Description

388th TFW Libertas Vel Mors F-4E Model

Pilots and crew! Enjoy a beautifully crafted 388th TFW Libertas Vel Mors F-4E Model.  You’ll love the craftsmanship of this model and will be able to display it proudly.

• 18 inches
• Made from Mahogany
• US Veteran-Owned Business

In October 1962, the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated under Tactical Air Command (TAC). The wing was reorganized at McConnell AFB, Kansas, under the Twelfth Air Force, as a tenant unit under the provisional 4347th Combat Training Wing.[4]

Under TAC, the 388th did not have a fighter group, and the four Tactical Fighter Squadrons (560th, 561st, 562d, 563d) were assigned directly to Wing Headquarters. The reactivated wing initially flew the North American F-100C Super Sabre, but was replaced in 1963 by the Republic F-105D/F Thunderchief. On 4 July 1963, it became responsible for the base as the host unit.[4]

The demands of the Vietnam War and escalation of United States involvement in the conflict led TAC to deploy the 388th to Southeast Asia for combat duty. New bases were being established in Thailand, and a permanent organizational structure was needed to accommodate the semi-permanent presence of USAF units at the forward bases. On 8 April 1966, the 388th TFW was relieved of its assignment to Tactical Air Command and was transferred to Pacific Air Forces. The wing was ordered to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, where its F-105 squadrons had been on temporary rotational deployments for the past two years.[4]

In mid-1968 it was decided to make the 388th an F-4 Wing, and also to equip the 388th with the new F-4E and the F-105s would be transferred to the 355th TFW at Takhli RTAFB. The main difference with the F-4E model was the addition of an internal M61 cannon. The F-4C and D models previously in use had shown some serious drawbacks in the initial air-to-air battles over Vietnam. The earlier Sparrow, Falcon, and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles did not perform up to expectations. They were expensive, unreliable, and vulnerable to countermeasures. The Phantoms could carry a podded cannon mounted on the centerline, but it was relatively inaccurate, caused excessive drag which reduced the performance of the Phantom carrying it, and took up a valuable ordnance/fuel station.[6]

On 17 November 1968, an F-4E Phantom squadron from Eglin AFB, FL, replaced the single-seat F-105E Thunderchiefs of the 469th TFS. The new Phantom squadron, the first E-models in Thailand, retained the designation 469th TFS.[6]