Gun*. She was Maverick and Goose's jet, with their names stenciled on the canopy rail, and also flew as Cougar and Merlin's jet. Out of all Tomcats used in filming, ‘665 received the most screen time. She is the jet that performed the famous inverted scene with the MiG-28, featured in Jester and Viper's dogfights with Maverick, the Hop 31 scene, and the legendary tower flyby - a scene Top Gun Flight Lead LCDR. Lloyd "Bozo" Abel has testified was flown by ‘665.

After filming, ‘665 returned to distinguished service with VF-51 and later VF-101 Grim Reapers before being retired on September 17th, 1997 and scrapped shortly after. In 2025 we sourced original panels from BuNo 160665, and in 2026 transformed them into TransportTags to preserve this piece of legendary U.S. Navy and film history for collectors worldwide.

 

 

 

TransportTags is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by Northrop Grumman, the U.S. Navy, Dept. of Defense, Paramount Pictures, Skydance, or Top Gun or its affiliates. GRUMMAN®, F-14®, TOMCAT®, TOP GUN® and all related names, insignia, and markings are trademarks of their respective owners and are used solely for historical identification and factual reference to describe the provenance of the material under nominative fair use principles of the Lanham Act.