F-4 Phantom Fighter Jet - Susanville, CA
N 40° 22.532 W 120° 34.785
10T E 705465 N 4472251
This former fighter jet is located at the entrance to the City of Susanville Airport.
Waymark Code: WMJX4M
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 01/09/2014
Views: 5
Located at the entrance to the City of Susanville Airport are three military aircraft static displays including a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom fighter jet, a Bell Huey UH-1 helicopter and a Bell AH-1F Cobra. This F-4 Phantom was last flown by the Reno Air National Guard, known as the 'High Rollers' (City of Reno gambling connotation).
I tried to do some online research regarding the history of this jet and tried to find its serial # in an online database but couldn't locate anything. Based off the tail number, it was built in 1965 and the 22nd airframe in the inventory, making it one of the first block (A) jets to be built. It's nice to see an older jet being preserved by the city of Susanville.
The F-4 Phantoms were officially retired from the US military in the mid-1990s but a few international countries still fly this airframe. Originally a Navy carrier jet with retractable wings, the Marines and Air Force also flew this jet and all airstrip landings were made with a parachute (on carriers, a tailhook), a neat sight to see and something I've actually seen once before, about a dozen years ago, when a few German F-4s landed at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base in Klamath Falls, OR, during a military air exercise known as 'Sentry Eagle'.