F-4 PHANTOM TRIBUTE
52 Aviation News incorporating Jets October 2018
MUSEUM PHANTOMS, AT A GLANCE
Serial Variant Location
XT596 FG.1 Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, Somerset
XT864 FG.1 Ulster Aviation Society Heritage Aircraft Collection,
Maze Long Kesh, Northern Ireland
XV406 FGR.2 Solway Aviation Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria
XV408 FGR.2 Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, West Sussex
XV424 FGR.2 RAF Museum, Hendon, London
XV474 FGR.2 Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire
63-7699 F-4C Midland Air Museum, Coventry, Warwickshire
155529 F-4J(UK) Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Notes: There are a number of Phantom nose sections on show around the UK,
plus several museums have complete airframes that are not currently exhibited,
and therefore fall beyond the scope of this guide. Additionally, a handful of
Phantoms survive at RAF stations around the country – hopes are high that
some of these will nd their way into preservation at some point. Again, these
examples haven’t been included in this rundown of Phantoms on public display.
Nor have museums that are on military bases – such as the excellent Wattisham
Station Heritage museum – which require prior booking before visits.We conclude our
F-4 tribute with a
guide to preserved
Phantoms that are on
display in museums
around the UK.
PRESERVED UK
WARRIORS
Above: The magni cent ‘Carrier’ display within the Fleet Air Arm
Museum at Yeovilton features the oldest complete UK Phantom, albeit
one without any squadron service. Built for use aboard the Royal
Navy’s aircraft carriers, FG.1 XT596 was a YF-4K prototype, and it rst
ew on August 31, 1966. After test work in the USA it arrived in the UK
in 1969. It was again used for extensive trials before being retired and
own to the museum in January 1988. Photo: Trustees of the National
Museum of the Royal Navy
Left: Imperial War Museum Duxford is home to former 74 Sqn FGR.2
XV474, along with weaponry carried by the type in the ghter role. This
machine was one of the last RAF Phantoms to y, having been delivered
to Duxford by air on October 13, 1992. Craig PriceAbove: The honour of being the most colourful surviving Phantom
on display in a UK collection goes to FGR.2 XV408 at the Tangmere
Military Aviation Museum. Delivered in 1968, this aircraft served in the
UK and West Germany until its retirement in the early 1990s when the
FRG.2 eet began to be phased out. It spent some time on gate guard
duties at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, before joining the museum in- It has since been returned to the all-blue scheme it received to
mark the squadron ending Phantom operations. John Chivers