[ARCHIVED THREAD] - F4 Phantom (Page 5 of 5)
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Holy Shit!, I remember my dad showing me that picture at the base. He flew that plane (only one gunpod though). 
I'll have to ask him if they ever fired all the guns together, or if it was just mocked up to show it could be done (IIRC the latter- but will verify) Holy shit that looks bad-assed |
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I want to see an F4 fly. I need to get to an airshow... Might want to do it ASAP. I've been hearing that the AF may be cutting a lot of demos due to budget cuts. There is a decent looking one in a week and a half in Columbus, GA. That is only a 1.5 hour drive. |
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When I was a 21 year old kid I was a forward observer for an infantry company. Whenever we stepped into something we could not shoot our way out of we called in air support. Most of the time we were covered by F4s. A few times we were heavily outnumbered and the Phantoms kept them swept off us until we could make other arrangements.
My affection for F4s and the guys that flew them for me is beyond words. I was taking pictures of a Phantom making a bomb run off LZ Professional in July of 1969 when the guy driving the F4 followed the bombs in and never pulled up. Very sad for both them and the guys they were flying support for. |
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Quoted: I believe it was a common configuration in the 70's and 80's for air shows. I can remember seeing the same as a kid at an air show in Springfield Illinois. I have a book* with a picture of a Michigan ANG F-4 with 4 gunpods on it. The caption says that it is an airshow load of 'wall-to-wall SUU-23s' and that 2 pods was the maximum legal load. *McDonnell F-4 Phantom, Spirit in the Skies; by World Airpower Journal |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: As a side note, today I have seen in the air: T-6 ll, T-34, T-1, H-57, AV-8, C-40, big and small F-18s, T-39, C-130 with the buzzy props and a B-17. No airshow. Damn you have me beat. I flew/saw the OH58D, and saw 3 Chinooks in formation and a couple of Apaches milling about. Just F-22s and F-4s for me today.  We're in week 2 of a three week Red Flag. I've seen F-15C, F-15E, F-16, A-10, F-18 (both ours and some with 'roos on the side), C-17s, E-3, B-2, F-22, E-2, KC-10, EA-6B, AH-64, Tornado, etc... ETA: Oh, I should also mention that the T-Birds are practicing their routine daily. |
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What was the MO ANG flying in the late 80s to mid 90s? I remember fighters coming over our house and making all sorts of god-awful noise when I was a kid (they still fly over, although with a bit less noise now).
I remember seeing assorted fighters (not sure which ones), a few Chinooks, a 'stealth' (IIRC it was a F-117, although a B-2 makes more sense), and I swear that when I was about 4 or 5, we had a B-52 come over our house flying REALLY damn low (unless I've somehow imagined that whole event). My folks' house is in a training MOA for the MO ANG out of Lambert Field. They live out in the sticks (low population density). I worked at Hunter Engineering in Bridgeton, MO as an intern back in 2006, and we used to watch the F-15s take off and land regularly. Always a good waste of 5 or 10 minutes of work time. 
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The MOANG flew D's and E's in the '80's and early '90's. Got some beater F-15A's when they parked the F-4E's . (Along with a coup to rid the unit of "undesirables" and replace them with AFA buddies of the CO.)
