My late father flew the F-4 Phantom for the USAF in Vietnam. Many times he flew into enemy territory over North Vietnam. His F-4 returned him back to his base safely each time. I am living proof as I was born in the late 1970's. Thank you for posting this.
I thank your father for the sacrifice he made serving our country and I’m happy he returned home safely but also saddened for all the men that did not make it home and for the children who lost their fathers. I have the greatest respect for all who served our country in war and in peace if it wasn’t for all the brave men and women who served to keep our country safe we may not have the freedom we have today or would not be here. Thank you all very much
@@bryanvandergriff194 Америка большая и сильная страна, а Вьетнам маленькая, бедная страна, так и ещё расположена с другой стороны земного шара. Вьетнам не нападал на Америку, потому как возможностей таких не имел. А вот вы американцы , прилетели и приплыли в чужую страну и стали всеми доступными средствами убивать жителей маленького Вьетнама. Вы это делали для защиты своей свободы ? Хотя вьетнамцы на вашу свободу никак не посягали. Ну и каких вы достигли успехов в этой бандитской войне? Наверное у вас стало больше свободы? Но нет, вьетнамцы, с небольшой помощью русских , выгнали вас американцев как паршивых гангстеров. Наверное в этом заключается ваша храбрость. Там вы героически убили миллионы людей , а сколько вьетнамцев стали инвалидами, и это ради вашей якобы безопасности, на которую никто не покушался. И каков результат? Тогда вы проиграли.
I was on catapult crew on Saratoga in the 70’s, loved F-4’s coming up for launch at night both afterburners kicked in and catapult sending them off deck, just beautiful seeing them go off deck.
@@ViperKeeper2070 I don't know for sure, but my guess was for comfort. They closed the canopies when we were doing final walk around checks, but they would open them then like a convertible car and hang their arms out in the breeze, just being cool I guess.
My dad flew the first F4H1 for McDonnell. Lost his life in 1959 during project "Top Flight". He had previously obtained an altitude over 96,000 ft. and saw the curvature of the earth.
I am 72 my older brother was 9 years older. When he got out of the air force in 65 he was hired onto the F4 project in St Louis. He took me to see em one day. Ill never forget the rows of brand new F4 lined up on the ramp. Years ago - who knows how many ive lost track of time - PBS had a show where all the musicians where ex military mostly vietnam pilots. Its was an awesome show. They had guys telling their stories then perform their songs. One pilot had named his F4 Sugar Babe and told of bombing runs on the Ho Chi Minh trail at night. He was hit by ground fire, the the shook violently and he headed for the gulf in hope of rescue. The plane kept flying hiwever and he made it to Da Nang where he found most of the tail missing! Amazing story and aircraft.
I PC the first F4J,J79 at Patuxent NAS IN THE 70S. GOT TO RIDE IN THE RIO SEAT MANY TIMES. RIP ADJAN ROBIN FARMER,AEAN DAVE DONOVAN, MY LEXINGTON PARK ROOMMATES WHO BOTH WERE KILLED WHEN I WENT TO NAS CUBI POINT, IN A PLANE CRASH INTO SOUTH MOUNTAIN.
My cousin flew 110 missions in the F4C in Vietnam in 1967 without ever touching foot in Vietnam itself. He flew out of Thailand. He was shot down twice but was able to land back in Thailand, once barely over the border. The missles would fly right next to him as he was dodging them. He won a veterans tour of Vietnam many years later and was able to finally see what he was flying over all those many years ago. I prayed hard for his safety every night that he was there flying his missions.
I was on Evia in May 2022 and actually saw one in flight over Nea Artaki. Never thought i would ever see one in actual flight. Same time the British Red Arrows practised right over the water in front of us at 8 in the morning.
I was an Avionics Technician at George AFB in the late '80s servicing the F-4E. I was awarded an incentive flight in one. It was absolutely the best ride of my life. The sound of the J-79s is unmistakable. While watching this video I could actually smell the JP-4 fumes.
I was a weapons mechanic at an alert facility in Galena AK. Nothing is more impressive than an actual alert scramble. This bird has the one thing new jets don't, it just looks mean.
@@s.porter8646 I am on number 3 and number 2 ginger... Its true what they say about them, they are screaming wild crazies.... My first one threw me out when we were 36 with a 10 year old and a 13 year old.. She got herself an 18 year short-ass lover who lived with his parents and rode a push-bike with no lights.. I was on the verge of becoming European Group Finance Director for 28 companies. She settled for $1k in full and final. He is disabled now with arthritis and can't work... She said he lives on cheap beer, and stinks, and she hates him. Schadenfreude? Moi ? Laugh my socks off...
