The Hankook Kong Gon (Republic of Korea Air Force, or RoKAF) began to
acquire Phantoms in the late 1960s, and continues in the present day
to be an important user of the Phantom.
In 1968, the Republic of Korea, having gotten rather nervous about
border clashes with North Korea, ordered an initial batch of 18 F-4Ds.
This order was filled using aircraft drawn from from existing USAF
stocks rather than by new construction. The transfer program was
assigned the code name
Peace Spectator
. The first four F-4Ds
arrived in Korea in August of 1969. They were supplied to the 110th
TFS of the llth FW based at Taegu.
In 1972, the RoKAF received 18 more F-4Ds drawn from the USAF's
locally-based 3rd TFW. These planes were supplied in return for the
Korean government agreeing to transfer 36 of its Northrop F-5A/Bs to South
Vietnam under the
Enhance Plus
program. The F-4Ds were supplied to
the 157st TFS of the 11th FW. These planes were officially only on
loan to Korea, but the transfer was eventually made permanent. A few
USAF F-4Ds were used by the RoKAF on short-term loan during the 1970s,
but six were permanently supplied to the RoKAF in 1982 to make up for
attrition, and a further 24 were delivered between December 1987 and
April 1988. This last batch were equipped with Pave Spike laser
designators. This final batch enabled the ROKAF to bring its two F-4D
squadrons back to full strength and to equip a third. Ultimately, 92
ex-USAF F-4Ds were transferred to South Korea, the last being
delivered in 1988. This made the RoKAF the main export customer for the D model.
About 60 of these remain in service.
The RoKAF ordered 37 new-build F-4Es from McDonnell, receiving the
first examples in 1978. The last of these planes, 78-0744, was the
the 5068th and last Phantom to be built in the USA. These 37 planes
were delivered under Operation
Peace Pheasant II
. They went to the
152nd and 153re TFS of the 17th TFW based at Chongju.
Subsequently, Korea has received batches of ex-USAF
F-4Es, bringing the F-4E total to 103. About 55 of these planes
remain in service.
When the USAF's Korea-based 460th TRG disbanded in late 1990, 12 of
their RF-4Cs were turned over to the RoKAF, along with a quantity of
AN/ALQ-131 jamming pods. These were given to the 131st TRS of the
39th TRG based at Suwon. 11 additional RF-4Cs were subsequently handed over
to Korea.
In 1989, the Republic of Korea's Agency for Defense Development
announced that they wanted to up grade the radar and avionics of
many opf its surviving F-4D/E aircraft. In 1993, DASA submitted a series
of proposals to the Korean government to upgrade 38 F-4Es to make them
suitable for BVR missions. Rockwell also issued a set of proposals
for upgrades based on the Westinghouse APG-66. However, funding
priorities have always caused such major upgrading programs to be
put on hold. Most of the upgrades have been on a much smaller
scale, designed primarily
to extend the service life. Several F-4Es have been modified
to carry the AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack laser targeting pod. About 30 F-4Es
have been equipped to carry the Lockheed Martin/Rafael AGM-142 Raptor/Popeye
stand-off missile.
The following RoKAF units are equipped with the Phantom:
-
11th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Taegu, equipped with F-4D
-
110th Tactical Fighter Squadron
-
151th Tactical Fighter Squadron
17th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Chongju, equipped with F-4E
-
152nd Tactical Fighter Squadron
-
153rd Tactical Fighter Squadron
39th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, equipped with RF-4C.
- 131st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
The following table is a list of known USAF serials of Phantoms
transferred to the RoKAF. It includes both used ex-USAF aircraft
transferred to Korea as well as the batches of new-build F-4Es
purchased by Korea. This list is incomplete and is likely to contain
errors. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has any additions
or corrections to this list.
