JASDF F-4EJ Phantom operations, final year.

[MikeD]

It really is, it was a very big, key base for the Marine Corps, really for the Pacific. Tremendous history and a lot of stories to tell. Once 3rd MAW left it was a total ghost town, then they had the commercial jet trials, then the "Great Park". Supposedly they intend on leaving a small section of the runway and the arresting gear as a nod to the Marines and the history of the land, but I imagine at some point, as we all get old and leave, it will be nothing but a small green belt for more condos.

At least Tustin has the blimp hangars, which are protected.

I haven't been back in years, last I was there I walked aboard from the old Sand Canyon gate, must have been over 15 years ago. It was mostly intact then. Lots of memories.

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apparently, only one of the blimp hangars is protected and the other one is going to get torn down; most likely the one that already suffered a partial collapse a few years ago. A large part of Orange County and SoCal history disappearing.

Heres the link to the other thread, if you didn’t happen to see it already.

KNZJ, MCAS El Toro, CA

KNZJ, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California, was commissioned on 4 November 1942, and served as the home of USMC fighter/attack, all weather attack, reconnaissance, and transport/tanker operations for the west coast. As home of the 3rd Marine Air Wing and Marine Air Group- 11, it was a...

forums.jetcareers.com

 

[Cazadores]

apparently, only one of the blimp hangars is protected and the other one is going to get torn down; most likely the one that already suffered a partial collapse a few years ago. A large part of Orange County and SoCal history disappearing.

Heres the link to the other thread, if you didn’t happen to see it already.

KNZJ, MCAS El Toro, CA

KNZJ, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California, was commissioned on 4 November 1942, and served as the home of USMC fighter/attack, all weather attack, reconnaissance, and transport/tanker operations for the west coast. As home of the 3rd Marine Air Wing and Marine Air Group- 11, it was a...

forums.jetcareers.com

Nice pictures, I see you found the former home of the "Death Rattlers". Great history, since its an F4 thread 323 and 531, both El Toro F4N squadrons with fantastic and long histories, were embarked on carriers during Eagle Claw, as the Navy apparently found the F14 too big for the Midway class.

Anyway, they were tasked with going into southern Iran to intercept aircraft launched during or after the rescue, which of course never made Tehran. It does however bring up the idea of a head to head Marine/IIAF F4 confrontation.

I always thought they would save all the hangars. And its really heartbreaking to lose any. I sort of figured, knowing Southern California, they would have made them into hyper expensive luxury loft/shopping venues-of course knowing Southern California, if you get the excuse to tear it down, well....I'll save you my rant.

I miss El Toro, the first hours I logged was in a 150 from the MCAS Aero Club, the logbook entries with NZJ are special to me. It had such a huge impact on Orange County, as did Tustin, its culture, development, anybody older than 35 who spent any part of their lives in Orange County was touched in some way by Marine Aviation and those stations. Of course for me it was very direct, had my dad not been flying jets there he wouldn't have met my mom.....

Anyway, thanks for the memories, and it really is a shame they didn't at least keep one hangar or something for a museum.

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[A Life Aloft]

View attachment 54728

Whelp, there's 'show me your war face' and then there's show me your belly'. lol Great shots.

 

[A Life Aloft]

Ha, and you feel old? Here are some of the Zweibrucken AB Recce F-4's. Your's truly in the first one.

View attachment 54847

@Springer Great photo......thanks so much for sharing. I bet it brought back some interesting memories for you.

 

[Cazadores]

Ha, and you feel old? Here are some of the Zweibrucken AB Recce F-4's. Your's truly in the first one.

View attachment 54847

Haha, terribly jealous.... this is the stuff I come to JC for!

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[ChasenSFO]

I hoped to make it to a Japanese base one day to see them but I guess I'll probably never seen an F-4 fly, sadly.

I came across this cool video recently some of you may enjoy showcasing the various Phantom squadrons in Japan.

