McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II #9
by Arthur Eggers
Title
McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II #9
Artist
Arthur Eggers
Medium
Digital Art - Color Print
Description
The 48th Tactical Fighter Wing (48 TFW) is part of the United States Air Force's Third Air Force, assigned to Headquarters Air Command Europe and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). The 48 FW was given the name "Statue of Liberty Wing" on 4 July 1954 and remains the only U.S. Air Force unit with both a name and a numerical designation. On 1 October 1971, the 492nd TFS stood down from its NATO obligations, allowing it to convert to the McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II. The first Phantom arrived on 7 January 1972, with the aircraft being transferred from the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Bentwaters. The conversion to the F-4D took several years, due to the arriving Phantoms coming from units that had completed their deployments in Vietnam. Upon being relocated to England the squadron adopted the bowler hat, a traditional English hat with a rounded crown. The tradition of wearing the bowler hat has continued to present day despite the lack of official uniform regulations authorizing such wear. Despite the usual spelling of the "bowler" hat, the squadron uses the flight callsign "Bolar”. The F-4's service with the 48th TFW was short, as operation "Ready Switch" transferred the F-4D assets to the 474th TFW at Nellis AFB Nevada. The 474th sent their General Dynamics F-111 Aardvarks to the 366th TFW at Mountain Home AFB Idaho, and the 366th sent their F-111Fs to Lakenheath in early 1977.
Uploaded
April 28th, 2021
Statistics
Viewed 123 Times - Last Visitor from Wilmington, DE on 04/16/2024 at 4:15 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Comments
There are no comments for McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II #9. Click here to post the first comment.