The Tomcat was big b/c the AIM-54A was not a solid fuel missle like the AIM-7 and AIM-9. The AIM-54A was liquid fueled. Because of the corrosive and volitale fuel mixture the F-14 carriered the fuel (oxidizer and combustor) w/in the fuselage and pumped it into the missle B4 launch. The later AIM-54C was a solid rocket.
This is the reason for the size of the F-14 on the limited space of an aircraft carrier.
|