64-929/937 McDonnell F-4D-24-MC Phantom
0931 to Korea in 1969
0933 to Korea in 1969
w/o before 1982
0934 to Korea in 1969
0935 to Korea in 1969
64-938/963 McDonnell F-4D-25-MC Phantom
0941 to Korea in 1969
0943 to Korea in 1969
0944 to Korea in 1969
0946 to Korea in 1969
0947 to Korea in 1969
0948 to Korea in 1969
0950 to Korea in 1969
w/o before 1982
0951 to Korea in 1969
0955 to Korea in 1969
w/o before 1982
0957 to Korea in 1969
0958 to Korea in 1969
0961 to Korea in 1969
0962 to Korea in 1969
64-964/980 McDonnell F-4D-25-MC Phantom
0966 to Korea in 1969
0978 to Korea in 1972
65-580/611 McDonnell F-4D-26-MC Phantom
0582 to Korea in 1972
0589 to Korea in 1972
0591 to Korea in 1972
0592 to Korea in 1972
0605 to Korea in 1972
0610 to Korea in 1972
65-612/665 McDonnell F-4D-27-MC Phantom
0620 to Korea in 1972
0622 to Korea in 1972
0623 to Korea in 1972
0630 to Korea in 1972
0640 to Korea in 1972
0650 to Korea in 1972
0663 to Korea in 1973, w/o
65-666/770 McDonnell F-4D-28-MC Phantom
0678 to Korea in 1972
0679 to Korea in 1982
0691 to Korea in 1972
0709 to Korea in 1970, w/o
0715 to Korea in 1972, w/o 9/25/78
0732 to Korea in 1972
0755 to Korea in 1982
0762 to Korea in 1972
65-771/801 McDonnell F-4D-29-MC Phantom
0778 to Korea
0786 to Korea
0795 to Korea
0797 to Korea in 1982
still in US as of 11/83
66-226/283 McDonnell F-4D-29-MC Phantom
0239 to Korea
0274 to Korea
66-7505/7650 McDonnell F-4D-30-MC Phantom
7507 to Korea in 1987/88
7555 to Korea in 1987/88
7577 to Korea in 1987/88
7608 to Korea in 1987/88
7618 to Korea in 1987/88
66-7651/7774 McDonnell F-4D-31-MC Phantom
7673 to Korea in 1987/88
7690 to Korea in 1987/88
7709 to Korea in 1987/88
7715 to Korea in 1987/88
7732 to Korea
7737 to Korea in 1987/88
still in US as of 1/90
7747 to Korea in 1987/88
7750 to Korea in 1987/88
7753 to Korea in 1987/88
7758 to Korea in 1987/88
7762 to Korea in 1987/88
66-8699/8786 McDonnell F-4D-32-MC Phantom
8701 to Korea in 1987/88
8734 to Korea in 1987/88
8737 to Korea in 1987/88
8756 to Korea in 1987/88
8758 to Korea in 1987/88
8759 to Korea in 1987
8765 to Korea in 1987/88
66-8787/8825 McDonnell F-4D-33-MC Phantom
8806 to Korea in 1987/88
8810 to Korea in 1987/88
67-342/398 McDonnell F-4E-36-MC Phantom
0369 to Korea (?)
68-303/365 McDonnell F-4E-37-MC Phantom
0358 to Korea (?) still in US in Oct90
68-366/395 McDonnell F-4E-38-MC Phantom
0387 to Korea (?), still in US Oct 90
0390 to Korea (?), still in US Oct 90
68-488/494 McDonnell F-4E-40-MC Phantom
0494 to Korea (?) still in US in Oct90
76-493/511 McDonnell F-4E-64-MC Phantom
new builds for Korea
78-727/744 McDonnell F-4E-67-MC Phantom
new builds for Korea
Sources:
-
McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume II, Rene J.
Francillon, Naval Institute Press, 1990.
-
McDonnell F-4 Phantom: Spirit in the Skies. Airtime Publishing, 1992.
-
Electronic mail from Ben Marselis
-
F-4 Operators, World AirPower Journal, Vol 40, Spring 2000.
-
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom Non-US Users, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_non-U.S._operators
