VF-74 Be-Devilers F-14A+

This skin is designed for The Mirage Factory F-14B Tomcat.

The contained paint scheme is representative of the Be-Devilers shortly after they received the F-14A+ Tomcat, roughly around the 1988 timeframe. Looking at pictures of the Be-Devilers Turkeys from 1988-1991, I found the birds to be consistently painted in a lighter grey, which I found was similar to Dave's VF-41 MiG killers, so giving credit where it's due: I used his skin as the starting point. VF-74's Tomcats, during this timeframe, were very lo-viz; A/C #101 would eventually wear a red lightning bolt later on (and the Olympic rings during ODS). I also made the F110 "turkey feathers" a bit shinier, as the majority of the pictures I've seen of VF-74's F-14A+'s between 1988 and 1990 have pretty darn shiny feathers.

VF-74 Be-Devilers were one of the later squadrons to receive the Tomcat, beginning transition from the F-4S in 1983. Aboard the USS Saratoga, VF-74 gained notoriety when their aircraft were assigned to force down a hijacked Egypt Air Boeing 737 in 1985 (this incident inspiring a similar scene in the movie Executive Decision). In 1988, VF-74 and VF-103 received the F-14A-Plus Tomcat, and flew these aircraft during Operation Desert Storm. Following the Navy's decision to draw down their Tomcat fleet (going from two squadrons to one per carrier) VF-74 wound up shore-side, directly under the command of COMFITWINGLANT, while their sister squadron (VF-103 Sluggers), whose Tomcats were equipped with TARPS, continued to go on cruise. The Be-Devilers became an aggressor squadron starting in 1993, flying against both Navy and Air Force blue forces during exercises and training. The following year, the Be-Devilers made one last cruise before being disestablished on 30 April, 1994.

I was able to find 10 of the aircraft which served with VF-74 in the late 1980s-ODS. (Thanks also to EricJ for assistance here). Aircraft found herein:

162925 AA100

162919 AA101

161434 AA102

162923 AA103

162924 AA104

163221 AA105

161435 AA106

161432 AA107

161870 AA110

163408 AA111

Install Instructions:

Open your Strike Fighters 2 Mod Folder

Drag the "Objects" file from VF-74 archive into the base mod folder (e.g. StrikeFighters2 Europe). I have the folder set up so it should go to the right place. If you don't trust that, navigate through Objects->Aircraft->F-14B and drag the VF74 folder into the aircraft folder. Then, go back, get to decals, and drop the VF74 decal file into your F-14B Decal folder.

Texture Set is:

[TextureSetxxx]

Directory=VF74

Name=VF-74 Be-Devilers

Nation=USN

Squadron=VF-74

Specular=0.200000

Glossiness=0.350000

Reflection=0.000000

Good Hunting...Always, Baby!