laststandonzombieisland

The West German Luftwaffe began ordering the big F-4 Phantom II, with its twin smoky J79 engines, back in 1969 when it placed orders for the unarmed RF-4E recon variant. This was later expanded under the Peace Rhine program to include the very much armed F-4F from 1973 onward.

The below throwback film shows them in use in a Med exercise, flying from a NATO base in Sardinia in 1975.

In all, the Germans acquired over 200 R4/F-4s and kept the aircraft in front line service until 2013, logging more than 280,000 hours on the type, making the Luftwaffe one of the last Phantom Phlyers.

The below, from 2011, shows the type in service after 40 years, with Jagdgeschwader 71 Richthofen.