I grew up around the F-4. My dad was an electronics tech rep for McDonnell in the 60’s and early 70’s. He was McDonnell’s rep when the F-4K was delivered to the Royal Navy at RNAS Yeovilton. We lived there for three years while dad was assigned to the RN. He was part of the team that broke the record for trans-Atlantic flight in the Daily Mail Air Race from the Empire State Bldg in NYC to the Post Office tower in London. Super exciting for me as an 11 year old! Loved the F-4!
My auntie was a P.A. to the base commander at yeovilton and lived in the village of illchester just up the road from RNAS, I used to have my holidays there as a boy and remember being in my aunties back garden which was on the flight path watching the phantoms and Blackburn buccaneers coming overhead, some of the best memories of my life and I am now 60.
My favorite and it really did look mean. I still remember the exhaust as 2 would take off and land over my hutch at CamRahn Bay Vietnam. Sometimes would ride to the base and stop at the end of runway to watch them.
My dad was a RAAF pilot flying for the USAF at Shaw airforce base and clocked up over 1000hrs in them. As a kid all I remember was the amazing sound they produced.
I was in the Marines in Vietnam in 1968 and spent part of my tour on top of Hill 327 overlooking Danang and Danang air base !! The F-4’s were my favorite jets and they flew around the clock. They were excellent combat close air support aircraft also. Thanks. Semper Fi, 1966-1970 🇺🇸🫡🙏🏻
My dad was a marine at dangang 68-69, growing up ,my mom and me lived near bases,,love these planes,,bad ass,,best sound,,last base was Patrick a.f,,they had harriers for a bit,,thanks for service
Hill 327! Yes. 3/1, 1970. Old French fort. Later Elephant Valley when 26th Marines left. F-4 still favorite aircraft. Nothing like seeing them run in on ground support. Semper Fi - 68-72.
I was on top of Hill 327 from October 1966 to June 1968. Extended my tour in fall of 1967, and got back to Hill 327 in January 1968, just in time for Tet offensive. I was MOS 3231 Radio Opr in C Battery 1st LAAMBn (Hawk Missles). From 327 we witnessed rocket attacks on the air base, almost always at night.
Close air support - I heard rumors of their coming back with leaves in the landing gear doors. From 327, could hear that whine often when the wind was right. Semper Fi, 1969 - 1971.
It's interesting these Greek F-4's don't have much for smoke out of their J-79's. I wonder if they are a upgraded engine because F-4's are usually pretty smokey.
My father was stationed in Frankfurt from 1974 to 1977. I recall fondly as a child that our family went to an air show at Ramstein at one point during that period. Phenomenal displays: I believe it was capped off by the Italian team, with a very low and fast aerial demonstration.
I worked on the F-4's camera systems at Korat Royal Thai AFB and Udorn Royal Thai AFB 1968-1971. We had a film developing system in a step-van made into a darkroom at the end of the runway. We would download cameras on the recovery pad, process the film in portable processors and deliver it to Operations before the pilots were out of their flight suits.
I was stationed at Wheelus Air Base, Tripoli, Libya in 1968-1969. This ended when the ignominious Col. Muammar Gaddafi staged his coup d'etat . Wheelus was the home of the 7272nd Fighter Training Squadron. F-100s and F-4s would come down from Europe for weapons training in the desert. I was living in the BOQ. Early every morning those aircraft would rattle the windows and shake the beds as they took off for a few house of training. I thought both of the aircraft were awe inspiring. The F-100 was sleek and beautiful. The F-4 was a beast. The base/wing commander was then-colonel Chappie James, a legendary fighter pilot and best bud of Vietnam ace Robin Olds. They became know as "Black man and Robin." Chappie faced down Gaddafi, both wearing pistols on their hips, at the main entrance to Wheelus. Asked later what would have happened if Gaddafi had reached for his pistol. Chappie replied: "It never would have cleared its holster." Chappie later rose to 4-star rank.
I grew up in St.Louis and our neighbor was an engineer at McDonell Aircraft. I said something about the black smoke trail they left behind and he replied, "Yeah, you can always tell it's an F-4, they look like a burning mattress."
That is the beauty of this aircraft's unique signature look. It is immediately recognized by many in the way its "grandfather" the gull wing F-4U Corsair has always been honored. Proud to have flown the Marine RF-4B at VMCJ-3.
Big, strong, powerful, and a multi-purpose aircraft. It's one of the best all-round fighter bombers. I know modern aircraft look amazing. But for me, the Phantom will always be number 1.
