(Image: US Navy via eacott.com.au)
It’s not often that military jets wear the national insignia of another nation, though it has happened on occasions throughout history in both times of war and peace. These images show an F-4B Phantom belonging to the US Marine Corps, proudly displaying the tail markings worn by Royal Navy F-4K jets. The Phantom is seen aboard Britain’s Audacious-class aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (R09), the first ship to be built with an angled flight deck runway.
The F-4B, tail number 151477, belonged to US Marine Corps squadron VMFA-531 Grey Ghosts, which was assigned to the USS Forrestal during its Mediterranean deployment of September 1972 to July 1973.
(Image: US Navy via eacott.com.au)
Several American Phantoms operated from Ark Royal during February and March 1973, during which time the aircraft pictured developed a fault before the ship docked in Malta. Because US personnel were unwelcome there at the time, the F-4B was relocated discretely to the hangar deck for maintenance. When it emerged, it bore the tail markings of an F-4K of the Fleet Air Arm’s 892 Squadron (seen below for comparison).
(Image: US Navy, public domain)
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