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Phantom Phantom


Subdeacon Joe

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That is awesome awesome.

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When we moved to Fort Wayne in the late 70s the local Air Guard base was stocked with Phantoms. They could really shake some windows!

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9 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

The Roundels look to be RAF

It’s an RAF logo but the paint job is completely non standard. And the Phantom movies came out after the F-4 was retired. Made me wonder if it was a privately owned bird. 

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Phantom Phantom !

I thought Oh Crap ! 

What did He do Now ? :huh: :o:):D:P

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On 11/1/2019 at 5:41 AM, Rooster Ron Wayne said:

Phantom Phantom !

I thought Oh Crap ! 

What did He do Now ? :huh: :o:):D:P

Been missing Phantom, where is he?   SCJ

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On 10/31/2019 at 10:45 PM, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

 

I thought that was the F-104.

 

On 10/31/2019 at 10:53 PM, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

F-104 was more aerodynamic than a brick. It was a lead pipe. ^_^

 

Are you referring to the F4 or the F-104 Starfighter?

 

..........Widder

 

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25 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said:

 

 

Are you referring to the F4 or the F-104 Starfighter?

 

..........Widder

 

 

 

I was referring to the F-104 Starfighter. Stubby little wings and the glide slope of a rock.

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57 minutes ago, Tex Jones, SASS 2263 said:

German Air Force called it the widowmaker. 

 

Yep.  By all accounts a hard plane to fly.  One of the largest Bundeswehr training facilities for its pilots was a Luke AFB, which led to the Cactus Air Force

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It was in August 1957, when at Luke A.F.B., Arizona, 15 German Luftwaffe pilots started transition training from World War II ME-109s and/or ME-262s to the F-84 “Thunderstreak†. Among those “student pilots†were names like Maj. Rall and Maj.Obleser (both became Chief of Staff German Air Force in the seventies and eighties), Majors Krupinski and Wegner (later Commanders GAFTAC) and Major “Bubi†Hartmann. All of them were fighter aces in WW II with more than 200 kills each, and “Bubi†Hartmann as the all-time ace of aces with 352 kills.

The 1957 Luke A.F.B. historian wrote: “They all were pretty  good  pilots and seemed to enjoy flying the   F-84 very much.†In fact, they did!

At this point in time it was unforeseeable, that this was  to  be  the  very  beginning  of  a  historic event in military aviation:  A binational fighter pilot training program, which, even by today’s standards, would turn out to be exceptional  by quantity, but especially by quality .A total of over 2700 German Air Force and Navy fighter pilots were trained at Luke A.F.B. between 1958 and 1983.

 

Historic German Squadron Realigns

 

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In 1955 after World War II and upon entrance into NATO, Germany faced the problem of rebuilding their air force or "Luftwaffe." It was Luke that would assist the Germans in training their pilots. 

The training of the German pilots began at Luke on August 15, 1957 with the first class consisting of 7 pilots. Of the German pilots in class 57-T, three stood out among the group. It was now up to Thunderbolts to re-orientate and train three very high-profile aces who had not seen the insides of an aircraft for 11 years. Among the famous German trainees was Maj. Erich Hartmann with 352 aerial victories, Lt. Col. Guenther Rall with 275 and Capt. Fritz Obleser with 120. The pilots began their training by flying the T-33 and F-84 aircraft. 

Albeit the Germans started training at Luke in 1957, it wasn't until the sixties when the Cactus Starfighter Squadron became an organization. 

The Luftwaffe switched to the F-104 Starfighter aircraft in 1964, and three years later, it was Arizona Governor Jack Williams who officially named the squadron. 

On March 29, 1967, the governor issued an executive order stating, "...it would be an honorary organization with no official status, comprised of young men of the Federal Republic of Germany who, following pilot training in Arizona, were made honorary citizens of the state. Upon entry in this informal service, it is hoped members of the squadron will enjoy fellowship reminiscent of the state of which they are honorary citizens." 

On March 16, 1983, the F-104 training program at Luke AFB ended. The Germans flew more than 900 Starfighters totaling an excess of 269, 750 hours and produced 1,868 F-104 pilots. 

"For years the United States Air Force and Luke Air Force Base have enjoyed close ties to generations of German Air Force Airmen trained through the 63rd Fighter Squadron, 'the Cactus Starfighter Squadron,'" said General Stephen R. Lorenz, Air Education and Training commander. "As the sun sets on the 63rd Fighter Squadron, the Cactus Starfighter Squadron's torch - its heritage, traditions, and honor - proudly passes to the Airmen of the 310th Fighter Squadron. From this point forward, the 310th is decreed to be the Cactus Starfighter's Wingman, forever perpetuating the bonds of brothers in air warfare."
 

 

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