Where have all the Phantoms gone?

[RickH]

Ya'll lookin' for something like this ? No drone, the Collings Foundation F4D on her first phlight in her Robin Olds paint

[Critch]

We had F-4s at the St Louis Air Guard when I was there, I loved them. I was in the AMMO dump, but we sometimes helped the loaders, 462s, if they needed it. The F-15s we got in 1991 were older than the F-4s we had. We sent our F-4s to Turkey, they really appreciated them. When the F-4s arrived, the Turks put them on alert without even pre-flighting them.

[Nubber]

Ya'll lookin' for something like this ? No drone, the Collings Foundation F4D on her first phlight in her Robin Olds paint

If it were Robin Olds paint it would have the FG on the vertical stabilizer instead of the FP. He was assigned to the 8th Air Force 433TFS at Ubon RTAFB.

[jon_norstog]

Jon, McNamara's multi-service fighter dream was really the F-111. The F4 predated McNamara and while McNamara pressured the Air Force to utilize the F4 which was already in use by the USN and USMC, his real goal was to develop a new airframe capable of being used by all seervices. The Navy wisely decided not to play the F-111 game but it was a costly move for Vice Admiral Thomas Connolly the DCNO for Air Warfare who testified before Congress that the F-111 was not a suitable naval fighter aircraft. The nickname for the F14 (Tomcat) was a tribute to Connolly. Rick

Rick,

I stand corrected. Your msg cut through the fog, even I can remember now how McNamara was pushing the F-111. Thru the fog. Funny, the F-4 was siting there under his nose, and he went for the F-One-Murphy's Law-11. And in the end it was the F-4 that became the multi-service fighter. One big, ugly plane that could do it all.

I may have let the defense contractors and their journalist friends do a sales job on me WRT the F-22. That plane sounds so good, and it's less than a billion dollars a pop. Maybe what we need is something the size of an F-16 with the avionics and weapons systems of the F-22. According to Janes, the Chinese are working on something along those lines the Shenyang J-XX.

jn

[RickH]

Actually Nubber, Col Olds was Commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, and as such, could fly with any squadron within the wing that he wanted to. He was flying 63-7680 which was assigned to the 555th Squadron when Operation Bolo was flown. Robin Olds got a kill on 1/2/67 in 680 with Lt Clifton as the backseater.



680 was shot down on a later mission with another pilot flying it.

Robin Olds' other mount is at the NMUSAF it is 829 and was assigned to the 433rd.

[Nubber]

Actually Nubber, Col Olds was Commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, and as such, could fly with any squadron within the wing that he wanted to. He was flying 63-7680 which was assigned to the 555th Squadron when Operation Bolo was flown. Robin Olds got a kill on 1/2/67 in 680 with Lt Clifton as the backseater.



680 was shot down on a later mission with another pilot flying it.

Robin Olds' other mount is at the NMUSAF it is 829 and was assigned to the 433rd.

I was assigned to the 433TFS in 69 and turned wrenches on 829 if my old memory serves me. It was assigned to B Flight. Here is photo of me and 815.

[Bat Guano]

8 SPS, Ubon, 66-67. I remember F4s coming back from Bolo doing victory rolls. Plural.

The USAF museum at Wright-Pat has two specific aircraft that I worked around--an SR-71 and 829. Weird feeling to encounter some of your past in a museum.

[Hal O'Peridol]

He has lots-o-hours in an F-4 over SEA I believe.......including two more takeoffs than landings...

[RickH]

Did we get it right, Guano ? Does she look like one of your jets from back then?

[Nubber]

8 SPS, Ubon, 66-67. I remember F4s coming back from Bolo doing victory rolls. Plural.

The USAF museum at Wright-Pat has two specific aircraft that I worked around--an SR-71 and 829. Weird feeling to encounter some of your past in a museum.

I was stationed at Beal AFB in California from 67-69 on the SR71 with the 9thOMS and then went to McDill to train on F4's before going to Thailand. We have a Blackbird at the Air Museum in Richmond, VA. Yes it does feel funny walking around that aircraft and remembering Feb 67 when I got to Beal and saw it for first time.