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#1781CU 501 Hikotai, RF-4E Kai Phantom II print

501 Hikotai, RF-4E Kai Phantom II print
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£10.00 €11.96 $12.43
43.8 cm x 29.2 cm
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Print
RF-4E Phantom II
57-6913
501 Hikotai
Hyakuri AB
Japan - Air Force
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Description

Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1781CU - 57-6913, RF-4E Kai Phantom II, 501 Hikotai, Hyakuri AB, Japan.

501 Hikotai was formed at Matsushima on 1 December 1961 and it reported directly to the Teisatsu Kokutai (Air Reconnaissance Group) of the Koku Sotai (Air Defence Command). Initially the Squadron operated ten RF-86F Sabres, but by March 1962 the final of 18 recce Sabres was delivered. 300 Out of the 480 Japanese Sabres were licensed build by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the RF-86F was a modified version of those licensed build Sabrea. Room for cameras in the nose was created by removing the three .50 calibre machine guns on each side of the aircraft. At the end of August 1962 the Squadron moved to Iruma. During its time at Iruma, 501 Hikotai also operated two T-33As and a single T-28 Trojan. Another move was on the cards when on 1 October 1975 the Squadron relocated to Hyakuri to convert to the RF-4E Phantom II. However, a detachment (Teiku Iruma Bunkentai) with six RF-86F remained at Iruma until 25 March 1977 when the last Sabres were withdrawn from use. A total of 14 recce Phantoms were delivered in 1974 and 1975, of which 13 of them received a major avionics upgrade in the 1990s which included the new Texas Instruments AN/APQ-172 TFR radar. These updated Phantoms were designated as RF-4E Kai. Three cameras are carried in the nose of the aircraft; one for high altitude pictures, one for low altitude reconnaissance and one for oblique pictures. By the mid ‘90s, 15 additional F-4EJs (which were surplus due to the introduction of the F-15J Eagle) were converted to RF-4EJ Kai to boost the capacity of the reconnaissance fleet. These modified Phantoms did not receive the traditional cameras in the nose of the aircraft, but in stead carried a variety of pods like the Thomson-CSF ASTAC Elint pod, the Raphael SLAR 2000 or the LOROP pod with a KS-146B camera. A retirement ceremony at Hyakuri on 9 March 2020 saw the final flight of the Japanese reconnaissance Phantoms and after 35 years the RF-4 was withdrawn from service. 501 Hikotai officially disbanded on 26 March 2020. Tail number 57-6913 was delivered to 501 Hikotai in June 1975 as an RF-4E in the standard light grey colour scheme. After it was converted to RF-4E Kai standard it received the sand/light green/dark green colours but during the latter part of Phantom operations, it received this striking blue colour scheme, which it kept until the end. 

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