Tag Archives: 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing

Mosel Weasle Stack

How about this great Cold War (circa late summer 1985) image showing two F-4E Phantoms flanking an F-4G Advanced Wild Weasel aircraft (center) from the 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base (hence the SP tail flash(, West Germany.

330-CFD-DF-ST-85-11181

And another one of the same group over the Mosel River in a banked formation.

330-CFD-DF-ST-85-11177

The aircraft are armed with an AGM-78 Standard anti-radiation missile (F-4G), AGM-45 Shrike air-to-surface missiles, AIM-7 Sparrow III, and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The aircraft are also equipped with ALQ-119 or ALQ-141 electronic countermeasures (ECM) jammer pods in the left forward slot while the Weasel is “hairy” with 52 interferometer antennae studded all along the bird. The F-4E in the top foreground is also toting at least four MK 82 500-pound general-purpose bombs.

The only frame I can figure a number for is the Weasel, 69-0248.

Built as a Block 42-MC F-4E in late 1969, she was first assigned to the 353rd TFS (401st TFW) in 1970 then assorted 50th, 36th, and 35th TFW units until converted to F-4G standard in 1979. She then went to Germany with the 52nd TFW until 1992, at which point she was one of the last Weasels in Europe, which included a combat deployment to Desert Storm. She finished her career stateside with the 57th FWW and was sent to AMARC in 1996. Converted to a drone, 69-0248 was expended in a test of Patriot SAM near Holloman AFB in 2002.