The F-4E variant still being flown today in many international air forces and the last variant flown in USAF service.  The last unit to fly the F-4E in USAF combat service was the 3rd TFS at Clark Air Base, The Philippines.  I was fortunate enough to be down there just after Desert Storm.  I had my camera with me and took some great pictures of the F-4Es still in the unit which went to Desert Storm.  The Pacific Air Forces F-4Es all had the sharkmouth commonly seen on Vietnam era F-4Es.  Those sharkmouths looked great on the Hill Grey Phantoms.  Several of the 3rd TFS jets went to Incirlik Air Base Turkey for Operation Desert Storm.  All of these jets were PAVE TACK capable, ARN-101 Digital Modular Avionics System (DMAS), and TISEO equipped jets.  They had great paint schemes as three of them had gone to Nellis and participated in a bombing competitioin called GUNSMOKE ‘89.  My good friend Gaston Burnal at Aeromaster did the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing jets back a long time ago based on the pictures I took while there.  You cannot find the sheet any more.  Gaston told me that Clark Air Base F-4E/G decal sheet went out the door in four months or something like that.  Shows how many people like the Rhino.

The F-4Es from Clark AB had the slatted wings and stabilators of late model Phantoms.  The left wing root had the TISEO camera and the trapezoidal ARN-101 LORAN antenna on the spine of the F-4E.  Bert kinsey’s Detail and Scale book portrays all of this detail.  All Clark AB F-4E/Gs carried the ALQ-184 ECM pod.  This is the same ECM pod you get in the Tamiya F-16C Block 50 quarter scale kit.  The pod has been around for a long time.  Tamiya’s ALQ-184 looks great and Shaun Hull has made the pod in resin so there are plenty of places to get them.  The Seymour-Johnson F-4Es carried the ALQ-131 ECM pods so hopefully we can get both inthe same kit.  Again, Hasegawa has the ALQ-131 pod int heir weapons kit so it will be easy to find one.  Several aftermarket companies make ALQ-131 details… Flight Path comes to mind for hteir A-10 detail set. 
I went through the 3rd TFS gun camera tapes from their weapons shop.  They let me make an old VHS tape of their “greatest hits” on the Crow Valley or Chic-Do Island ranges.  The crew intercom chatter is also on the tape.  Fighter crews having way to much fun.  It was a real crowd pleaser for people who came by my place.  There were two kinds of crews in the 3rd TFS; PAVE TACK laser designator pod crews dropping GBU-10/12s or crews trained to drop the GBU-15 electro-optically guided (fancy way of saying TV guided) 2000 pound bombs.  They carried other weapons like AIM-9J, cluster bombs… you get the idea.  The F-4Es with PAVE TACK on the belly just look to cool.  PAVE TACK on the centerline, GBU-10s on the wings, ALQ-184 in the left Sparrow missile well, AIM-7Ms in the rear missile wells and wing tanks on the outboard wing pylons was standard for the PAVE TACK jets.  Similar loading for the GBU-15 jets except GBU-15s with the big wings on the inboard pylons and the datalink pod on the centerline station.  Chaff/Flare buckets on the back of each inboard wing pylon were standard on late model F-4Es and F-4Gs so these would have to be included in the kit.  Again, Jim Rotramel has great detailed drawings of these weapons and datalink pod.  No PAVE TACK or ALQ-184 ECM pod drawings yet.  He is working on a book detailing the history of weapons.  I saw some of the manuscript… wait till this hits the streets!  A history with detailed drawings of every variant of modern weapons.  It will be a must have book.  I would hope the F-4E kits will come in the hard-wing Vietnam ear variant and then the late model slatted wing version.  I keep praying for a good late model F-4E.

While deployed to Incirlik Air Base for Desert Storm, the 3rd TFS jets carried CBU-87 Combined Effects Munitions on the inboard pylons.  They had ALQ-131 ECM pods in the forward left Sparrow well.  They were used for Triple A Suppression until their PAVE TACK pods were to show up.  Col Mike Livingston told me jets and crews went EAST from the Philippines to Turkey (Guam, Hawaii, George AFB, McGuire AFB, Spangdalhem AB, Incirlik AB!) and the PAVE TACK pods went WEST to Incirlik.  Guess who showed up at Incirlik first… PAVE TACK pods or jets/crews?  Yep, the jets and crews show without their PAVE TACK pods.  Shows the shortest route does not always mean you will get their first.  The day after the PAVE TACK pods show up they have the jets groomed with GBU-10s and all of Brig Gen Lee Downer’s fighters are carrying laser-guided bombs.  They are going to schwack northern Iraq with the F-4Es carrying PAVE TACK lasing for the F-16s, F-111s and F-4Es in the Big Wing.  Everybody is carrying laser-guided bombs.  But the war stops THAT DAY and they don’t get to lase for all of their buddies in the Wing.  Very frustrating for the crews.  No GBU-15 F-4E jets were deployed to Incirlik Air Base.  Maj Gen Downer told me while I was an instructor at the Joint Forces Staff College he did not want GBU-15, he needed laser designators and the 3rd TFS PAVE TACK jets were just what he wanted over northern Iraq in 1991. 

I hope this helps all of you Rhino enthusiasts who want to make a late model F-4E as they were leaving the USAF service.

im a dot... Mark Hasara