Regular reader Dave gave me this heads-up. After 50 years of service, the last McDonnell/Douglas F4-Phantom in the US inventory will be retired in Alamagordo today. It is still in service in allied countries but the US will not be flying it.
It was THE cold-war workhorse aircraft for the AF, even though it started out as a Navy platform.
Shortly after I joined the Georgia Air Guard in 1980, we got a squadron of F-4's at Dobbins.....one of them is pictured here.
As a weapons loader, working under that plane was the worst job in the AF, but it was an honor to work on an airplane that served the US military for so long.
3 comments:
"Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built. This extensive run makes it the second most-produced Western jet fighter, behind the F-86 Sabre at just under 10,000 examples."
source: http://www.aviationspectator.com/resources/aircraft-profiles/f-4-phantom-ii-aircraft-profile
I started my loading career under the F-105 Wild Weasel and finished up with the F-15 A/B models.
Ed, the more I think about this milestone, the more it sinks in. Thanks for posting this.
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