Chuck Yeager's F-4 AF 67-678

[BLACKSHEEP]

Accurate Minatures have just released the old Monogram F-4C/D 1-72 one of the decal options is for 67-678 coded SA of the 4th TFW. The instuctions list the aircraft as a C model, which I'm sure should be a D model and the paint scheme is show to be ADC grey although all colour pictures that I have seen show the same aircraft in SEA. Could anyone shed any light on this????

Regards and best wishes

[tony.t]

The scheme was SEA camo and it was an F-4D, with both the D-type radome blister and also (IIRC) APS-107 Radar Warning Receiver diamond antennae at the 10, 2, 4 & 8 o'clock positions around the nose barrel, just behind the radome.

Tony T

[F4DPhantomII]

What was the time period and Squadron that Col.Yeager was assigned.He was 405th TFW commander at Clark AB PI late 67 early 68 when I was there as a crew chief on the F-4D Phantom II 68-747. Wow 40 years ago!

[Ben Brown]

What was the time period and Squadron that Col.Yeager was assigned.He was 405th TFW commander at Clark AB PI late 67 early 68 when I was there as a crew chief on the F-4D Phantom II 68-747. Wow 40 years ago!

Looks like he was the Wing King from mid-'68 to some time in '69. His F-4D had the markings on the tail stripe from all three squadrons.

Cheers!

Ben

[gmat]

The SA tail coded F-4D was probably the one taken when it visited Yokota AB in Jan 68 by Japanese buffs and printed in Koku-fan magazine, among others. The same aircraft with similar markings was taken again in Dec. 69. The 68 aircraft had Col. Yeager's name on the canopy rails. These represent two different deployments by the 4th TFW to Korea. After the USS Pueblo was seized by the North Koreans in 68, the US beefed up its presence in South Korea and Japan, which had been allowed to run down. Initally, F-4Cs from Viet Nam came North. The Korean comittment was taken over by rotational units, often on their way from CONUS to SEA. The initial 4TFW had the nose without the undernose housing and lacked the four antennas around the nose. They also lacked tail codes. The exception the Col. Yeager's aircraft, which had the letters XD, but in smaller that usual letters. The fin tip had markings representing all three squadron. From the front, white stars on a blue background, indian head on green? and red stars on a white background. It had the small USAF and the small SN 67678. This is the early style lettering on camoflaged aircraft. Other aircraft had these plus the mid style SN in larger letters in white under the fin cap. When the tail code was applied, the familiar larger numbers with the small AF and small last two numbers of the fiscal year appeared. When the 4th TFW redeployed to Korea, that is when the undernose housing and four RHAW antennaes appeared. All aircraft had tail codes, but Col. Yeager was not with the unit then, I believe. 678 had the SA tail code.

Gotta go,

Will update this later.

Grant