Fa$tBuck's Homepage

The USAF 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing, the McDonnell-Douglas F4C, Ford Taurus SHO and other interesting things.

F4 flyby

I am Herman R. "Buck" Seibert and I live in Kentucky.
jetline

I was a Jet Engine Mechanic in the U.S. Air Force from 1962-1966. A member of the first Air Force unit to be equipped with the F4 Phantom II, the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing, I can proudly call myself a Phantom Phixer.

I had 8 weeks of Basic Training at Lackland AFB in 1962. I was in Flight 454 in 1st phase (5 weeks) and Flight 425-55 in 2nd phase (3 weeks). I then attended Jet Engine Mechanic tech school at Amarillo AFB, Texas. My class number was 04072A which meant the class started on 4 July 1962 and it was day class (A)(we started class at 0600 and ended at noon) . I received the Honor Graduate Award and the AFSC (Air Force Skill Code) of 43230 Jet Engine Mechanic. I received orders for MacDill AFB, Florida and arrived there in Oct 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was attached to the 15th TAC Fighter Wing working on F84F aircraft until I was called upon to help the 4453rd activate. For several weeks 3 airmen and myself were (Gophers) for our future Commander Col Frank K. Everest and 1st Sergeant Haynes. In January 1963, I went TDY to Miramir NAS, CA for 4 weeks of F4 Power Plant School. Sometime after, my AFSC was changed to J43250 the J being the identifier for the F4 Phantom.

Here is a photograph taken in the barracks at MacDill. I am about 120 pounds lighter here and about 40 years younger. Thats me wearing nothing but a smile and a towel. Must have just gotten out of the shower. On the left is Jim Reidnour who was a fire control specialist (worked on the aircraft radar system) In the middle is Hans George Wurfel III. He was a weapons specialist. Wurf went on to be a gunner on a gunship and was decorated for his heroic action in SVN. It looks like Jim has a deck of cards in his hand. We played Hearts a lot. Barracks scene

Here is one of my favorite places at MacDill. Well, except when I was on KP. The Chow Hall.

This photo and the next are courtesy of my good friend Bill Boushelle a former member of the 4453rd. Click here for a picture of Bill and his 65 Malibu. Bill's Malibu.

Here are pictures of more of my Air Force Friends.Gallo and Dundon

One of the original maintenance men of the 4453rd was Monroe Smith. He was a Weapons Mechanic like Wurf. Believe it or not, Smitty is still in uniform. He is a member of the ANG in Tucson. I believe he will be retiring soon. Here is a recent (2003) picture of him beneath the wing of an F16. Smitty

The 4453rd activated on Oct 22, 1962 at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida. It was called the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Squadron. On Jan 1, 1964, we became the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Group. Finally, on April, 1, 1964, we were large enough to become the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing. We were part of the 836th Air Division. On July 1, 1994, we became part of the 12th Air Force. Our mission was to train aircrews for the F4. We received 27 Navy F4B's, the first aircraft was delivered on February 11,1963. It was crewed by Col Stanton T. Smith, then Commander of the 836th Air Division and Major Jerry F. Hogue. These aircraft had Navy serial numbers as well as Air Force serial numbers.
References show the Air Force received 29 F4B's from the Navy. The additional 2 aircraft were sent to Langley AFB. Although they received the Air Force paint scheme and had F110A painted on the forward fuselage, they were not F110s. They displayed the Navy serial numbers on their rudders. The BuNos on these aircraft were 149405 and 149406 and the identifiers FJ-405 and FJ-406 were used. Later, they were given Air Force serial numbers 62-12168 and 62-12169 respectively

The F4C was originally called the F110A Spectre.
F110A

This aircraft, serial number 62-12199, was the first (and I believe,only) F110A. Ordered by the Air Force on March 30,1962, it made its maiden flight on May 27,1963 by that time it had been redesignated F4C. This aircraft crashed on Dec 6, 1967 in St. Louis.