Going through training at TWA in '89-'90-something, it was like an airshow at lunch. McD-D F-15's, F-18's, AV-8's doing production test flights, the STOL F-15 with canards, the MOANG F-4's and TWA flight 1, a 747-100 heading for HNL that used EVERY F'ING INCH OF RWY 30L... Heaven for airplane junkies. Gone now. Never to return...: 
TC |
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I remember seeing them when I was a kid in the ole F-4's |
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I was on an F4 (Wild Weasle) eject in Desert Storm. Good eject. Pretty cool experience. Were you the pilot or the EWO? F-4G "Wild Weasel" Phantom 69-7571 (Crashed/Destroyed) This F-4G Advanced Wild Weasel was from the 81st TFS, 52 TFW, Spangdahlem AB Germany (Tail Code 'SP') deployed to Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain and was one of the last F-4 units in operation. This was the only F-4G lost during Desert Storm. It crash landed at KKMC (FOL 1) due to fuel starvation after small arms hits punctured fuel tanks on January 18, 1991 [Gulf War 1991 Chronology By Easy Tartar]. Original reports stated it was a mechanical failure. It became the 7th US Combat Loss. Both crew members Capt Tim Burke (pilot) and Capt Jaun Galindez (EWO) ejected safely. Coming back from a target it missed the orbit of the tanker it was to refuel from. There was not enough fuel to fly past the tanker and then circle back to line up for refueling so the pilot decided to land at Al Kharj Airbase, Saudi Arabia. As luck [bad luck] would have it, heavy earth moving equipment had accidentally cut the runway landing lights and the base was covered in fog. The F-4G was right over the runway, but just couldn't see it. The crew made several landing attempts at KKMC, which was basically zero-zero at the time. On the 5th pass Capt Burke ran out of gas so the crew members [successfully] ejected and 69-7571 bellied in. After the crash SMSgt Beebe and the 2951 CLSS ABDR team assigned at KKMC stripped it and buried it in the desert. To this day a lot of speculation exists about the actual cause of the crash. But according to the Air Force Historical Research Agency report titled "USAF MANNED AIRCRAFT COMBAT LOSSES 1990-2002" the F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft was hit while flying against air defense sites in Iraq and as a result lost fuel. The two crew members were rescued because they ejected after returning over friendly territory. On Dec 3, 2009 Mike Gardner a pilot in the squadron during the war left a message on the Guestbook stating 69-7571 diverted out of the tanker tracks to the designated alternate airfield. The alternate was WXSOF. The aircrew made three attempts to find the runway but had to eject on short final when the jet ran out of gas. 
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I vaguely remember something about a Navy F-14 mistakenly taking out an AF F-4. Anyone know if that is true? True http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1293517_Navy_aviator_s_career_soars__pilot_he_downed_suffers.html |
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I was on an F4 (Wild Weasle) eject in Desert Storm. Good eject. Pretty cool experience. Were you the pilot or the EWO? Uh...couldn't this have been asked in an IM, rather than potentially splashing a member's name all over? Public knowledge is public knowledge. |
| More pics/details of the Weasel downing in Desert Storm - http://www.2951clss-gulfwar.com/abdr-f4.htm. My dad did time in the 81st too. |
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I was on an F4 (Wild Weasle) eject in Desert Storm. Good eject. Pretty cool experience. Were you the pilot or the EWO? F-4G "Wild Weasel" Phantom 69-7571 (Crashed/Destroyed) This F-4G Advanced Wild Weasel was from the 81st TFS, 52 TFW, Spangdahlem AB Germany (Tail Code 'SP') deployed to Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain and was one of the last F-4 units in operation. This was the only F-4G lost during Desert Storm. It crash landed at KKMC (FOL 1) due to fuel starvation after small arms hits punctured fuel tanks on January 18, 1991 [Gulf War 1991 Chronology By Easy Tartar]. Original reports stated it was a mechanical failure. It became the 7th US Combat Loss. Both crew members Capt Tim Burke (pilot) and Capt Jaun Galindez (EWO) ejected safely. Coming back from a target it missed the orbit of the tanker it was to refuel from. There was not enough fuel to fly past the tanker and then circle back to line up for refueling so the pilot decided to land at Al Kharj Airbase, Saudi Arabia. As luck [bad luck] would have it, heavy earth moving equipment had accidentally cut the runway landing