A group of passionate community leaders working hard to create an Alamogordo that Airmen at Holloman AFB enjoy being a part of.
We’re off with one helluva roar on a mission to elevate our city’s legacy to new heights! Our F-4 Phantom II - once the world’s premier jet fighter and now the iconic fighter of the jet age - pitches upwards as a visual representation of Alamogordo and Holloman’s path forward - focused on target. Beneath are the names and personal stories, preserved phorever, from individuals that were connected with this awesome aircraft
MISSION STATEMENT
“Alamo, Hard Right, Bandit 11 O’Clock High, Fox 1”
VISION STATEMENT: Aim High, Alamogordo
History
PHANTOM II PHOREVER
The 49th Tactical Fighter Wing commenced its transition from the F-105 Thunderchief to the F-4D Phantom II on March 9, 1967. The wing was then stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, West Germany, where it played a crucial role in supporting NATO commitments. In July1968, the 49th relocated to Holloman, turning Holloman AB from primarily a missile development center into a major jet fighter operating location - a role it has maintained to this day. The 7th, 8th and 9th Fighter Squadrons flew F-4s from 1967 to 1978. The 49th TFW continued to support NATO through multiple Crested Cap deployments to West Germany. In addition, the wing deployed 72 F-4's and 2,600 personnel to Takhli Royal Thai Air Base from May to October 1972. They flew 22,000 combat hours and delivered over 41 million pounds of bombs on targets throughout North and south Vietnam.
In 1977, the wing began the transition from the F-4 to the F-15, followed in later years with transitions to the F-117, the F-22 and the F-16. During these years, F-4s were still a common site on Holloman AFB and in the local airspace. This was due to operational deployments supporting the F-15s as well as extensive flight test and test support missions accomplished by the Test Group.
However, on June 5, 1992, 15 years after the F-4 left Holloman AFB, Phantoms began their return as the 20th Fighter Squadron relocation here from George AFB. The 20th FS's mission was to train German fighter pilots in initial through advanced courses in the operation of the German Luftwaffe T-4F air superiority jet fighter. Upon its deactivation on December 20th, 2004, the 20th FS was the last active-duty USAF fighter squadron to fly the F-4 Phantom.
Yet the Phantom continued to grace the skies of southern New Mexico having been converted to full-scale QF-4 drones in the mid 1990's. The 82nd aerial Target Squadron conducted manned and unmanned missions on White Sands Missile Range for a multitude of developmental and operational test missions until the final flight of the F-4 in the United States on December 21st, 2016. With that flight, the F4 Phantom Il's time at Holloman AFB had finally come to a close after almost a halfcentury of service in the vast skies of the Tularosa Basin.