The Navy called the Phantom the F4H. In 1962, Congress redesignated all aircraft so that all branches of the service would use the same designation. The F110 became the F4. At first, we were equipped with Navy F4B's because the "C" models would not be ready for delivery until late in 1963. We used Navy maintenance manuals and tooling. Maintenance troops were sent to Navy schools. I went to J79 engine school at Miramar Naval Air Station. Imagine our surprise when we found the following drawing on one of the first pages of the Navy Flight manual. Col. Everest had it enlarged and it hung behind his desk for quite a while. It may be difficult to view with some browsers, it shows two Air Force F4's attempting to land on a carrier. The Captain has left the ship on his skiff and the crew is jumping overboard. Classic humor in uniform! I always wondered if this drawing was inserted only in the manuals we received, or was in all the manuals including those issued to the Navy. I would like to thank George Gagnon of Spokane, Wa. It was his idea to add this drawing. The original was in black and white. I found this colorized version somewhere on the web. Hope I don't get in trouble for using it.

carrier2

Please click on any colored text to view an image.
F4Bs ASSIGNED TO THE 4453RD COMBAT CREW TRAINING SQUADRON

 
BuNos      USAF S/N          BuNos      USAF S/N 

 150480     62-12170          150486     62-12171  
        150493     62-12172          150630     62-12173           
       150634     62-12174          150643     62-12175        
        150649     62-12176          150651     62-12177           
150652     62-12178          150653     62-12179
        150994     62-12180          150995     62-12181        
        150997     62-12182          150999     62-12183           
        151000     62-12185          151002     62-12185           
        151003     62-12186          151004     62-12187              
151006     62-12188          151007     62-12189
        151009     62-12190          151011     62-12191           
        151014     62-12192          151016     62-12193           
        151017     62-12194          151020     62-12195           
                            151021     62-12196

Special thanks to Lee R. De Haven for the photo of FJ-172 and a wealth of other information.
(I have gathered these lists from many sources and they may contain some errors or omissions. Pleased e-mail me if you have and additions or corrections)

The F4Bs were painted grey and white and had Air Force tail numbers and the identifier FJ-170, FJ-171 etc. on the fuselage. Later, when we were fully equipped with "C's", these aircraft were returned to the Navy. At least some of them saw service in Southeast Asia, one was a Mig Killer and several were lost there.


BuNos   USAF S/N  REASON FOR LOSS 
     150653  62-12178  landing accident June 19,1970 in SVN. 
     150994  62-12180  crashed Jun 7,1968 after launch.
     150995  62-12181  shot down Oct 24,1967 over NVN.
     150997  62-12182  hit Nov 19,1967 over NVN, crashed at sea.
     151009  62-12190  hit Oct 22,1966 over NVN, crashed at sea.
     151014  62-12192  shot down  Dec 2,1966 over NVN.
     151017  62-12194  stricken from record Sep 17,1964
     151020  62-12195  crashed Sep 30,1967 on take off in SVN.
     151021  62-12196  stricken from record Oct 13,1971


One of the 4453rd's F4Bs was a Mig Killer.  BuNO 150634, Air Force
S/N 62-12174 (FJ-174) shot down a Mig-17 on 06 Oct 1965.  It was then 
assigned to VF-151 of CVA-43 USS Coral Sea.  Aircrew was LCDR Dan MacIntyre and 
LTJG Alan Johnson.  Call Sign was "Switch Box" and the weapon used 
was an AIM-7D.

Some photos of fallen Phantoms 62-12190 62-12194
I would like to thank McDonnell Douglas and Gene Rust for these photos.
Our first two F4C's were delivered on November 20, 1963. They were aircraft serial numbers 63-7415 and 63-7416. One aircraft was piloted by our commander Col. Frank K. Everest the other by Brig. Gen. Gilbert L. Meyers commander of the 836th Air Division.

F4C's ASSIGNED TO THE 4453RD COMBAT CREW TRAINING WING (note: this list is by no means complete, we are still gathering information) Many of the images shown here were supplied by Michel Klaver. Thanks Michel.

