Turkey retires first squadron of F-4 Phantoms

Flightglobal ^ | 12 May 2009 | Tolga Ozbek

[A.A. Cunningham]

Turkey retires first squadron of F-4 Phantoms

By Tolga Ozbek

Turkey has disbanded its first squadron of McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom strike aircraft, under a transition plan leading to its future operation of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The Turkish air force's 172nd Sqn, based in Malatya Erhac, had flown the F-4E for more than 32 years. It is planned to reform in 2014 following first deliveries of the JSF. Ankara expects to receive its first two F-35s that year, although these will first be used at a training centre in the USA. The air force's first conventional take-off and landing F-35As should arrive in Turkey in 2015, with the nation planning to buy 100 of the aircraft.

The 172nd Sqn retirement leaves Turkey with five Phantom units, including the 112th Sqn at Eskisehir, which operates "classic" F-4Es introduced from 1974. Two squadrons fly F-4E 2020 "Terminator" bombers, which were upgraded in the late 1990s in co-operation with Israel Aerospace Industries. The air force also has two squadrons of RF-4 reconnaissance aircraft.

[A.A. Cunningham]

© Tolga Ozbek

[ovrtaxt]

That’s the coolest looking F4 I’ve ever seen.

[Doogle]

...being in munitions (46150) back in those days I can tell ya, they carried everything....they served this country well.

[Chode]

still my all time favorite...

[Doogle]

That’s the coolest looking F4 I’ve ever seen.

nah, there's plenty of great paint jobs out there

[ovrtaxt]

Well don’t leave me hanging, post away!!

[NorCoGOP]

As my dad used to say...the F-4 Phantom: proof you can make a brick fly with enough thrust.

[Doogle]

[chronicles]

Mine too! Saw the Blue Angels flyng F-4s circa 1969 at Ewa Beach Hawaii. Thrilling to see and hear them make thundering passes just feet off the flightline!

[Paladin2]

Skipping generations is not all bad.

[chuckles]

I like the F-4, but the main thing about the story for me is giving Turkey access to the new Strike Fighter. I can't help but think when the pooh poooh hits the fan, you ain't gonna want a rag head country having cool rides. Turkey doesn't belong in NATO. They will side with Allah in the end.

[Chode]

absolutely...

[noutopia]

I was a crew cheif on F4s,at Shaw,Ramstein and Keflivik.I love the F4 and after my 20 years in the USAF,I have to say that it is one hell of fighter.

[Secret Agent Man]

Yeah, why the heck is Turkey getting the F-35?

[Doogle]

I had to feed them (”1969”)..and like I said, they can carried a lot. We had 4 sqdrs at Ubon RTAFB....AND they were loud...*grins*

[theymakemesick]

Dump trucks with wings, the F-4 has always been one of my favorite fighters.

[theymakemesick]

I forgot about the F-4 Blue Angels. I’ve got a video tape of “Threshold” with them in it. Grainy video but pretty cool.

[truegris]

I used to be a Crew Chief to the F4 at Luke Air Force Base

[Paladin2]

DT w/ wings, LOL.

I could never understood how those bricks could get by with negative dihedral.

[Paladin2]

Kool, but apparently kraut.

[Doogle]

oh yeah, Germans loved doing the paint thing, they had a “tiger” theme going for a while

[Doogle]

[tet68]

My outfit was A-4s flying off marston matting early on
in Chu Lai. After a bit they brought in some F-4s, what
an awesome machine, huge compared to a scooter. Was almost
killed by a bomb that came off a wing rack. The runway was
so uneven the Phantoms would rock all over the place on take off.

Usually they would lose a whole rack which was no big deal
but this one dropped off the arming wire, landed two hundred
yards down from where we were doing a brake job, a chunk the size of a golf ball hit the main strut above our heads
and went into a drop tank, we fished it out, cut it in half,
I had it on a key chain for many years but lost it somewhere along the way.

[Paladin2]

Cool.

I worked at McClellan AFB back in the day. F-111's and NG F100s, but they were not painted such. A few F-4s came through too.

[Doogle]

Was almost killed by a bomb that came off a wing rack.

...the very day I was processing in (Ubon)..while we were being briefed...one came off a ter and took down a few shacks....the guy giving us the welcome, walked over to the door (open)looked up and down the street, came back in a shrugged his shoulders, I looked over to a buddy and said, "this is going to be fun"

[theymakemesick]

I could never understood how those bricks could get by with negative dihedral.

Especially considering the CG is above the wings. Logically though, as any wing drops and sweeps back its drag is reduced and it wants to get in front of the opposite wing since it's drag is increasing and wants to slow down regardless of + or - dihedral.

[Doogle]

..every once in a while a marine bird would come into our base with battle damage, get fixed up, loaded, and off he'd go.....we could always tell when a marine took off, it went like this..NAVY would use up a lot of the runway (guess they liked have earth under them), Air Force, full afterburners.3/4 down straight out...Marines loved to go full afterburners...lift off and bank hard left....WHICH took them over our pre-load area where I was usually digging like a freakin ground hog, cause they were only about 40 feet above

[ketelone]

Luftwaffe? I think the Turk plane looks cooler to be honest...

[theymakemesick]

One of the coolest sounds on earth, to me a least, is the howl the leading edge slats make, it’s one sound I actually miss not hearing. No wonder it was named the Phantom! The TX 147th ANG used to fly them out of Ellington AFB (I’m a long time local and still refuse to call it Ellington field) before they went to the F-16. 20,000 empty, 40,000 gross take off weight, mach 1.6 if I recall correctly.

[chuckles]

......"Yeah, why the heck is Turkey getting the F-35?".....

Because we have been terminally stupid since Woodrow Wilson.

[ovrtaxt]

Great looking planes, thanks!

I was born in 69, grew up right outside MacDill. Having squadrons of F4s screaming around was just part of life for me as a little kid. Man, they were loud! And one of the flight paths was right over my elementary school. It was pretty awesome.

Eventually, MacDill became a training wing for F16s (it’s now Centcom and KC135s) but it was never the same after the F4s went away.

[Vroomfondel]

ping

[magslinger]

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[doorgunner69]

Yep, I was over the other side of the sand dunes with VMFA-323. And a 6511 at that (bomb humper).

The F-4 had some amazing thrust. Had one bird come back with hydraulics shot up, could not drop the gear. Runway was foamed and arresting gear was out. He came in on the wing tanks, slithering and sliding along, but the hook did not catch the wire. Went full afterburners and that beast clawed itself down the runway and back into the air. Amazing power, to get back up to flying speed dragging along with all that friction!

We all watched as they circled out over the ocean and punched out. Something very sad watching the pilotless F-4 spiral down. You work on them so long, they are so complex in operation, they seem to have a bit of life to them.

[myknowledge]

And TAI (Turkish Aerospace Industries) will be building its first F-35s in a few years.