Used to see these fly over our home in southeastern KY 🇺🇸 when I was a kid! We always ran outside or to a window to see them. LEGEND. AWESOME. PHANTOMS PHOREVER! Thank you Dafydd for sharing the videos of these and other aircraft!
A grad student I went to school with in the Af during Vietnam told me he piloted these magnificent birds on many missions. He said after his Vietnam tour, to get him to stay in, they offered to have him fly C130s instead. He told them no thank you! It was like going from driving a Maserati to driving a bus!!
Wow brings back memories. The F4 was one of the aircraft I learned on in Naval Aviation maintenance College it has always been one of my favorites since I grew up on Air Force bases and got to sit in the cockpit and watch the Thunderbirds fly them during air shows it has been a Workhorse for the US Air Force and US Navy and has been a solid Dependable aircraft hats off to McDonnell Douglas a big high five
Probably out of Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro, NC, they were based there in the 70s and 80s, badass jet remember seeing Navy F-4s flying over the Outer Banks of North Carolina as a kid vacationing there in the 70s and 80s, they were out of NAS Oceana, Norfolk Va.
Watched these guys land on the south end of the runway at Scott AFB 50-55 years ago. They smoked like a chimney and howled like a wolf! Loved watching them. Beautiful design.
We used to go to the viewing area just outside of Lambert Field to watch the new McDonell Dougles F-4's take flight for the first time, on their way we thought, to Nam back in the 60's. The Phantom is what I always think of/envision when I hear "jet fighter".
11 yrs as an Electronic Warfare Officer. A lot with the 52nd TFW in Germany were the most fun years of my life. I tell young airmen that I would have given a million dollars for those experiences, but honestly I wouldn’t take a million dollars to do it again. Great war bird!
You'd Always hear Someone follow a comment like yours with "The Last Base you were at was Always the Best" because after you leave you forget all about the Looser's & $hit you had to deal with almost every Day. (46250 - Weapons Mechanic 1975 to 1981 )
i was a crew chief with the 36th over at Bitburg 1966-68. We almost had a party on the ramp when one of them came back OR. Engines usually started getting bad oil samples after a couple hundred hours and the electronics were always broke.
@@rickjones6567 Spang, Hann, and Bitburg NCO clubs took turns hosting Octoberfest. I only made one of them. I was in Wheelus, for the second and then I rotated back to the World.
We lived at Shaw AFB in the 70’s and in the evenings we would go to the end of the runway with our lawn chairs and watch the RF4C’s take off in tandem, afterburners lit what an awesome sight….
I was an Avionics Technician at DaNang in 1969-70. We had two squadron of F4E's and one squadron of F4d's. The E's were really new birds at that time and had the 20MM cannon in the nose. The F4 was a very versatile airplane and could be confirgured several ways. It was a tough airplane.
I was an Air Traffic Controller working at Danang RAPCON (Radar Approach Control), 1975th Communication Squadron in 1971. Because the RAPCON facility was located between the parallel runways 17 and 35. I enjoyed standing to look at F-4 taking and landing. Thank you for posting this VDO.
@@HienPham-bp4pdare you from Nam? yes, we would get rockets about twice a month, anywhere from 2-10, 1 night we had 53 between 1am to 5am, that'll keep you awake.
Stationed in Germany 1970 to 72, Army at a Nike Hercules air defense base. Got buzzed by a German Air Force F4 twice, didn't know he was coming until he got right over us and went vertical. What a sight and sound. GREAT aircraft.
@@timmotel5804 Ya it was a very different kind of deployment. We had a dozen nuk. warheads. We protected them , while the base was really a German Air defense base. If we ever had to launch them , our job was to arm them and the Germans would launch them. Very strange. The Russians we always around trying to take pictures and see what we had. Thanks for the kind comments.
My late great Dad was a USAF C-121 navigator. One day while stationed in the DC area circa 1966 or so before doing three tours overseas in 67-70, an F-4 pilot buddy offered him a check ride. According to family legend as told over the years by Mom, "almost as soon as he landed, your father called me on the phone and unleashed 5 straight minutes non-stop of happily excited cuss words I'd never heard him use before or since."