USAF S/N REMARKS 63-7410 This aircraft was not assigned to the 4453rd. The records indicate this aircraft was assigned to Eglin AFB. It crashed in Tulsa, Ok on Jan 24,1981. 63-7411 This F4C flew longer than any other. Its last flight was on May 15, 1988. At that time, it had 6,530 flight hours. It was then being flown by the 188th TFG of the Arkansas ANG. It is on static display at Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Ray Ritchott aka Ricochet Rabbit crewed this bird for the 4453rd. 63-7412 Last flown by MI-ANG till 1986. 63-7413 Was at Sheppard TTC by May 1986. 63-7414 On display Midland Air Museum (UK) 63-7415 Last flown by HI-ANG till April 1984. 63-7416 Crashed at Avon Park, Florida on May 22, 1964 63-7417 On display at Casselton ND 63-7418 This aircraft flew an accelerated schedule called 'lead the force'. It was the first F4C to fly 1,000 hours. In December 1967, it reached 2,000 hours. On this flight, it was crewed by LCol John C. Holley the 4455th CCTS Commander and Sgt Herbert Bencosky. It was last flown by the Indiana ANG and retired in 1986. 63-7419 On display Lakenheath (UK) 63-7420 Last flown by 111FIS till Jan 1986. 63-7421 On display Hermeskeil Museum (D) 63-7423 "Jail Bait" on display Speyer Museum (D) 63-7426 On display Sheppard AFB 63-7430 Last flown by 58TFTW, crashed Aug 19, 1976. 63-7431 On display Kelly AFB 63-7434 Last flown by 401TFW Torrejon, Spain. 63-7435 Crashed Aug 24, 1968. 63-7436 Last flown by MI-ANG in 1984. 63-7437 Last flown by 113TFS Hill AFB 1986. 63-7439 Last flown by 182 TFS TX-ANG. 1984. 63-7440 On display Enid, OK 63-7453 63-7457 63-7458 63-7480 63-7505 Being used as a battle repair vehicle. 63-7507 On display Marshalltown (IO) 63-7519 On display George AFB 63-7520 63-7530 63-7534 This aircraft was delivered to the 15thTFW at MacDill in Aug 1964, she was transferred to the 4453rd at DM in April 1968. She was at Da Nang with the 366th, then at Cam Rahn Bay with the 12TFW. She then joined the 347th at Yakota and then returned to DM and the 4453rd in Feb 1971. She was transferred to the 58th TFTW at Luke in July of 71 and in 1973 she was sent to Keflavik, Iceland and the 57th FIS. In June 78 she joined the Michigan ANG and the 191th FIG where she was known as "Defiance II". She now rests at the Selfridge Museum.
63-7536 63-7617 63-7627 Crashed near Gila Bend,AZ probably on 9/16/66 63-7632 63-7635 63-7646 63-7655 63-7662 63-7665 63-7702 63-7707 63-7708 63-7711 63-7737 64-0655 64-0659 64-0747 64-0753 64-0766 64-0792 On display Hickam AFB 64-0793 64-0794 64-0799 On display Peterson AFB Museum (CO) 64-0801 64-0805 64-0809 RECORDS SHOW THIS AIRCRAFT ALSO ASSIGNED TO THE 4080TH SRW AT DM ??? Crashed on or near DMAFB on 5/21/66 I have been told that this was a transient aircraft. Policy was to assign a crashed aircraft to the primary unit of the base where the crash occurred. Originally it was assigned as a 4080th aircraft. The next day it was changed to a 4453rd. 64-0814 64-0825 64-0834 64-0836 64-0839 64-0883 Crashed near Gila Bend, Az on July 14, 1977 while assigned to the 426th TFTS of the 58th TFW at Luke AFB. see Smoke Trails vol 6 no.2 F4D 66-7744 Crashed in Tucson 12/19/67

President John F. Kennedy visited MacDill on November 18th. Our F4's were in the flyover at the funeral of the President a few days later.

On May 22, 1964, the first F4C was lost. The aircraft was S/N 637416 and it crashed at the Avon Park bombing range in central Florida. Killed in the crash were Capt. Joseph J. Onate and Capt. William F. Buhrman. I assisted in the accident investigation helping to disassemble and inspect the engines from the aircraft.
In Sept. 2001 I had a very interesting phone conversation with the son of Capt. Onate. Joe Jr. was only 3 1/2 when his father was killed and was interested in all I could remember of the incident. Joe, God bless your father for giving his life for our country and thank you for your own service to our country.

I believe it was sometime in 1963 that GE recognized the 4453rd for our program to prevent FOD (foreign object damage). We spent many hours walking the ramp and taxi ways looking for objects that could be injested into the intakes. The GE Tech Reps threw us a party and took a picture that was later published on the cover of GE's Jet Service News. I could remember seeing the magazine but don't know if I kept a copy or not. As luck would have it, I took a job as a Tech Writer at GE Aircraft Engines in 1982. While there, I learned that the Jet Service News was published out of that office and they had a photograph file of all the pictures used over the years. I located the editor of the magazine and asked if the picture of the 4453rd engine shop was in the files. I gave him the approximate time period and he said he would check. A while later he showed up at my desk with the original photograph that was taken in 1963. He gave it to me and here it is. All of the faces are familiar to me. Many of the names are not. If you recognize anyone please let me know. The civilians were GE Tech Reps. The officers on the left are Lt. Col Menaker the Chief of Maintenance and Captain Petzen the maintenance officer. That is me again, sitting in the second row, 3rd from the left. Next to me are Staff Sergeant Carpenter and Airman Dever.

Later in 1964, the unit moved to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. I spent much of my time there in the J33 Section of the Engine Shop.

