F-110A Spectre

[Steve Pace]

Anyone have high res images of the F-110A Spectre - this is the best I have.

 

[Antonio]

Some beautiful pics at USAF Prototype Jet Fighters Photo Scrapbook (Landis & Jenkins) page 72 to 75

Amazon.com

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Steve -

I have a few scanned from the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum archives. I'll send you something this evening...

Enjoy the Day! Mark

 

[Steve Pace]

Fantastic. Thanks!

 

[dan_inbox]

1800x1177 on the Japanese wikimedia site: (450kB)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/F-110Specter.jpg

 

[Steve Pace]

Very nice. Thanks!

SP

 

[Stargazer]

Here's another one:

 

[Steve Pace]

Very nice, indeed.

 

[Steve Pace]

I found this interesting F-110A image at the Jet pilots overseas website. -SP

 

[Boxman]

Here's video of the both the first and second F-4Bs (BuNos 149405 and 149406) loaned to the Air Force as the "F-110A" for evaluation in 1962. I might be the only one, but doesn't it seem the narrator is "holding his nose" as he describes the Air Force's adoption of the "F-110" (a Navy aircraft *gasp*) almost as a stop-gap for the "immediate modernization and augmentation of its strike aircraft..."? Anyway, it probably is just me... ;D

"TAC On Target" - 1962 Tactical Air Command film (posted by wdtvlive on YouTube) - Go to the 8 minute 2 second mark of the video for the F-110A footage.
EDIT (5-Oct-2020) - wdtvlive's page on YouTube has been deleted. Here's another posting of the same film at the PublicResourceOrg page on YouTube:

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRAFHpXUDCg#t=08m01s

 

[F-14D]

Here's video of the both the first and second F-4Bs (BuNos 149405 and 149406) loaned to the Air Force as the "F-110A" for evaluation in 1962. I might be the only one, but doesn't it seem the narrator is "holding his nose" as he describes the Air Force's adoption of the "F-110" (a Navy aircraft *gasp*) almost as a stop-gap for the "immediate modernization and augmentation of its strike aircraft..."? Anyway, it probably is just me... ;D

"TAC On Target" - 1962 Tactical Air Command film (posted by wdtvlive on YouTube) - Go to the 8 minute 2 second mark of the video for the F-110A footage.

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te2CP33m8hM#t=08m02s

Don't think he's "holding his nose". What's more obvious is that there is not a hint in there that this aircraft was anything but an Air Force project all along.

 

[Stargazer]

Don't think he's "holding his nose". What's more obvious is that there is not a hint in there that this aircraft was anything but an Air Force project all along.

I agree. I've never read anything to the effect that the F-110A was a Navy product diverted for USAF. Both versions were planned from the start and developed in parallel. Only sign that the Navy bird came first (and probably helped speeding up the F-4C development) is that there WAS an XF4H-1 but never an XF-110A or YF-110A. The Navy prototype helped validate the concept for both services.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Don't think he's "holding his nose". What's more obvious is that there is not a hint in there that this aircraft was anything but an Air Force project all along.

I agree. I've never read anything to the effect that the F-110A was a Navy product diverted for USAF. Both versions were planned from the start and developed in parallel. Only sign that the Navy bird came first (and probably helped speeding up the F-4C development) is that there WAS an XF4H-1 but never an XF-110A or YF-110A. The Navy prototype helped validate the concept for both services.

Are you serious?


The F-4 was designed to a solely Navy/USMC requirement, and was only funded by the Navy. Production Navy Phantom II's were being delivered to service squadrons by the time the DoD ordered competitive evaluations against USAF aircraft (various Century fighters especially F-105). It was March 1962 before the USAF decided to order some. They borrowed a couple of Navy F-4Bs and some were diverted from the production line to get training underway.


The 1963 F-110/F-4C was a minimum change derivative of the Navy F-4B, mainly due to budgetary constraints. In March 1964 the Air Force got permission for a version more tailored to its requirements, the F-4D, which first flew in in 1965.

 

[bercr]

Colour close-up view.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66845958@N06/8695655687/in/photostream

 

[Triton]

"McDonnell F-110 Spectre/F-4C Phantom II"

McDonnell F-110A Spectre/F-4C Phantom II

 

[bercr]

"McDonnell F-110 Spectre/F-4C Phantom II"
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/f4_7.html

Yes.... this colour photo seems to have been taken during the transition between the 2 designations... look at the nose, the inscription is "F-110A Phantom II"...

 

[Stargazer]

Yes.... this colour photo seems to have been taken during the transition between the 2 designations... look at the nose, the inscription is "F-110A Phantom II"...

Yep. I noticed that too. Fascinating picture, thanks for sharing bercr!

 

[vulture]

F-110A Spectre (aka F-4C Phantom II) in flight

 

[Stargazer]

No picture showing I'm afraid, vulture. :-\

 

[vulture]

No picture showing I'm afraid, vulture. :-\

The image is awaiting approval by the moderator, my dear Stargazer2006.

 

[Steve Pace]

via Mark Nankivil. -SP

 

[Stargazer]

No picture showing I'm afraid, vulture. :-\

The image is awaiting approval by the moderator, my dear Stargazer2006.

Nope. The member is awaiting approval by the administrator, which is a whole different thing!!! ;D

 

[vulture]

No picture showing I'm afraid, vulture. :-\

The image is awaiting approval by the moderator, my dear Stargazer2006.

Nope. The member is awaiting approval by the administrator, which is a whole different thing!!! ;D

Okay Stargazer2006, got it - I was only reading the caption above my posted image - sorry for any confusion

 

[Butch]

Sorry I’m late to this party (really late). But I’ve been researching early F-4s, and I have yet to find a SINGLE official document from either McDonnell or the USAF referring to the F-4 as “Spectre”. Not one. In film shot in the paint hangar at St. Louis of the first “F-110A” (F-4B 149405) showing the aircraft being painted **before** its public rollout, you can clearly see the ”PHANTOM II” lettering below “F-110A”. It’s clear as day. Oddly, when 149405 was rolled out and the official handover ceremony with the USAF, which was widely photographed, the titles had disappeared (and not just retouched - gone in every photo), only to reappear later. I’ve corresponded with two different people, one an engineer, and one a production line technician, both of whom worked on the Phantom from its inception, and neither of them remembers it ever being called “Spectre” by the company. I’d love to know what the genesis of that name was, since it obviously fits into the McDonnell habit of naming airplanes after supernatural beings. But nothing indicates that it was ever official.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwWmUyNPceY


Nice video of F-110A TAC evaluation. No mention of "Spectre".

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

As best as I can see, the USAF requested a new designation (F-110) and possibly a new name (Spectre) but it was specifically overridden by McNamara, because it went against the whole commonality thing. Not much evidence for Spectre though, Lloyd S. Jones's 1975 book on US Fighters seems to be the earliest mention of it. It seems the F-110As were initially painted "F-110A Phantom II", and then Phantom II was painted over and they were just F-110A, which would support the theory the USAF wanted a new name, but possibly also that it wasn't official.

 

[Pioneer]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwWmUyNPceY


Nice video of F-110A TAC evaluation. No mention of "Spectre".

Interesting, but so typical of inter-service rivalry, that not once was it mentioned 'that the F-110A is a cost effective adoption of the US Navy's F-4 Phantom II'!

When I see such a powerful and costly fighter being employed for dropping napalm, I've always asked myself 'really?'

Regards
Pioneer

 

[archipeppe]

My personal contribution about the topic.

Ciao
Giuseppe