Duncan Cooke completes the latest addition to Zoukei-Mura’s 1/48 scale Phantom II stable… the anti-radar F-4G Wild Weasel.
McDonnell Douglas’ F-4 Phantom is a hugely popular subject, but among the numerous variants, possibly the most interesting is the F-4G... developed specifically for the suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) role. Commonly known as ‘Wild Weasel’ in US Air Force parlance and ‘Iron Hand’ by the US Navy, this concept arose due to the increasing number of US aircraft being shot down by radar-guided surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery in Vietnam. Initial variants utilised modified F-100 and F-105 airframes but as requirements increased, attention turned to the more capable F-4 Phantom, although the initial F-4C version wasn’t entirely successful.
Undeterred, focus shifted to the newer F-4E version, with the resulting modified Phantom re-designated as the F-4G – this being the fifth airframe conversion in the programme, it was also known as Wild Weasel V. The F-4E’s M61 cannon was replaced by the AN/APR-38 Radar Homing and Warning Receiver (later upgraded to the APR-47), and the airframe sprouted numerous other antennas, some of which were packaged into a cylindrical fairing on top of the vert…
