Legendary fighter plane on display at Depot-F-14September 09, 2008
TOBYHANNA — A F-14 Tomcat recently joined the ranks of military exhibits along Hap Arnold Boulevard at Tobyhanna Army Depot.
The Navy fighter aircraft is armed with Sidewinder missiles that are maintained at Tobyhanna. This aircraft was the last to leave the naval fleet.
The F-14 is a carrier-based aircraft, entered the U.S. Navy inventory in 1972 and retired in September 1996. The fighter was placed on display last month and is on loan to Tobyhanna from the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Fla.
"Tobyhanna maintained the guidance and control systems for the AIM-7 Sparrow and the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile," said Robert Lamanna, adding that the depot still works on the Sidewinder.
Employees also maintain the APX-72 Identification Friend or Foe Transponder, KY-58 Communications Security and Airborne Radio Communications radios, he added.
Lamanna is a former Navy pilot and was instrumental in bringing the F-14 here. He is also the chief of the Business Management Division.
Unique to this Tomcat is the Skull and Cross Bones insignia that was adopted by Fighter Squadron 84 in the 1950s.
The squadron was later nicknamed the "Jolly Rogers."
Tobyhanna Army Depot is the Defense Department's largest center for the repair, overhaul and fabrication of a wide variety of electronics systems and components, from tactical field radios to ground terminals for the defense satellite communications network.
Tobyhanna's missions support all branches of the Armed Forces.
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