Tag Archives: 149406

24 January 1962

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Sanford N. ("Sandy") McDonnell hands over the keys to the first F-110A Spectre to the United States Air Force, St. Louis, Missouri, 24 January 1962. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation)
Sanford N. (“Sandy”) McDonnell hands over the keys to the first F-110A Spectre to the United States Air Force, St. Louis, Missouri, 24 January 1962. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation)

24 January 1962: The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation delivered the first F-110A Spectre to Colonel Gordon Graham and Colonel George Laven, United States Air Force, at the McDonnell plant at St. Louis, Missouri. The F-110A was soon redesignated as the F-4C Phantom II.

Two Phantoms were delivered to the Air Force for evaluation at Langley Field, Virginia. They were U.S. Navy F4H-1 Phantom IIs, Bureau of Aeronautics serial numbers 149405 and 149406. Initially the aircraft retained the Navy serial numbers but eventually were assigned Air Force numbers 62-12168 and 62-12169. The Air Force bailed them back to McDonnell to develop the YF-4C prototypes.

62-12169 (ex-Bu. No. 149406) was converted to a JF-4B (a special test aircraft). Operated by the McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Center at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, it suffered an engine explosion, 8 March 1967. McDonnell test pilot Charles (“Pete”) Garrison successfully ejected. The airplane crashed and was destroyed.

McDonnell Aircraft Corporation F-110A Spectre 149405. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation)
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation F-110A Spectre 149405. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation)
U.S. Air Force F-110A Spectre with bomb load.
U.S. Air Force F-110A Spectre 149405 armed with AIM-101 Sparrow missiles and Mk.82 500-pound bombs. (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation)
U.S. Air Force F-110A Spectre 149405 armed with AIM-101 Sparrow missiles and Mk.82 500-pound bombs. (NARA)

McDonnell built 5,057 Phantom IIs. They served with the United States Navy and Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force, and many allied nations. The last Phantom II, an F-4E, was completed 25 October 1979. The U.S. Air Force retired its last operational Phantoms from service 20 December 2004, 42 years, 10 months, 27 days after receiving the first F-110A.

McDonnell F-110A Spectre 149405 (F4H-1, F-4B-9i, and F-4C-15-MC 62-12168).
McDonnell F-110A Spectre 149405 (F4H-1, F-4B-9i-MC, and finally, F-4C-15-MC 62-12168). (McDonnell Aircraft Corporation)
McDonnell F-110A 149406 at Nellis Air Force Base, March 1962. (NARA)
McDonnell F-4C-15-MC Phantom IIs 149405 and 149406, circa 1963. (NARA)
McDonnell F-110A 149405 and 149406 in formation near Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri. (NARA)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes