Shenyang F-6, Albanian and American Users

The Shenyang J-6/F-6 is the Chinese-built version of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19. The denomination of 'J-6' is used for those machines built and serving in China, while the denomination of 'F-6' is used for the exported machines. It has been exported to various countries, among them, the following ones:

• Albania: When Albania broke diplomatic relations with the USSR in 1962, the country went into a self-imposed political isolation with China being their only ally. Therefore, in 1965, after just six years of operations, the MiG-19PMs that operated with the 7594th Fighter Regiment were shipped to China (as China wanted to know about Soviet radar technology which they couldn't acquire firsthand) and were traded back for 12 new but radarless and cannon-armed Shenyang F-6 fighters.
  Eventually, 17 F-6s were delivered some of them being, according to some sources, the Shenyang F-6C version which has a braking parachute at the base of the rudder and the JJ-6/FT-6 version which is the two-seater trainer variant.
  Albania's relationship with China also deteriorated in 1978 and, hence, spares supplies were cut off. Facing the serious problem of a total unserviceability the Albanian Air Force had to start manufacturing vital airframe components and engine parts at the Aviation Maintenance Unit in Kucovë Air Base at Berat.
  According to Euromil, the Albanian Air Force had 24 Shenyang F-6 in service in as late as 1995. However, by early 2000s they were all written off except for the FT-6 trainers.
• United States of America: There is no evidence of any Shenyang F-6 flying with the United States Air Force. However, the US Aviation Museum had an unarmed F-6A (Shenyang's equivalent to the MiG-19P) with fake markings reminiscent of the People's Liberation Army Air Force at Chino, California.
  This aircraft was later repainted mimicking the Egyptian camouflage pattern and was given Egyptian markings and codes too. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-6

2. Midland Publishing - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19. The Soviet Union's First Production Supersonic Fighter

3. https://www.valka.cz/Sen-jang-J-6-kod-NATO-Farmer-t42341

4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Shenyang J-5, various users

The Shenyang J-5 was used not just by North Vietnam, but by many other countries all around the globe.

• Somalia: Many F-5s were serving with the Somalian Air Corps and were lost in 1977 during the Ogaden War. 
• Sudan: The Sudanese Air Force received some F-5s, together with some MiG-17s, after achieving independence in the mid-1950s. They were mainly used for ground attack missions against rebels with limited air defences. 
• Tanzania: It's known that the Tanzanian Air Force used F-5s for ground attack missions during the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1977-1978. They were bought shortly after independence in 1961. 
• Zimbabwe: Some of the first fighters in the Zimbabwe Air Force were F-5s which were piloted by Pakistani pilots. They were acquired in the 1970s, after having declared independence and nowadays they're not in the active role no more. As we couldn't find pictures of the F-5 under Zimbabwean use, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Albania: After the Soviet-Albanian split in 1961, the Albanian government sought for new military suppliers, so they turned their heads to China, who sold them loads of armament during the 1960s. Among the first military aid sold to Albania there were F-5 jets. They were kept in active use wheel until April 1999 when they were deployed in the north against the Yugoslav Air Incursion. The role of the F-5 was relatively unsuccessful due to its subsonic speed, and the aircraft were soon relegated once the Shenyang F-6 (the Chinese version of the Soviet MiG-19) was available, so the F-5 was put into storage.
• United States of America: In the 1980s the United States bought a number of J-5 aircraft, together with some FT-2 trainers from China via the Combat Core Certification Professionals Company. Those aircraft were used in a "mobile threat" test program at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, operated by the 4477th "Red Hats" Test and Evaluation Squadron of the United States Air Force. Now are believed to be in storage.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenyang_J-5

2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-15B Eagle, American users

The McDonnell Douglas F-15B Eagle was a two-seater version of the regular F-15 with only 61 airplanes built. It's powered by two Pratt & Whitney F-100-PW-100 engines each of them rated at 14670 pounds (65,26Kn) at full power and 23830 pounds (105.7Kn) in afterburning. It's armed with one M61A1 Vulcan machine gun placed in the nose and has six hardpoints under the wings plus another five ones under the fuselage with a total payload of 7257Kg (16000lb). The usual air-to-air configuration is 4x AIM-7F Sparrow, 4X AIM-9E/L Sidewinder plus three external fuel tanks with a capacity of each 610 US gallons (2309litres). It's actively used both as a trainer and as a bomber by the United States Air Force and the Israeli Air Force.
The one depitcted below belongs to the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron that were received in 1978 replacing the F-4 Phantom while based in the Netherlands. They served until 1994 when the unit was reorganized.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-15_Eagle
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/32d_Air_Operations_Squadron
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F-15A Eagle

