Page 92 - Combat Aircraft (January 2020)
P. 92
GLORY DAYS // QF-4 MISSILE OPS
echelon. It was surreal to see an F-4 in
afterburner, adorned with a 600-gallon
centerline fuel tank, making a lazy right-
hand turn over the island coastline, with
no-one on board.
The target was QF-4N BuNo 150465,
which featured a Roadrunner cartoon
painted on the nose. This aircraft had
been born on the assembly line in the
Above: 1960s as an F-4B and served as a US Navy
QF-4N BuNo eet machine, attached to units such
152970 gets as VF-51 ‘Screaming Eagles’ and VF-151
airborne from
Point Mugu in ‘Vigilantes’. She had seen action during
1996 during the the Vietnam War and eventually survived
heyday of the her entire operational career, including
type there.
Jamie Hunter the volatile drone service, as it turned
out, ultimately being laid to rest in the
Below: boneyard and written o in 2000.
The QF-4N was
refueling probe ended in failure, resulting ‘Shantini’ had actually been granted superseded by
in some grumbles up front about having permission. Looking up (or below, the QF-4S, which Defying death
to possibly RTB (return to base) due to depending on how you look at it) at San soldiered on until We ew around the NOLO jet on both
2003.
our worsening fuel situation. However, Nicolas Island through the Plexiglas at Jamie Hunter sides and it checked out as ‘thumbs-
‘Shantini’ prevailed in the end and earned the view outside as we red past I could up and good to go’ for the mission.
his money as we plugged into a welcome see a small dot below — it was our target Below right: A green range light was relayed to
A fabulous shot of
ow of fuel from the laden tanker. QF-4N preparing to get airborne. We three Point Mugu the circling Tomcats, and the game
Topped up, we headed for San Nicolas came back in for the rendezvous and QF-4Ns as they commenced. Straining to see the
Island and made an awesome high- airborne pick-up of the jet. The QF-4N formate behind F-14s in the distance, we saw a missile
a KC-135 tanker
speed, low-level pass over the runway lit the ‘burners and climbed out as we during a manned ash. The AIM-7 appeared to track the
— like ‘Maverick’ did in Top Gun except slid in on her and tightened up in left test fl ight in 1996. target before it petered out as planned,
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