In article , Ed Rasimus
wrote:

Another unique modern name is the F-14 Tomcat. Grumman has a long
history of building "cat" planes for the US Navy. This includes the
F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, F8F Bearcat, F9F Panther and
Cougar (Panther was straight wing, the Cougar was sweptwing), F10F
Jaguar, and the F11F Tiger. When the F-14 project began, the Deputy
Cheif of Naval Operations of Air, Tom Conolly, was responsible for
the project from the Navy. The F-14 project became known internally
as Tom's Cat. The name stuck, and the official name became the
Tomcat.

So, if Grumman has a long history of building "cat" named aircraft,
how then is Tomcat "unique"?

The process by which it was named was unique. It ended up with a
name that was essentially an inside joke, in an era where the DOD
normally controlls the names and tries to get political mileage
out of each name.

-john-

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John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
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