Aviation 10

could be bumpy. The C-130 was a very stable

platform to tank from; it was great.”

In May 1985 the brand new Mount

Pleasant Air eld (MPA) opened, easing

the situation considerably. No.23 Sqn

remained in the Falklands until 1988 when

responsibility passed to 1435 Flight with just

four FGR.2s. It remained at MPA until July

1992, replaced by four Tornado F.3s.

SECOND-HAND JETS

As well as being a major commitment, the

transfer of Phantoms to the South Atlantic

created a gap in the UK air defences –  lled

by the purchase of 15 former US Navy/

Marine Corps F-4Js, overhauled at the San

Diego Naval Air Rework Facility.

With unrequired US systems removed,

their radar was upgraded to AWG-10B

standard, wiring was installed for Sky Flash

missiles and fatigue meters  tted.

Powered by the original US General

Electric smokeless J79-GE-10B engines, they

gave an almost instantaneous afterburner

response compared to the Spey Phantoms,

and arrived at RAF Wattisham on August 30,

1984 to re-form 74 ‘Tiger’ Squadron. In RAF

service they were known as the F-4J(UK).

Expected to only have a short service life

with the RAF, no great efforts were made to

anglicise the aircraft, creating a second parts

supply line of unique items which complicated

life for squadron engineers.

PHANTOM TWILIGHT

It was not their age that brought an end to the

RAF Phantoms but the sudden conclusion of

the Cold War and the arrival of the Tornado

F3 – the 1990 Options for Change defence

Whitepaper signalling the F-4s’ demise.

Dave Gledhill noted: “When the Phantom

switched to the air defence role in the RAF

it was simply the best  ghter in Europe.

In training, our  rst head-on shot was

discounted, otherwise there was never a

 ght because we’d shot the other guy down

before he saw us. Effectively we would have

won before anyone had seen us coming.

50 Aviation News incorporating Jets October 2018

Above: Phantom FGR.2 XT899 of 19 Sqn in a

special blue scheme to mark the end of the

unit’s operations with the type. Key Collection

Above: Phantom FG.1, XV571, was the OC of 43 Sqn’s

aircraft and wears experimental tail markings applied

in 1988. Key Collection