Udvar-Hazy Center F-4S question:

[picknpluck]

A question for the experts:

 

Was the VMFA-232 F-4S on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles repainted specifically for delivery to the Smithsonian or did that aircraft actually wear that full-color paint scheme for a period of time while in operational service with VMFA-232?  My understanding is the standard paint scheme for Marine F-4s in those days was the 3-tone TPS. I know VMFA-232 had the full-color scheme on their F-4Js prior to the advent of TPS, but I'm referring to this specific aircraft.

 

I've got the MAW Decals sheet with the Udvar-Hazy bird and a TPS VMFA-333 bird and have been having difficulty choosing which route to go on my build.  I really like the VMFA-232 markings--especially the red tail, but I also want to do a TPS F-4.  I've actually thought about throwing realism to the wind and build a "what if" scenario where it's late 2001 and the F-4 hadn't quite yet been retired from the Marine squadrons...add modern stores and combine the TPS scheme with the red tail, like the squadron's Hornet markings during their 2007 cruise aboard the Nimitz, but I think in the end, I'll be too OCD to do that.

 

Anyway, I'd love to get a bit more background on this aircraft's time with the Red Devils prior to delivery to the Smithsonian...it seems like someone here might know?  Thanks!

[Ben Brown]

I can't recall where I read it, but I think right before the jet was delivered to the Smithsonian, it was painted by VMFA-232 to look like it did when it was flying in Vietnam as an F-4J. I don't think it spent much, if any, time flying the line in those colors.

 

As luck would have it, we were sitting at one of the FBOs at Dulles, waiting for passengers, the day they flew it in, so it taxied by us and parked in front of the hangar across the ramp from us. Back then, F-4s were still pretty common at Seymour Johnson AFB, near our home airport, so it stood out more for the paint scheme than the fact it was an F-4. And, as usual, I had forgotten my camera! 

 

Ben

[picknpluck]

That makes sense. I can see a Marine unit wanting to display their equipment in the best light possible, and that full-color paint scheme really pops. The "painted by..." on the starboard splitter plate lends to that explanation too.

[Ben Brown]

Here's the NASM description. Click on "Long Description" for more detail.

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/mcdonnell-f-4s-phantom-ii

 

Ben