Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA1952 McDonnell Douglas RF- 4C Phantom II 123 Escuadron, Ala 12, Spanish Air Force CR12-55/12-64

True 1/72 scale Professionally painted Great attention to detail All markings are Tampoed (pad applied)

Option to display the model on a stand that is provided Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions Canopies can be displayed open or closed Crew figures Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic Highly collectable

The first production RF-4C flew in May 1964. The RF-4C was an unarmed recon variant designed for information gathering. This variant is quite easy to recognize from other F-4 variants because of the distinctive nose. The larger nose was designed to accommodate radar, sensors and flat windows for cameras. During its years of service the RF-4C used two nose variations. The original design was the angular version with a later design that had a smoother rounded camera bulge. There were 503 RF-4cs built with 499 being officially accepted by the USAF.

Starting in 1978 the Spanish Air Force received 4 ex-USAF RF-4C Phantom IIs. In 1989 a second batch of 8 former 123rd TRW, Kentucky ANG RF-4C Phantom IIs arrived. These aircraft went to the ALA 12 (wing) based at Torrejon where the newly formed 123 Escuadron (squadron) was equipped with some of the Rhinos. One of the aircraft was numbered CR12-55/12-64 which was formerly USAF 65-0823 c/n 1217. The Spanish aircraft are identified by letters and numbers on the tail. CR-12-55 with the “C” standing for cazabombardero (fighter bomber) and the “R” for reconnaissance. The 12 represents the 12th type of aircraft used by the SAF, the Phantom II. The “55” means this is the 55th Phantom II to enter SAF service. On the fuselage are numbers “12-64” that indicate the aircraft belongs to “ALA 12” and the second number “64” means this is the 64th aircraft to join ALA 12. The RF-4C was retired in 2002.

Specifications for the McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II Type - Updated Spanish photographic reconnaissance version of the USAF’s F-4C. Rails were added for possible Sidewinders.

Dimensions Wingspan - 38 ft 5 in Wing area - 530 sq ft Length - 62 ft 11 in Height - 16 ft 6 in

Performance Engine - 2 X General Electric J79-GE-15 turbojets Thrust 10,300 lb.s.t. dry 17,000 lb.s.t. with afterburner Fuel Maximum internal fuselage tanks Up to block 40 aircraft - 1,260 U.S. gallons Aircraft block 41 and on - 1,142 U.S. gallons Maximum external tanks Center-line - 600 U.S. gallons On outer pylons - 2 X tanks (1 per wing) 370 U.S. gallons