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In the Claws of the Tomcat

...US Navy F-14 Tomcats in Air Combat against Iran and Iraq, 1987-2000, from Helion & Co, via Casemate

Title: In the Claws of the Tomcat
Author: Tom Cooper
Publisher: Helion & Company
ISBN: 978-1-913118-75-4

Number 29 in the Middle East @ War series from Helion Books and it takes one of my all-time favourite aircraft for the main subject, the F-14 Tomcat. A 72-page soft-cover book which follows the now usual format for the series. It examines the aircraft in use by the US Navy against aircraft from both Iran and Iraq over a number of years. Also interesting because certain aspects of their experiences remain secret, and presumably because the F-14 is a type that remains in use by the Iran to this day.
The book sets out how the F-14 was originally designed to combat Warsaw Pact bombers armed with cruise missiles, hence it was fitted with the long range AIM-54 Phoenix missile, along with the AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder. That war never happened and instead we get this story of their combat career, from early incidents with Libyan jets, and later incidents in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war and then against Iraq in the Gulf War. It tells of the aircraft they worked with, such as the E2 Hawkeye and EA-6 Prowler, as well as the enemy operated aircraft that included the F-I Mirage, the Mig-21, Mig-23, Mig-25, Mig-29 and perhaps one of the strangest they must have felt, the F-4 Phantom. There are accounts of missile successes and some failures, along with detail of the RWR equipment fitted to the enemy machines. Add a good selection of archive photos, maps and 7 pages of fine colour profiles plus various tables, such as a list of Iraqi military air bases.
I found this an interesting account with detail I hadn't been aware of before, and all around an aircraft I have liked since I first saw one fly at International Air Tattoo in 1976. Add the films 'The Final Countdown' and of course 'Top Gun', the Tomcat is perhaps one of the best known US Navy fighters of the Cold War era. Another interesting addition to this series of Middle East @ War series.
Thanks to Helion & Co and Casemate UK for our review copy.

Robin

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