What the hell is this?

[Tequila Sunrise]

not the F-14 but the aircraft parked on deck behind it

[Crumbso]

I'd say a goshawk if it weren't for that wierd tail.

[Iroquois]

Is it a Panther? Looks like one because the Panther has a single engine (photo looks like it does) and has a similar tail.

[Blade]

Its a Panther. I think the Navy used them as trainers after the Korean War.

[Felix/FFDS]

I'd guess (70% confidence factor) T-2 Buckeyes.

Goshawks weren't even started to be developed until 1978, and first flight of a BAe Hawk was in August '74.  Date on the newspaper is March...

[denishc]

 They might be the navalized version of the Lockheed T-33, I believe they were called "SeaStars".

[Tequila Sunrise]

thought it might have been a seastar, but I've never seen one before, also thought it might have been a Cougar but the rear seat isn't raised at all

[Felix/FFDS]

My nod on the T-2 over the TV-1/Seastar is the canopy shape. ...  The Seastar had a bubble single piece canopy, vs the T-2's framed double canopy ...   What's also throwing me off is the apparent darker color scheme of the planes.

[Ivan]

buckeye has more pronounced underbelly engines IE: it's sitting on them

[Felix/FFDS]

I tend to agree with  you, although it depends on the viewing angle at times...

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/t-2-147442.jpg

What looks like the engine exhaust at the rear seems to me to be one of the deck crew blurred in the background....  That's why I'm not 100% confident...  the empennage shape also appears to show a mid-mouinted horizontal stabilizer...

buckeye has more pronounced underbelly engines IE: it's sitting on them

[Crumbso]

I think you may be right. In my opinion it is a buckeye.

[Oso]

That reminds me of an odd incedent that happened in the early 70's.

There was a photographer (probably a civvie) on one of the old carriers (Midway? Forest Fire? Can't remember which). Anyway, he was taking pictures of the jets being shot from the cat and got one of those Darwin ideas.

He got down onto the nets just under the end of the launch deck so he could get a shot real close of the belly of a jet as it launched.

If you watch, the tail of the jets drops down as she comes off the deck.

They recovered the camera and amazingly, got some great shots.

[Tequila Sunrise]

LMAO, what a dumbass

[denishc]

 I have to disagree with those who say the aircraft in the background are North American T-2 Buckeyes.
 The tail fillet on the Buckeye is angluar and straight while the tail fillet on the SeaStar is rounded and curved.  The aircraft in the photo clearly have a curved tail fillet.  That would make the them SeaStars.
 Also what looks like canopy framing between the front and rear seats is probably the front seat's back.

 These aircraft probably belong to a Navy composite squadron, that would explain their dark color scheme.  Its hard to believe the US Navy was still flying SeaStars as late as 1974!  But in a composite squadron it may have been possible.  

[Hagar]

I've studied that photo long & hard. The shape of the fin (vertical stab) & rudder fooled me for a long time. I then realised that the rudder & top of the fin are a different colour (white or yellow) to the rest of the aircraft. I've come to the conclusion that Orenda & Blade are on the right track. Here's a photo of the F9F-8T/TF-9J Cougar with an enhanced & mirrored blowup of the original photo below it.




According to some sources the TF-9J was officially retired from USN service in February 1974. I'm not sure how accurate this information is. http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/f9_13.html

The two-seat TF-9J continued to serve with the Navy long after its single-seat relatives had been retired to the boneyards. The last squadron to use the TF-9J was VT-4, which finally relinquished its last TF-9J in February 1974