My dad piloted them for the U.S. Navy. He flew bombing missions over Vietnam in the F-4. He then went on to fly F-14s until 1980. At some point shortly before he retired from the Navy while stationed at China Lake NWC in Ridgecrest, CA, he was tasked with sitting in the F-4 while it was being flown remotely by someone on the ground, during the F-4 missile target drone conversion development. His job was to take the stick if anything went wrong with the remote control systems. Once during a flight the stick suddenly and without warning went full aft and pulled approximately 9 Gs without him being prepared for it. He had neck problems after that. He retired in 1985 and went to work as a civilian engineer at Michelson Lab at China Lake. He was project manager for the Sparrow and Sidewinder missile programs there.
As a kid in the 70’s my dad would take us to Lambert field in Stl on any given day. And we saw Air National guard phantoms take off and come back. The parachutes were awesome. We drove 2 hrs back then to just watch jets at the end of runway
I was a crew chief on fighters in the USAF from Aug. 1974-Aug. 1980. After basic and tech school I was sent to Holloman AFB in Jan. of 1975 and started learning how to be a crew chief on the F-4D Phantom jets at Holloman AFB Alamogordo NM. I was assigned to the 8th TFS. The Black Sheep. Before I left in Sept. of 1976 I had been promoted to Senior Airman in May of 1976 and was honored as the crew chief of the month of May. I went up on May 21 in F-4D 725 and we did 1.2 mach. at 34k feet. About 920 MPH. I was then sent to Osan AB S Korea where I crewed F-4E models from Sept. 2 1976-Aug. 30, 1977. I was awarded the USAF Commendation Medal for the year I served at Osan. The photo you see is me the day I went up. I lived out a little boys dream at that moment as I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was 7 years old. unfortunately bad eyesight at the age of 12 prevented me from being a fighter pilot. I have some pretty cool memories of my time in the USAF that also include the A-7D Corsair that I crewed from 1977-1980 with the Flying Tigers and the F-15 Eagle.
Being an Air Force Brat , I remember being on bases that had F-4s squads. The last base my father was stationed at, Homestead AFB, we had an F-4 that had 4 or was it 3 Mig Kills on it and 2 with with 2 kills on it. That plane was retired and ordered to the Air Force Academy after another F-4 with 3 was lost in a training accident. In 86, the F-4 started to be replace with F-16s. Still remember how loud they were and the smoke trails they left behind. Best 3rd Gen fighter ever made in my book. It could do everything.
Love them F-4’s. I worked on the last of the F-4’s two years before the manufacturing line shut down. I worked on the upper center fuselage section in 1978 at McDonnell Douglas in St.Louis. Years later I worked on the Flight Line and worked on the F-15 for the rest of my career we went on several road trips and when we was in Korea after they bought F-15’s I seen F-4’s there and they looked excellent they take very good care of their aircraft.
The Phantom has a special place in my heart. My Dad was a Rocket Engineer at Cape Canaveral from '56 to '76 and we lived just north of Patrick AFB in Cocoa Beach. When I was a teen boy we used to ride our bikes right up to the end of the runway and watch the mighty F4 Phantom II take off right over our heads. I had a model F4 hanging from my bedroom ceiling and was determined to become a fighter pilot. Unfortunately for me when I applied after H.S., in my first ROTC selection I found out I didn't have perfect 20-20 vision, which in those days was an instant DQ for jets. So off to Engineering College I went with the changed career path (a recently retired Aerospace Engineer with a large American defense contractor's Aero company). Fyi, the F4 held 52 world absolute speed, absolute altitude (98,000 feet), time to altitude and closed course speed records.
I worked on over 100 of theses planes in the late 1970S in Tulsa at McDonnell Douglas as they were rebuilding them for the military.They would come in on overhead cranes a real sight to see... Glenn
I was a crew chief on the RF-4C stationed at Shaw AFB, SC 1974-1979. My aircraft was 72 149. My pal, Catfish Flower crewed 72 152 beside my aircraft. Ours was the newest on the flight line. All the others there were 60 models. I didn't know if there were any F-4 still flying. I would love to see these in person. Thank you for this video. It brings back a lot of memories.
PHEW! Gave me goose bumps watching this!! Remember them fondly as I was stationed at Elmendorf in the early 70s. Woke me up in the barracks when they hit the afterburner, ha!! Best alarm clock in the world!! Man, miss those days!! !
The phantom, Buccaneer, Jaguar and Harrier were my favorite strike aircraft in the early 70’s. Was a bit annoyed when the Tornado came along but it grew on me too!
Add in the Lightning (and Jet Provost / Strikemaster) too, for the full 70's and 80's experience. At work with a bit of background machinery noise, you couldn't hear a Phantom approaching, but when it was 30' above the roof you soon knew about it. Not that ducking and swearing ever did much good.
