This F-4G Advanced Wild Weasel was assigned to the 81st Tac Fighter Squadron the “Panthers”, 52nd Tac Fighter Wing at Spangdalhem Air Base Germany. The F-4G was the ultimate Cold War Surface-to-Air Missile or SAM slayer after all of the lessons learned for suppression of enemy air defenses or SEAD role was created to deal with the North Vietnamese SA-2 GUIDELINE SAMs and built into the F-4G airframe. All F-4G airframes were highly modified F-4E Phantom IIs chosen after an extensive non-destructive inspection of the airframes all in the 1969 manufacturing year at McDonnell Douglas.
In 1973, the 81st moved to the 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing at Spangdalhem Germany, where it took on the Wild Weasel mission of defense suppression. The 81st received the first 24 F-4G advanced Wild Weasels equipped with the APR-38 Radar Attack and Warning System. In 1984, the 81st FS transitioned to a mixed F-4G and F-4E hunter/killer team, using the AGM-88 HARM and AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles, the 52d TFW becoming the only defense suppression wing of NATO.
The 81st converted its F-4E aircraft to the F-16C Fighting Falcons in January 1988, becoming a member of the only wing in the U.S. Air Force to fly two different aircraft in the same combat squadron. In June 1988 the squadron upgraded its F-4G with the APR-47. The 81st FS crews flew the F-4G and F-16C in the hunter/killer role until December 1993, when the unit again became an all F-16C/D Block 50 SEAD squadron. It served until 31 December 1993, where they racked up 113 radar kills, flew more than 12,000 combat sorties and 25,000 hours over Iraq in Desert Storm and Operations Northern and Southern Watch.
This aircraft went to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and retired into the AMARC facility in February of 1996 but was expended as a drone target during a missile test over the Gulf of Mexico Missile Range on 7 December 2001.
Price range: $99.99 through $159.99
