#f4j

Have you ever seen these badass Black Birds in formation.

Well now you have!

The British had adopted the F-4 Phantom in the late 1960s with the F-4K (FG.1) for the Navy and the F-4M (FGR.2) for the RAF. By the late 1970s a more advanced interceptor was needed to replace the Lightning and the Phantom which could combat new soviet supersonic bombers like the Tu-22, this resulted in the Tornado IDS being modified into the Tornado ADV F.2, however these early F.2s and F.2As proved problematic during development and had many issues upon entry into service, which meant the Lighting and the Phantom would remain.

In April of 1982 the Falklands war broke out between the UK and Argentina, following the end of the war with a British victory it was decided to reinforce the Island’s defences by sending 23 squadron equipped with Phantom FGR.2s to RAF Port Stanley to provide CAP.

With 23 squadron’s departure to the Falklands, a gap was created in the air defences of the UK. So with 23 Squadron down in the south Atlantic and the Tornado F.2/F.2A proving unreliable to replace its predecessors at this time the MOD had no choice but to fill this air gap with more F-4 Phantoms, but unlike the British specific Phantoms, these stop-gap aircraft would be completely off the shelf aircraft, it was decided to acquire 12-14 ex US Navy F-4Js as these had been the basis for the British Phantoms so they were the closest match.

12-14 airframes considered in best condition were re-worked in the US before the first delivery flights were made to the UK in 1984. These received the designation “Phantom F.3” in British service however given the Tornado was under development (they would be upgraded to F.3 standard soon after) they were simply referred to as The F-4J (UK) and 74 Squadron became the operational squadron of these unicorn Phantoms in 1984/85 at RAF Wattisham.

Being off the shelf these aircraft retained the original Pratt & Whitteny J79 engines which proved to be a better airframe combination than the British Rolls Royce Spey used in the UK modified Phantoms as the Spey suffered at high altitudes. Also because of mostly US made systems in these aircraft the aircrew used US Navy equipment when flying. A more unusual difference was the initial grey painted on by the US before the aircraft were delivered. Because of the Yellow primer underneath the grey became a more egg-blue type of color and would remain like this for a number of years, very different to the standard air-defence grey applied to British Phantoms

By the late 1980s more of the Tornado ADVs reached RAF squadrons, which led to the retirement of the Lightning force in 1988 and by 1991 the Phantom squadrons began either disbanding or being re-equipped with the Tornado, and by 1991 there were enough surplus FGR.2 airframes to replace 74 Squadron’s F-4J (UK)s and they would be the last operational UK Phantom squadron, being in operation until October of 1992 when they disbanded, ending the use of the mighty F-4 phantom in British service after almost 30 years.

After harsh carrier use with the US Navy and about 7 years in RAF QRA duties, the aging F-4J (UK)s disappeared fast. Most have been scrapped with only 2 of the original 12-14 surviving: ZE359 resides in the RAF museum at Duxford (restored to its original US Navy colors) and ZE360 which unfortunately deteriorated in a RAF fire-training facility.

Thankfully the 74 squadron association have successfully bought the aircraft and plan to restore it to its former RAF glory days, however they are looking for donations in the hopes of restoring an example of one of the more unusual Phantoms that served in the RAF

Beautiful Aerial View Dozens of Navy F-4 Phantom II on the deck of USS Enterprise (CVN-65).

And it’s only Wednesday

@CcibChris via X

Painted in Bicentennial markings, an F-4 Phantom II of VMFA-451 maneuvers into position for a catapult launch on the flight deck of the carrier Forrestal (CV 59).

Wanna break from the #IranWar? Here's a gorgeous shot of an F-4J from VF-92 “Silver Kings” easing in for a trap aboard USS Constellation (CV-64). Always good seeing this Cold War muscle jet, seconds from a controlled crash.