As the readership may be aware, we love us some Tomcats here at TWW, and we love us some 'purtiness, too. Well, here's one of the 'purtiest Tomcats you'll ever see... 'Vandy One' from VX-9, 'Vampires' as seen in 2002 or thereabouts. Actually, 'twas October 17th of that year, to be precise.
Back in the 1990s, after the Red Russkies threw in the towel and brought an end to the Cold War, there was alotta reorganizin' taking place in Uncle Sam's arsenal, and the US Navy lost alotta RONs. Among those losses were AIRTEVRON FOUR; VX-4 'Evaluators', which was consolidated with VX-5 'Vampires' to form a new Air Test and Evaluation Squadron, VX-9.
The new RON inherited the 'Vampires' name from VX-5, and though VX-4 was now gone, some of that squadron's traditions lived on, including the adornment of the skipper's jet, call sign 'Vandy One' ('Vandy' being short for VX-4's full call sign, 'Vanderbilt'), with an overall black paint job and a white Playboy Bunny on the tail. The call sign and black paint were preserved, but the Bunny's days were numbered. The punchy, cheeky little emblem was apparently too suggestive for those with egg on their covers and it soon fell prey to that load of utter horseshit known as political correctness. But, for a brief while in the early years of the new century, it would seem that somebody with a functioning brain and balls enough to tell the flags to take a long walk off a short pier decided to revive the Bunny for the F-14's final days with VX-9.
The result is what y'all see below - F-14D BuNo. 164604, the very last Tomcat to roll off'a the production line at Bethpage, NY. She served only with VX-9 and never touched down on a boat. Never fired her gun, either, apparently.
Anyhoo, enjoy, test, and evaluate, baby!
USAF photo by Staff Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo
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