I will never forget the first MCAS El Toro air show our dad took us to in 1966 and the experience of seeing F4s taking off, flying and landing along with all the other aircraft types. Fast forward many years later when my brother in law was an F4 Wild Weasel pilot in the Air Force, and he invited us to visit him at Victorville AFB and sit in the cockpit of his F4 on the flight line. I miss hearing the distinctive sound of those F4s up above.
Many Planes that are in Air Museums were delivered in flying condition, how ever part of the agreement of donation is that the aircraft will not deemed air worthy once in static display.
Homestead didn't have F4s in the early 60s. I was there from April 64 to Dec. 65, and we had F100s, of which I was one of the Crewchiefs. The USAF didn't even get the 1st F4C until mid 63.
@jimdavis6833 Yeah , You may be correct. We were in Homestead in 1962 , I was 5 years old then . I remember that we had an alligator in the yard . And the MP's drove over in a World War 11 Jeep with a trailer that had a barrel shaped cage for Mr. Gator , and took him to the swamp. We moved to Riverside CA , about 1963 .
My first base, Homestead AFB, had F4D's when I arrived. They were already in the process of upgrading to F16's. These jets have a very distinctive sound that is memorable.
I remember being at the FBO in Fresno California when they were launching those F-4 phantoms. So unbelievably loud, the building and windows were shaking. The sound of pure awesomeness, power. I will never forget.
F-4C,D and E Autopilot Tech in 3242n Avionics Maintenance Squadron at EGLIN AFB--- 1969-1972! Of course, we had other A/C: F-105's, F-100's, F-104's and ONE B-52, but the Phantom was and IS my favorite.
The Nebraska Air Guard flew RF-4C's for years. I loved listening to them take off! You could hear them from miles away! They are my favorite Jet fighter of all time!
I was F4. radar tech. 69-73 (5yrs) USAF. Ubon Thailand and England. Loved to hear the AB roar on the flight line! I'm 75.Thanks for the post. Phantoms phor ever!!
I remember seeing them used as target drones in the late 80's through early 2000's and getting choked up. Two of my best friends fathers were decorated pilots in Vietnam flying these rockets. No longer with us. The birds or their pilots. 😔
I was a weapons loader on this aircraft. She could carry everything in the air force inventory. Got bad knees due to spending half my time during a load on my knees. Love that, Bird.
@@johnnywood6408 sweet! 76-79 here We sure had some fun times in Beaufort 🙂 The guys before me would do burnouts in the hanger on their Triumphs. After we got off the carrier, I came back to oklahoma, bought a T160, and carried on the tradition 😁 Semper Fi!
This is a Beaufort reunion! I was in VMFA-115 and we had rotated back to the world as a squadron. We were your next door neighbors. Any other Beaufort guys remember when they filmed The Great Santini? Also a shout out to paulbranstine and the Grey Ghosts! that's who I was with prior to heading to Iwakuni in 76.
By far my most favorite aircraft of all times....and probably the loudest ones I've been around. I used to watch them fly in and out of Cannon AFB while growing up there. They and the F-111's
A quick search shows at least 65 F4's still in active service with air forces around the globe. They've been updated of course to be able to drop Paveway bombs, fire HARM anti-radar missiles and etc. But this video is not the last flying F4.
I used to like watching these F4’s fly in NATO exercises at 5 Wing Goose Bay, Labrador, in the mid 90’s. However the marking were of the Luftwaffe. Side by side take offs, always in pairs.
In 1976 a group of three flew over my house to celebrate the Bi-Centennial. We rarely ever saw any military aircraft fly over. The one flying in the center had an American flag attached to its tail fin. It was an awesome sight to see.
Oooh, i don't know why, i can't put my finger on it... but i just LOVED the Phantoms. I lived in Dorset for some years, i can remember them doing stall tests, guess from the Yeovilton Naval base. SO AWESOME. Great images Dafydd.
Such a glorius airplane. I lived the dream of seeing a couple dozen new F4's parked on the tarmac at RAF Alconbury, England in the early 1960's. Little did i know that many of those sparlkling new jets would fly in Vietnam. Pilots like Robin Olds took the took control of many of those very same aircraft and established air dominance over Vietnam during that war in the late 60's and early 70's. The employees of Mcdonnell Douglas, the builders of the F4 Phantom must be so proud of the success of this air dominance fighter/interceptor!
My dad was a jet engine mechanic in the air force during vietnam and i have multiple photos of him with these jets that he retrieved out of the jungle after getting shot down on salvage stands,What amazing aircrafts these where and the men who piloted and serviced them god bless the usa.....
