Menu
Adi Vines traces the history and whereabouts of the few remaining UK F-4 airframes.
Considering the restrictions imposed on the use of F-4 airframes once out of service, we should perhaps be thankful for the number of them that remain. But that is not the view of many enthusiasts, who have taken serious offence at both the fact that some historically important aircraft have been unsentimentally destroyed and the amount of bureaucratic wrangling that some owners have found themselves involved in…..
Rare and unusual press shots from the early days of the F-4K.
An unusual and rare recent donation to the British Phantom Aviation Group was a stack of photos that originally made up part of an official McDonnell Douglas press kit from 1966, featuring shots from the rollout ceremony of the F-4K at Lambert Field in St. Louis, USA. Supporter Andy Morris told us, “I obtained them around 1967 from my neighbour who was a freelance technical journalist and knew that I was mad about planes. I was 12 years old at that time….
Tony Clay, of the 74 Squadron Association, explains the procurement and delivery of the F-4J(UK).
Historically there are aircraft types that are synonymous with a particular unit. Spitfires of 19 Squadron, Lancasters of 617 Squadron or the Mosquitos of 633 Squadron. OK, so perhaps the last example might be pushing the boundaries a little bit, but the point still stands. The Phantom F-4J(UK), or just the ‘J’ as it became known to the air and ground crew, will always be inextricably linked to 74(F) Tiger Squadron, somewhat like the English Electric Lightning F.1 before it. So how did the RAF come to be operating this unique type? Tony Clay explains all…
Bob Daniels recalls the restoration of XV426, now on display at the City Of Norwich Aviation Museum.
Bob Daniels was a restoration volunteer at The Coltishall Cockpits Collection, back in the early 2000s. Here he recalls the arrival and subsequent preservation work performed on the cockpit section of FGR.2 XV426.
I got involved with Mick Jennings at Coltishall when he needed help with his F6 Lightning cockpit. He is a very persuasive man. I agreed but jokingly said it was on condition of getting a Phantom cockpit next…