lights and the base was covered in fog. The F-4G was right over the runway, but just couldn't see it. The crew made several landing attempts at KKMC, which was basically zero-zero at the time. On the 5th pass Capt Burke ran out of gas so the crew members [successfully] ejected and 69-7571 bellied in. After the crash SMSgt Beebe and the 2951 CLSS ABDR team assigned at KKMC stripped it and buried it in the desert. To this day a lot of speculation exists about the actual cause of the crash. But according to the Air Force Historical Research Agency report titled "USAF MANNED AIRCRAFT COMBAT LOSSES 1990-2002" the F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft was hit while flying against air defense sites in Iraq and as a result lost fuel. The two crew members were rescued because they ejected after returning over friendly territory. On Dec 3, 2009 Mike Gardner a pilot in the squadron during the war left a message on the Guestbook stating 69-7571 diverted out of the tanker tracks to the designated alternate airfield. The alternate was WXSOF. The aircrew made three attempts to find the runway but had to eject on short final when the jet ran out of gas. http://www.5053phantoms.com/photos/albums/userpics/normal_69-7571_4_USAF_SP_McGee.jpg http://www.2951clss-gulfwar.com/photo_gallery/var/albums/F-4-697571/697571_crash-youngblood-4.jpg?m=1323082511 http://www.5053phantoms.com/photos/albums/userpics/normal_69-7571_1_USAF_SP_McGee.jpg In the 3rd picture, I'm the one in the middle. Very heavy fog. I remember them saying they were only fifteen feet off the deck and could not locate the runway. Made a couple of passes then flamed out. The jet crashed only a couple hundred yards behind the terminal. Pilots were ok. It was on the first night of the air war. The funny thing is, one of guys wife called and asked what was happening. She said she's watching the shit hit the fan on the new. It's nice somebody told us. Lol. We stepped outside and heard the jets overhead. We decided we should probably head to our dispersal points. Same thing happened the next night to a Saudi Tornado. The last day of the air campaign, we lost an A-10 pilot from our home base. 
38 scuds were shot at our runway. Lived in our chem suits for a week without any showers. I won the pool and went 10 days without a shower. Yeah, I threw them drawers away. |
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When I was a young Army Aviator in Vietnam in mid-'72 I was stationed at the big Da Nang Airbase for a couple of months. Our hangers and revetments were down on the North end of the active runway and the Navy, Marines and Air Force were all using the F-4 as their primary fighter/bomber at the time. The place was a constant circus with planes taking off around the clock. Because the winds were primarily from the South, the planes would line-up and launch from our end of the runway. It's almost an orgasmic experience to stand there and watch those big engines wind up and blow the huge flame out the ass end as they hit afterburner and hear/feel the roar. There's nothing like raw military power and I spent a great deal of time down there watching them take off into the wild blue yonder. Needless to say, it's always been one of my favorite jet planes.
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Dad on the right. He had over 2000 hours in the Phantom. Notice the bad ass mustaches. Only the best Phantom pilots can rock one.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/168403_198056830207077_100000082838303_736390_768493_n.jpg I know both of those guys. Seriously? IM inbound |
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Sir, while I figured the connection long ago, at least I recognize the place. When I was in grade school we lived in Flourissant for a time. My father was in the Navy office there and he flew production aircraft a couple times a week. He was one of the first active duty USN pilots to fly an F4 back in the days before they decided to call it the Phantom. My parents live in Va. Beach now! 7zero1 out. |
| Like the plane, hated to work on it. Batter change was made for a pain lover and a contortionest. Rear cockpit on the floor on the right side but behind the rudder pedal carrage. I always wanted to find the damn engineer who spoke up and said " Batter, hell yeah...I got the perfect place for it". I grew up in Terrijon AFB Spain where my dad was stationed. F-4's all over the place. Best place to watch was at the rod and gun club right off the end of the runway. Wonder how I got into aircraft and guns? While the WW models were neat, the "E's" have always been my favorite. |
