The glory days of the F-4 in Europe are now over, and in Greece only one squadron remains. Gert Kromhout speaks to the Phantom drivers of 338 Mira.
Greece’s last F-4s
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II ruled the skies of Western Europe for decades following its introduction in the mid-1960s. Hundreds of examples in fighter, fighter-bomber and reconnaissance variants equipped dozens of squadrons of the Hellenic Air Force, Luftwaffe, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, Spanish Air Force, Turkish Air Force and the US Air Forces in Europe.
The final Hellenic Air Force (HAF, or Ellinikí Polemikí Aeroporía) Phantom squadron is 338 Mira ‘Ares’ (the Greek god of war), based at Andravida air base near the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula. The squadron is part of 117 Pterix Mahis (117th Combat Wing). ‘Ares’ received the first Greek Phantoms in 1974 under the Peace Icarus programme. That year, McDonnell Douglas delivered the first of 38 new aircraft for 338 Mira ‘Ares’ and 339 Mira ‘Aias’ (Ajax) at Andravida. Another 18 examples, plus eight recceconfigured RF-4Es followed between 1978 and 1980, to equip 110 Pterix Mahis at Larissa air base (home of 337 and 348 Mira). While these were all new-build aircraft,…