This photograph was taken sometime in 1965. I am standing 3rd from the left between TSgt Bossler and Airman Washington.
It was with great regret that I learned of the passing of TSGT Harvey Bossler early in 2002. Everyone that worked for and with TSGT Bossler respected him and will miss him greatly. Some of us called him "Daddy B" because he and his wife took care of us like we were their own.

This is the General Electric J79. Two of which powered the F4's. It was a tough engine and had lots of power and versatility. It also powered the F104 and the B58 among others.
For 33 years I worked for GE Aircraft Engines where I worked as a Test Operations Specialist, a Technical Writer and an Evaluation Engineering Specialist. I am now retired.

Here is a link to the GE HomePage. Hope you find something interesting. GE Aircraft Engines Homepage
jetline

If you are interested in the F4, consider a membership in: The F4 Phantom Society

Here is a great link that Tom Pirtle told me about. You can check to see if your favorite Phantom is on display somewhere.Click here to find your Phantom

Here is a great link you will want to visit often. The 12th TFW was one of our sister outfits at MacDill. They were the first combat unit in the Air Force to receive F4's. Our other sister outfit was the 15th TFW.
The 12th TAC Fighter Wing Homepage

Another great Phantom link. All you old "Phixers" should read
Ode to the Phantom
Be prepared, it may bring a tear to your eye. MSgt. Clinton has done a great job with this site.
The Phantom's Lair

This is a link to another member of the 4453rd. Tom Pirtle has a beautiful page with lots of graphics. Tom joined the 4453rd about a year after I left so he has more firsthand info on the F4D's. He also was at Cam Ranh Bay for most of 1966.
Tom Pirtles Homepage

4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing Homepage
Tom Pirtle has put a lot of effort into this project. It gets better everytime I look at it. Please take a look and send him a pat on the back.

And if you want to know just about everything there is to know about the F4 Phantom II, this is the place. An unbelievable amount of information is located here. It is a very large file. McDonnell F-4 Phantom

This link is brand new. Be sure to check it out. Lots of good information and photographs. Mike Klaver's Phantom Page

This link will take you to Phantoms Phorever homepage. Many new and interesting things can be found here. Many fine photographs of F4s. Phantoms Phorever Homepage

This link will take you to the wild blue yonder. The Air Force Association.

Please check out the great artwork of Chrstopher Roodt. I believe this gentleman has a great future in aviation art. Christopher Roodt Artwork.

This little guy is called the Spook. He is the mascot for the F4 Phantom and has been around since the beginning. A special salute to those who built, maintained and flew this great aircraft.

If you are a Cold War Vet, click here You can receive a Cold War Recognition Certificate from the Defense Department.

Here is another great aviation link. One of the most unsung airplanes in history. This huge aircraft actually flew at Mach 3..take that SR71!! The XB70.
For a brief time. it was my privilege to work on the engine for this aircraft, the J93.

My friends on Prodigy knew me as "FastBuck" a name I acquired because of my love of fast cars and drag racing. I have 7 Taurus SHOs. My first SHO was a red 89. It can do 15 flat in the quarter mile and gets me to work and back everyday. I also own other SHOs. Another 89, this one is titanium color, a titanium 92 5 speed and a emerald green 94. The 94 has an automatic transmission whereas the 89s have 5 speed manual transmissions . The 94 currently is running the quarter in the high 15's. With ABS and dual airbags, the 94 weighs about 350 lbs more than an 89. My wife drives a 99 SHO in Toreador Red. Here is a picture of 4 of our SHOs. From left to right, 99, 94, 89 & 89. I also have a wrecked 94 and and a wrecked 99. Sorry to tell you that it is the Toreador Red SHO in the pictures. Wife was broadsided by a Lincoln Town Car. She had some broken ribs and the car was totaled with only 42K miles
Our SHO collection

My emerald green 94 SHO in the staging lanes at ThornHill Dragstrip

Please click here to visit "SHOCK", (SHO's of Cincinnati and Kentucky)

NRA (National Rifle Association) Homepage Drop in and get the other side of the story.

Another of my interests is local history. Here is a story that I researched and wrote. It is called The grave of the Forgotten Soldier

Tim Watson's Home page I had to ferret this one out for you. If you like animals, you will like this page.
Little

Had over 5000 hits at my old web address. Hope the search engines find this new address soon. Hope the site has been of interest.

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You can E-Mail me easily just by clicking here: buckseibert@insightbb.com
Thanks for stopping by. Please check back occasionally as changes are being made frequently.
Owl

Last updated on 08/23/2003 @ 03:00 EDT. Created with Hippie by Buck Seibert on Sept 9,1996