 

[MikeD]

Unrestricted climbout action. As some of the Phantoms are being seen retired and slowly parted out. December is getting near.....

 

[///AMG]

Mike, you better not offer to give me free things or money come Dec. I'm gonna really worry about you then Seriously though, it is sad to see her progressively fade away. Funny thing is that we have some guys on my team who were MDC folks back in the day, who actually may have laid hands on the last factory phantoms (i.e. Greek 2000 or whatever else).....they at least saw a lot 1 Hornet on the line. They are *old* haha. But also wise, and my site/base is very much an MDC/fighter legacy that got renamed but generally, as far as I can tell, not rebranded in any real way. Very different culture than SEA/commercial side. Most of us are far younger, including all sorts of much younger than me prior Sailors/Marines/Airmen who are now rocking serious day jobs making grey jets sell/fly/get fixed. Cool place. I've walked that line a couple times now, and it was always crazy to listen to the F-4 references they always gave and to think about the volume of Phantoms that rolled through......the current E/F/G/15SA line is nothing in comparison, though still impressive to see.

TDLR........The monthly factory completion rate of F-4's in peak was insane.

 

[FlyingAccountant]

You work in STL? There's a lot of history there - a lot of it gone too.

There's something endearing about Vietnam era jets that the newer ones just don't have.

 

[MikeD]

Iran Phantoms. Always amazing seeing the still to this day heavy American influence in the Iranian AF fighter pilot. Even complete with the Phantom Mr Spook on their helmet and the F-4 silhouettes. The guy with the red flight helmet, it says “hasta la vista” on the front.

They’re a late 70s/early 80s USAF/USN, equipment and tactics wise. Even the old school flight helmets

 

[Skåning]

Iran Phantoms. Always amazing seeing the still to this day heavy American influence in the Iranian AF fighter pilot. Even complete with the Phantom Mr Spook on their helmet and the F-4 silhouettes. The guy with the red flight helmet, it says “hasta la vista” on the front.

They’re a late 70s/early 80s USAF/USN, equipment and tactics wise. Even the old school flight helmets

That’s cool to see the KC-747 and KC-707 too

 

[Minuteman]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1338063905499832327

 

[Minuteman]

Iran Phantoms. Always amazing seeing the still to this day heavy American influence in the Iranian AF fighter pilot. Even complete with the Phantom Mr Spook on their helmet and the F-4 silhouettes. The guy with the red flight helmet, it says “hasta la vista” on the front.

It's the 40th anniversary of an auspicious Iranian Phantom mission during their war with Iraq.

How Iranian Phantoms pulled off one of the most daring airstrikes in recent memory

On April 4, 1981, eight F-4 Phantom fighter bombers conducted a daring airstrike on three airbases deep inside Iraqi territory.

www.atlanticcouncil.org

How Iranian Phantoms pulled off one of the most daring airstrikes in recent memory

On April 6, 1981, a group of Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) fighter pilots, officers, and NCOs gathered to meet with the founder of the Islamic Republic, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The meeting was a recognition of their courage in completing one of the boldest raids in the history of modern air warfare. Only two days earlier on April 4, eight F-4 Phantom fighter bombers commanded by Major Farajollah Baratpour took off from the third Tactical Airbase (TAB) in the northwestern city of Hamadan. They successfully attacked and destroyed three airbases deep inside Iraqi territory.

Like many of his fellow officers, [Colonel Bahram] Hoshyar, a highly trained officer from the Pahlavi era, had been previously arrested on suspicion of disloyalty to the new regime, only to be later allowed to return to service. He had been among the first group of Iranian pilots trained on F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft and was also a member of the Taj-e Talayi (Golden Crown) Aerobatics team—the equivalent of the US Air Force’s Thunderbirds. Meanwhile, its founder General Nader Jahanbani, was summarily executed a few weeks into the new regime on March 13, 1979. Jahanbani had overseen the training of many of those who had gathered that day during the Pahlavi era. The purges and executions deprived IRIAF of its most experienced commanders and personnel.