Last of flying F-4 Phantoms

[cherrypointmarine]

I've always said watching an F4 taking a cat shot at night is about the prettiest picture there is . I worked on EA-6B's but there was another Marine on board flying RF-4's . I can't remember if the R is right , they were photo recon birds . The Midway had a small deck compared to the new super carriers , so if you were up top when an F4 was catted off , it was quite the experience .

 

[Jlpgumbo]

I remember them screaming over the Tampa Bay area in the early to mid 70's flying out of MacDill AFB. Still makes me smile.

 

[hsguy]

A good friend of mine flew 105's then F4s, he much preferred the Thud for some reason.

 

[DWalt]

My last duty station in the Air Force was Bergstrom AFB TX, which had RF-4C reconnaissance birds. They were some of the last USAF F-4s flying at the time (89-90). Even then they were called "Texas Lawn Darts".

I worked two crashes with them while I was there. I did love hearing them take off.

I thought the F-4s at Bergstrom were Wild Weasels. Was at Bergstrom only once before it closed and was converted into being the Austin Airport. That was sometime in the mid-90s.

 

[Retired W4]

I've always said watching an F4 taking a cat shot at night is about the prettiest picture there is . I worked on EA-6B's but there was another Marine on board flying RF-4's . I can't remember if the R is right , they were photo recon birds . The Midway had a small deck compared to the new super carriers , so if you were up top when an F4 was catted off , it was quite the experience .

A very good friend of mine, Brian Craig who passed away a couple years ago was with the USMC RF-4's on the Midway. He would download the film when they got back from "the trail". Unarmed and unafraid.

 

[Truckman]

Man that brought back memories! I worked on F-4E's and G's at Spangdahlem AFB in Germany.

I got to Spang in '66 assigned to a load crew in the 9th TFS when the Wing was all F-105...Load 'em up, then load 'em down until you can do it in your sleep (which I sometimes did)...A boring job with too much spit and polish for me...

When word got around we would be transitioning to F-4's, I requested cross-training to Weapons Release (same AFSC 462) and was reassigned to the 349th MMS...Much better and more interesting work as I got to analyze and repair the problems that prevented the weapons system from working as it should...I suppose there's nothing more embarrassing for an aircrew than getting up to dogfight altitude, and finding out your trigger doesn't make any noise, and all those missiles and belts of 20MM HE are still hanging on your wings...

After separating at Holloman AFB in 1969 I never saw another F-4 until 2011 when I attended Wings Over Houston...Two dual-control F-4E's were unadvertised attractions that joined the party unannounced...I was standing at the taxiway (Eagle Squadron tickets are worth the money BTW) taking pics of old warbirds when I heard the unmistakable sound of two General Electric J-79's spooling up behind me...I almost broke my neck turning to look behind me, and my heart stopped when I saw not one but two F-4E's approaching on the taxiway...

I can't describe the thrill I felt at seeing 40 year old aircraft that I may have wrenched on still flying and showing off in the air...Both pilots were instructed to observe airshow rules and they only lit one afterburner each for takeoff, but the smoke show and the smell of burned JP-4 brought all the old memories back...Needless to say, it was a great Saturday for me......Ben

 

[Jeff423]

I've always said watching an F4 taking a cat shot at night is about the prettiest picture there is . I worked on EA-6B's but there was another Marine on board flying RF-4's . I can't remember if the R is right , they were photo recon birds . The Midway had a small deck compared to the new super carriers , so if you were up top when an F4 was catted off , it was quite the experience .

I worked on the flight deck of the Saratoga (CV60) in 1972 in WesPac. I seem to remember that F4's made a loud boom when they went full AB on the cat. My squadron had RA5C's that also used the J79.

 

[F4phantom]

I was up close and personal with them overseas in '72.

Then they shipped me to Shaw which was infested with them.

Afterburners at night is quite a sight.

Taken while on guard duty at Chu Lai. Our bunker was at the arresting cable shack/bunker on the runway. We were about 50 yards from the main runway. You could sleep through the F4's taking off after awhile. The ground shook but it didn't bother most of us. Oh the fun we had.

 

[SMSgt]

I was at Korat in '72 with some KC-135s. Lots of F-4s and F-105s. I was much more impressed with the -105's afterburner. Run up to power, split second of silence, then BOOM! Somewhere I have pics of both being refueled on my one refueling mission.

 

[Retired W4]

You guys that handled the weapons should recognize the little device at the 7 o'clock position of my keychain. The load was dropped somewhere in Afghanistan.