The largest operator of the McDonnell F-15A in the world is the United States Air Force who, in November 1974, took it into service. We are covering the next squadrons in this post:

• 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron: After 9 years of combat operations in Vietnam, the squadron returned to the United States in 1974 to Luke Air Force Base, in Arizona. There they replaced their F-4 Phantoms II for the F-15A and became part of the 405th Tactical Training Wing. They retained the Eagle until being deactivated in March 1994. 
• 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron: This squadron replaced their aging F-105 Delta Darts for the F-15 in 1984 and retained them until 1988 when it was deactivated. 
• 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron: The 43rd was the first unit to convert to the F-15A Eagle in Elmendorg Air Force Base, in Alaska, where it developed its own training programme and made the very first low runway condition tests with the F-15A. They retained the F-15 until 1994 when it was deactivated.
• 461st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron: This one was reactivated in July 1977 at Luke Air Force Base, in Arizona. It was intended to be a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for the F-15A. They had the F-15A until 1982 when it was replaced by the F-15B and F-15C.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-15_Eagle

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555th_Fighter_Squadron

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_Flying_Training_Squadron

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/43d_Fighter_Squadron

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/461st_Flight_Test_Squadron

6. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II

The McDonnell Douglas F-4S Phantom II is a refurbished version of the F-4J with improved General Electrics J79-GE-17 engines delivering 17900 lbf (79.379Kn) of thrust, AWG-10B featuring digitized circuitry in order to improve performance and reliability.
It also featured an AN/AVG-8 Visual Target Adquisition System (VTAS) which was the world's first helmet target adquisition system. It also has some improvements that are still classified as well as some airframe reinforcement and leading edge slats for improved maneouvering.
The squadrons covered in this post are:

• VF-302: The United States Navy's 'Stallions' squadron received their F-4S in 1980 which were replaced in 1984 by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
• VMFA-333: The United States Marine Corps' 'Fighting Shamrocks' squadron, received their F-4S in 1979 and kept them in active service until 1987 when they were replaced by the F/A-18 Hornet.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VF-302

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMFA-333

4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4N Phantom II

The McDonnell Douglas F-4N was an updated version of the original F-4B featuring, among others, smokeless engines and all those improvements made to the previous F-4J version. The projects started in 1972 and, by 1978 228 F-4B had been converted to the F-4N standard.
The next navy squadrons that used the F-4N are covered in this post:

• VF-151: This squadron received their F-4N in 1973 and kept them until 1977 when they were replaced by the F-4S.
• VF-201: This squadron received the F-4N in 1976 replacing the Vought F-8H Crusader. They served until 1984 when the squadron transitioned to the F-4S.
• VF-202: In 1976 too, they received the F-4N replacing the F-8H Crusader. The F-4N were replaced in the early 1980s by the F-4S.
• VF-301: The devil's advocates squadron replaced their F-8L Crusader with the F-4N in 1975. They served until 1980 when replaced by also the F-4S.

Sources:

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VFA-151

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VFA-201

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VF-202

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VF-301

6. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II. Part Two

The McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II was an improved version of the F-4B that was used by both the United States Navy and the United States Marines.
We cover the next squadrons in this post:

