10. Photo Reconnaissance Tomcats

There was an RF-4 and an RF-8, but no RF-14. And yet the F-14 performed photo reconnaissance missions like its predecessors with the Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS).

On this episode, former #f14tomcat RIOs “Rooter” Root and “Santa” Noel join “Kodak” Tennyson, a TARPS technical expert, to describe this dynamic mission and the massive pod that made it possible.

0:00 INTRO
2:37 Guest History
16:05 What is TARPS?
28:04 How Rooter was selected for the TARPS mission
34:07 How much training Santa got for TARPS
36:03 How did you prepare for a TARPS flight?
39:19 Digital TARPS
48:57 Soviet ship TARP missions story
55:26 Photographing process
59:36 Are these cameras reliable?
1:03:19 How was the intel used?
1:06:42 Derbies
1:12:01 TARPS CD
1:14:50 Stories
1:21:55 OUTRO

[Whatifmopars]

I served with Kodak and Rooter in VF-211. Good to see them...

[DPasadena]

The camo cat basket video was awesome. Thank you. Also, the cans on the flightline story was to die for. Will be sorry when this series wraps. Long live the big fighter!

[mandyfox]

I'd love to see episodes of each F 14 Squadron where we here the history of each Squadron along with what missions they flew that be cool ❤

[kayakutah]

I was in VFP-63 and then went to VF-114. I was pretty happy to say goodbye to the photo mission!

[jaysonpida]

When the F-15E production was approved by congress in the mid 80s, a percentage of the airframes were going to be RF-15Es. McDonald Douglas had sent to us in the RF-4 world the approved schematics and capabilities of a RF-15E. TARPS was part of the package as it was going to be eventually upgraded/changed to fully digitized sensors (we're talking late 80s here) that would have satellite & air-to-ground immediate data-link abilities along with integrating that 'next-gen', ground mapping radar of the mud hen with the data. All of this data would be able to be manipulated -mixed -prioritized by the WSO before being transmitted (or stored). AND the F-15 would retain it air-to-ground & air-to-air capabilities.
Needless to say all of us stained & grizzled RF-4 crews were salivating over this...
BUT congress does what congress does and shredded the contract (it was not MD or the Air Forces' fault...) by drastically reducing the amount of F-15Es to be bought > a new air-to-ground airframe was the >priority< so the RF-15Es were cancelled.
So the TARPS (without it digital upgrade I presume) became solely a Navy asset.

[davidsmith]

I can't believe that they put them in the holding pattern after a 7 hour mission!

[oldgoat]

I was assigned to VF-142 aboard the Ike from '83 to '86. The guys from VF-143 flew the TARPS missions, (Peeping Toms, which was a really cool patch I could never get my hands on, along with another patch, The Beirut-Damascus Highway Patrol). When I was reassigned to the VAST shop in the IMD aboard Ike, I had the chance to work on TARPS gear. We didn't see a lot of it so it seemed to me to be a pretty reliable piece of gear.

[dougstitt]

The Fu break that is funny. Good stuff . Thanks Bio Santa Crunch Kodak Rooter

[edwardhickey]

The KS 87 is like a big 35 mm with 5 inch film it shoots 6 frames per second.

[AvengerII]

I was under the mistaken impression that only F-14A models and D-models (ALL frontline D's) were wired for TARPs.
Apparently, they did wire select B-models for the TARPs recon pods. The books (all pre-1995; I kick myself for not getting George Hall's last book on the F-14; it's a collector's item now) I've read never mentioned B-model mods for TARPs or it was something that was done mid-1990s like the additional B-model conversions of 13-18 more A-models?
There's an article posted on The Aviation Geek Club about an F-14B TARPs plane that shot a photo of a bomb it dropped with the pod system! Yes, they were carrying the TARPs pod AND GBU-12 bombs on the same plane!!!!

[AvengerII]

I'm positive they had RA-5s in the movie "The Final Countdown." They filmed that movie in 1979.
It's also possible although I don't remember this to be fact that there were RF-8s in the movie as well.
(For that matter, DID they ever deploy RA-5s and RF-8s on the same carrier?!?)
They did have A-7s, A-6s, and KA-6Ds in the movie for sure!

Also, as far as I can recall from my reading, there was never any mention of F-14 B-models being wired for TARPs. It seems to be that the TARPs F-14s were 40-50 modified A-models and all D-models deployed to frontline; that's less than 100 F-14s that were TARPs-capable. Those TARPs A-models must have been some of the hardest worked F-14s because they had to have been passed between squadrons just like they transferred the Phoenix missiles between carriers on deployments!

[LRRPFco]

Was wondering if any of you were in VF-102 in 1984 when BuNo 161283 fell off the #3 elevator of USS America.

[IkeTheDog]

Hey y’all i got a question. I’m building a model of the f14, and the instructions indicate to place a TARPS pod and 2 other missiles on each side. Simple enough. But I really want to, for some reason, add more. Would it be realistic to place bombs on the front 2 pallets with the TARPS pod behind it? Specifically a GBU Paveway 12/16, the AIM 54C phoenix, any ordnance at all. Thanks.

[geos]

I was one of the I-level TARPS techs at NAS Miramar between 1991 - 1997. Was a TARPS instructor at Miramar & Oceana (when Miramar closed). Want to talk more about it? Let me know!

[christopherbehne]

Pretty sure VF-41 lost a pod. I was in their hangar sometime after the 95 med and they had photos of crash with a pod on the jet.

[MK]

PCMCIA = People Can't Memorise Computer Industry Acronyms anymore. 😁