Warbird Information Exchange

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hOCeUL-FoU0&feature=share

What a waste!

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BCMJ

Not being privy to the condition of the F-4 when the decision was made I'm going to leave it up to the judgement of those responsible. I doubt there was much preventive maintenance on a gate guard in a highly destructive climate. Salt, sand, sun. It likely was just ready to fall apart. Not necessarily a waste as the most appropriate resolution. And it wasn't likely to get into the air again in any form or fashion.

Who was going to pay to have a highly corroded airframe shipped from Guam to the US?

There are plenty pf Phantoms of many different models available for display right here in the US that are in better condition and substantially cheaper to obtain for a museum.

That specific airframe didn't have any particularly significant history that would justify the expense.

Here's a writeup on it from 15 years ago:

https://www.andersen.af.mil/News/Articles/Article/416432/andersens-f-4-receives-face-lift-legacy-recalled-by-cmsaf-wing-historian/

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As Junkman indicated the climate on Guam is horrendous, even with active duty aircraft it is a constant struggle, and gate guards don’t stand a chance at all after decades of open display. Even the Arc Light B-52 memorial eventually succumbed.

Still sad to see these combat veterans end their life this way.

They could of least saved the cockpit.They make ideal projects.

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If the CO ask,s you to be Tail End Charlie...Just Shoot Him..A Piece of Cake

A F-102 on static at the base in Iceland was scrapped because of corrosion.

And many statics in the UK have met similar ends...particularly large types.

About 10 years ago, the F-102 at Evergreen museum in Oregon had severe corrosion near the air intake. I had never seen aircraft corrosion look that bad, it looked like a car in areas where they put salt in the roads (or Hawaii).
I don't know if they have repaired it.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

Uh huh. Let's talk about Chanute, shall we?

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Sorry, but why does corrosion even matter with a gate guard? Slap a bucket of paint on it, and it'll look great at 20 feet.

Not fun to watch, but what can we do. Would love to save them all. One by one, we are losing a bit of history. Minus one more F-4, minus one Hurricane.

Stretching the topic a bit, this F-4 had it's J79s removed (at least before the crunching started), but was wondering what percentage of gate guards still have their power plants? Is the percentage so low that it would be easier to name the few planes with engines on guard duty (museum aircraft excluded)?

Some have quite literally fallen apart and are a safety hazard. Even if they look decent from 20 feet they can be a rotten inside. Having a fresh coat paint over Swiss cheese works for a bit, but the clock ticks away. I recall the Arc Light B-52D on sticks at Guam was about to fall apart, and perhaps on someone.

Very few. Generally they get removed and sent to the engine depot for storage and rebuild or reuse on other aircraft. J79s were used on a number of different DOD platforms.