I'm biased, but I'm going to have to say none of the above, having been in very close proximity to countess airstrikes in Vietnam carried out by F-4
Phantoms. During one such airstrike at Liberty Bridge on the road to An Hoa, the Phantoms were flying directly over my position strafing the enemy.
Since the enemy was in such proximity to our position separated only by the river, the Phantoms were flying at what seemed to be "treetop level" or
lower. It was dark and they were not visible to us except for their exhaust, but it was not wise to raise one's head, as the small arms fire was
significant. The only Marines returning fire were .50 cal. machine guns, set up along the perimeter adjacent to the river. When the Phantoms
arrived, all friendly small arms fire was ceased.
After the strike, the enemy having been annihilated and not having watch that night, I chose to "crash" in the same position I had assumed at the
time of the strike. The next morning, not two feet from where I had slept, an unfired 20mm cannon round was imbedded into the ground. Clearly, if
this round had landed two feet to the right, relative to the direction of flight, this round would have been fatal--not really the way one would
choose to go in combat.
These rounds are really quite remarkable and this was the first I had ever held. It looks like a miniature artillery fixed-round and essentially
that's what it is. It has a brass casing. a little fuse and like all HE (high explosive) rounds, it is painted green with yellow markings. It did
not explode on impact because it was unfired and therefore the fuse was, as yet, unarmed, as it takes a given number of revolutions for the fuse to
arm. Automatic weapons, especially the .50 cal., will sometimes spit out an unfired round, for reasons that are still unclear to me.
When your life depends on such an aircraft and your relationship is so intimate, it's easy to fall into lasting love. I would place the design of
the Phantom in the catagory with the 1967 Mustang Fastback. Clearly dated, but timeless none-the-less.
Some links:
www.military.cz...
www.military.cz...
www.ctrl-c.liu.se...
www.skybluephoto.com...
members.xoom.virgilio.it...
www.mrprophead.com...
www.tayyareci.com...
www.arance.net...
www.bobpenoyer.com...
[edit on 04/8/12 by GradyPhilpott]
Sometimes decisions have to be made about where the DoD will place it's billions on certain
war machines to establish our overall war strategies. The Crusader doesn't fit into the new fast and light ideals so it was canned.
