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Boneyard Shots


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What aircraft types are the camoflage'd ones in the last two frames? I can see F-105 and F-4's, but don't recognize the last ones??

They look a lot like Dassault Mysteres to me.

Though what they'd be be doing in numbers like that at a base outside of France in that condition, I could only guess.

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They were French Mysteres used along with the F4s and F105 as decoys and for BDRT. These photos were taken around '93. The F4s and F105 were scrapped in the summer of '96 the Mysteres at some point earlier.

The details of the US planes are as follows;

Michigan ANG F.4; Bu.No. 63-7610

Michigan ANG F.4; Bu.No. 64-0707

USAF marked F.4-C; Bu.No. 63-7471

USAF F.105-G , ex-'Wild-Weasel', Bu.No. 67-0494

Edited by _Mike_
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I don't think they can afford it, even if the Navy would part with one. From what I remember reading, the Tom had one of highest cost per flight hour ratios of any modern jet.

I'd rather see them sink the $ into a flyable F-106 if that is even possible at this point, given that most Darts are rusting at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. As a consolation prize, I'd settle for a flyable F-105.

John

The Tomcats will never be let out to anyone but musuems due to the fact that Iran still has some operational ones. Even the ones in the Boneyard are just a shell really. Not a single useable part on them.

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F-4 with special marks?

DSC_0812.jpg

Enjoy.

IINM, that looks an awful lot like the Phantom that was painted up to look like Steve Ritchie's (spelling?) jet from his Vietnam days, hence the kill markings. It may even be the actual one. I dunno. The last time I saw it clean with no spraylat was around 1998 or so at the D-M Aviation Days airshow.

Edited by SimFixer
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Simfixer, it is not the original Phantom of Ritchie - his was an F-4D, although 2 of his kills where done with E-model Phantoms.

It is correctly the commemorative airplane he flew from a few years back - apparently back at AMARG now ;)

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It is correctly the commemorative airplane he flew from a few years back - apparently back at AMARG now :thumbsup:

It never left AMARG. It was retired in '97 when the last of the USAF F-4Es were retired. It's been on Celebrity Row ever since, but is towed out to the ramp during the D-M airshow.

Jake

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