McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II – VF-51 Screaming Eagles, US Navy, Vietnam, MiG-17 Kill, May 1972

Hobby Master 1/72 scale HA19043; McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II NL110 of VF-51 Screaming Eagles, US Navy, USS Coral Sea, Vietnam, May 1972. Production run of 800 models.

Length 9.75 inches Wingspan 6.25 inches

F-4B 151398 had served with 5 other squadrons since its 1963 maiden flight and in May 1972 F-4B 151398 belonged to VF-51 “Screaming Eagles” on board the USS Coral Sea. The aircraft was assigned to Lt. Winston “Mad Dog” Copeland and Lt(jg) Dale Arends but on May 10 1972 the aircraft was crewed by Lt. Ken “Ragin Cajun” Cannon and Bud Morris. That day they destroyed a MiG-17 with an AIM-9. Returning from SEA the aircraft was upgraded to an “N” variant and transferred to the VF-161 based in Japan and scrapped in 1993.

Designed as a fleet defense fighter for the US Navy, the F-4 Phantom was first flown on May 27, 1958. This twin-engine, long-range all-weather fighter/bomber proved highly adaptable and served in the Marine Corps and the US Air Force as well as in the Navy. During the Vietnam War, it was the principal air superiority fighter for the Navy and the Air Force and was also used for reconnaissance and ground attack. The Phantom continued to serve well into the 1970s and 1980s and even flew missions during the first Gulf War. Finally phased out by the F-14, F-16 and F/A-18, the Phantom was retired in 1996.