• VF-161: The Chargers squadron received their F-4J in 1977 that replaced the previous F-4N. They were assigned to USS Midway (CV-41) and were deployed to Gulf of Aden in order to relieve USS Constellation (CV-64) and keep a presence of carriers in the gulf, specially after the outbreak of the war between North and South Yemen and the fall of the Shah of Iran. When the Iran hostage crisis happened, the VF-161 remained on station in the gulf of Oman and was relieved in February 1980. They were embarked on USS Midway and operated off the coast of South Korea due to the Gwanju Uprising and the subsequent tensions. In 1981 the F-4J were replaced by the F-4S.
• VF-31: The Tomcatters squadron received the F-4J in 1966 replacing the F-4B. They took part in strike operations against North Vietnam and, in 1972 an aircraft from this squadron shot down a MiG-21. By doing so, this squadron became the only Naval one to achieve victories in three wars, the World War 2, The Korean War and the Vietnam War. The VF-31 stayed in service on board USS Saratoga (CV-60) for 24 years, the longest in US Naval History. The F-4J were replaced in early 1981 by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
• VF-101: The Grim Reapers squadron received the F-4J in August 1967 and, in 1971 one detachment was assigned to Key West, Florida and other one was assigned to Carrier Wing 8, on board of USS America (CVA-66), operating in the Mediterranean Sea. They operated there in the training role until the mid 1980s when the F-4J were replaced by the F-14 Tomcat.
• VF-92: The Silver Kings squadron received their F-4J in 1969 on board of USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and, in January 1970 two of them were destroyed in an on board fire. The squadron was later redeployed to USS America (CV-66) and sent to Vietnam where, on 25th July 1970 over the gulf of Tonkin an F-4J suffered control problems and the crew had to eject. The squadron wasa again redeployed to USS Constellation (CV-64) where they achieved an aerial victory shoting down a MiG-21 of the People's Republic of Vietnam Air Force. The squadron remained deployed on board of USS Constellation at intervals from 1973 to 1974. It was disbanded on 12th December 1975.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#Operational_history

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_U.S._operators

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4G Wild Weasel

The F-4G version of the Phantom II, was a dedicated SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defences) variant used by the United States Air Force that featured updated radar and avionics that was converted from the F-4E.
They served with the USAF through the 1980s and even the early 1990s as, on 15th August 1990 24 Wild Weasel V together with six RF-4Cs were deployed in Shaikh Isa Airbase, in Bahrein in order to take part in the Operation Desert Storm. The F-4G was the only aircraft in the USAF's inventory equipped for performing SEAD operations, and was needed to protect coalition's air forces from Iraq's anti-air system. One F-4G was destroyed when enemy fire damaged the fuel tank and it ran out of fuel close to a friendly air base. The last F-4G Wild Weasel V in the USAF served with the 561st Fighter Squadron and were withdrawn on 26th March 1996 and it served also with the Air National Guard with the 190th Fighter Squadron of the Idaho Air National Guard until April 1996.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II, USAF Users, part two

On 10th July 1965, some F-4C from the 45th Tactical Fighter Squadron, of the 15 Tactical Fighter Wing, operating from Ubon, in Thailand, scored USAF's first aerial victory against a North Vietnamese MiG-17 with an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile.
Later, on 26th April 1966, a MiG-21 was shot down by an F-4C of the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron and, a little bit earlier, on 24th July 1965 another F-4C from the 45th Tactical Fighter Squadron became the first American aircraft to be shot down by an enemy surface-to-air-missile (SAM). On 5th October 1966 another F-4C became the first American aircraft to be shot down by an air-to-air missile shot from a North Vietnamese MiG-21.
The earliest versions suffered from leaks in wing fuel tanks that had to be re-sealed after each flight and at least 85 of them were found to have crack in outer wing ribs and stringers. Problems were also found in aileron control cylinders, electrical connectors, and engine compartment fires.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#United_States_Air_Force
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II, USAF Users, part one

Initially the F-4C in the United States Air Force, was going to be called F-110 Spectre, before the introduction of the 1962 Tri-Service designation system. As the aircraft proved to be a very nice one, they quickly adopted it and became it's largest user.

The first Phantoms to serve in Vietnam with the USAF were the F-4Cs from the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, that arrived in December 1964. Differing from the navy and marine counterparts where a naval aviator sat in the front place and a naval flight officer in the back, acting as an interceptor officer, the USAF's ones employed two pilots on each Phantom, on both seats. The one in the back could also pilot the airplane, albeit having less flying instruments and worse visibility. Later it was decided that a qualified Air Force Navigator acting as a weapons/targeting systems officer in the rear, instead of another pilot. However, every Phantom serving with the USAF retained their dual controls.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#United_States_Air_Force
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters