DOCUMENTAL F-4C PHANTOM ALA12

Video from the channel Revientor Reborn about McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 6:34. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.

Documentary about the F-4C Phantom II aircraft of the Spanish Air Force in Wing 12 at Torrejón, from their arrival in 1971 to the retirement of the fighter version in 1991 and of the reconnaissance version in 2002.

The aircraft arrived with the renewal of the Spanish-American treaty. Eight pilots who had flown the F-104 and F-86 travelled in February 1971 to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, for training. In March of that year the unit was renamed the 12th Fighter Wing and received the first F-4Cs, which replaced the F-86 Sabre and F-104 Starfighter. The presence at Torrejón of a squadron from the US 16th Air Force helped with the maintenance staff's transition.

In late 1972 the wing added three Boeing KC-97L tankers, which formed Squadron 123; in four years they flew more than 1,000 hours and delivered almost a million litres before being retired in 1976. The first public appearance was in April 1972 at Tablada. In 1978 four RF-4Cs were acquired for day and night tactical reconnaissance, and the flight became a new Squadron 123 in 1986. In 1983 the Phantom took part in a live-fire exercise at the Bardenas range. Over about 20 years, eight colonels commanded the unit. The F-4C left service in 1991, and the official farewell of the RF-4C and its squadron was held on 17 October 2002.