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When I was a young Army Aviator in Vietnam in mid-'72 I was stationed at the big Da Nang Airbase for a couple of months. Our hangers and revetments were down on the North end of the active runway and the Navy, Marines and Air Force were all using the F-4 as their primary fighter/bomber at the time. The place was a constant circus with planes taking off around the clock. Because the winds were primarily from the South, the planes would line-up and launch from our end of the runway. It's almost an orgasmic experience to stand there and watch those big engines wind up and blow the huge flame out the ass end as they hit afterburner and hear/feel the roar. There's nothing like raw military power and I spent a great deal of time down there watching them take off into the wild blue yonder. Needless to say, it's always been one of my favorite jet planes. This really brought back memories. I was at Korat, Thailand, working night shift and running the trim pad for F-4s since I was one of the few who was run qualified for full AB. If it was slow I would assist the guys from the other squadrons: F111As, A-7s and F105s. If you do a Google map satellite search for "Korat RTAFB Thailand", it will give a great picture of the current layout, which looks almost exactly the same ~40 years later. The planes typically launched from NE to SW. The trim pad is at the very SE end of the runway on the south side of the adjacent taxiway. Just NE of the "Korat" map marker are two large, empty areas. The first was filled with F105s and the second with two squadrons of Spectre C130 gunships; one squadron of A models and one of H models. While working the trim pad those birds would take off all night long, every night. Due to the heat and humidity in SEA, they were very heavy and used a lot of runway. They were still very low and close by the time they were adjacent to the trim pad. What a sight. . .nothing but flames and afterburners with the smell of JP-4. . .loved it. . .
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Quoted: Quoted: I was on an F4 (Wild Weasle) eject in Desert Storm. Good eject. Pretty cool experience. Were you the pilot or the EWO? F-4G "Wild Weasel" Phantom 69-7571 (Crashed/Destroyed) This F-4G Advanced Wild Weasel was from the 81st TFS, 52 TFW, Spangdahlem AB Germany (Tail Code 'SP') deployed to Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain and was one of the last F-4 units in operation. This was the only F-4G lost during Desert Storm. It crash landed at KKMC (FOL 1) due to fuel starvation after small arms hits punctured fuel tanks on January 18, 1991 [Gulf War 1991 Chronology By Easy Tartar]. Original reports stated it was a mechanical failure. It became the 7th US Combat Loss. Both crew members Capt Tim Burke (pilot) and Capt Jaun Galindez (EWO) ejected safely. Coming back from a target it missed the orbit of the tanker it was to refuel from. There was not enough fuel to fly past the tanker and then circle back to line up for refueling so the pilot decided to land at Al Kharj Airbase, Saudi Arabia. As luck [bad luck] would have it, heavy earth moving equipment had accidentally cut the runway landing lights and the base was covered in fog. The F-4G was right over the runway, but just couldn't see it. The crew made several landing attempts at KKMC, which was basically zero-zero at the time. On the 5th pass Capt Burke ran out of gas so the crew members [successfully] ejected and 69-7571 bellied in. After the crash SMSgt Beebe and the 2951 CLSS ABDR team assigned at KKMC stripped it and buried it in the desert. To this day a lot of speculation exists about the actual cause of the crash. But according to the Air Force Historical Research Agency report titled "USAF MANNED AIRCRAFT COMBAT LOSSES 1990-2002" the F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft was hit while flying against air defense sites in Iraq and as a result lost fuel. The two crew members were rescued because they ejected after returning over friendly territory. On Dec 3, 2009 Mike Gardner a pilot in the squadron during the war left a message on the Guestbook stating 69-7571 diverted out of the tanker tracks to the designated alternate airfield. The alternate was WXSOF. The aircrew made three attempts to find the runway but had to eject on short final when the jet ran out of gas. http://www.5053phantoms.com/photos/albums/userpics/normal_69-7571_4_USAF_SP_McGee.jpg http://www.2951clss-gulfwar.com/photo_gallery/var/albums/F-4-697571/697571_crash-youngblood-4.jpg?m=1323082511 http://www.5053phantoms.com/photos/albums/userpics/normal_69-7571_1_USAF_SP_McGee.jpg I am almost certain I worked on that tail number. Glad they ejected safely. ETA: Nope, not Blue Section (7023rd) |
