The F-4 "Phantom" was built in many varieties, and had many names (other than "Phantom II). While stationed at Nellis AFB Nevada, I was attached to the 64th TFTS "Aggressors", who flew T-38 Talons in the role of the MiG-21. We were the "bad guys". The Aggressor pilots coined the tag "Big Ugly", and that has been my favorite ever since. After all, a reality check will tell us all that it was not a real "pretty" airplane. It was an airborne weapon, it was made to kill and it looked the part.
Having been a past F-4 Crew Chief, I was pretty much on top of the anatomy of this beast, and like most mechanics that crewed them, we had a few names of our own to call it. To be honest, there were times I cursed it's ancestry all the way back to the Pterodactyl. It was not "maintenance friendly".
During a training class, the instructor (a civilian who was a Mc Donald /Douglas Tech Rep) said "the F-4 was designed with A mechanic in mind". We later determined the mechanic the designer had in mind was the one who got his daughter pregnant the night before. Let face it, any airplane that put the battery in the rear cockpit, down by the rudder pedal, under the console really makes me wonder what, or even if they were thinking. A lot of man hours went into each mission.
But the old girl did good. She served in Viet Nam, killing MiGs, dropping bombs (the bomb load was about the same as the WWII B-17) and causing a lot of grief among the NVN. The Israelis used to great effect, without it the 1973 "Yom Kippur" war would have been a lost cause. It was all we had defending NATO in the 70s.
Some time ago, I had a bit of nostalgia while at Mojave "spaceport". (KMHV). BE Systems there has a contract converting them to "QF-4" drones, to be used for "target practice". While this is a most ignoble end for such a warrior, they do test fly them. Watching one of these beast taxi out, listening once more to the familiar howl of the J-79 engines, the "frying air" sound of the afterburners lighting up, and then seeing that veteran of who knows what service leap into the sky for which it was made brought a bit of mist to my eyes. The joy of seeing it take off was saddened by knowing it's eventual fate.
So despite the busted knuckles and skinned fingers, Ice cold launches in the dead of German winter, and trying to replace parts in parts of the plane that were never meant for a mechanic to touch, She deserves better. Next time you think of it, lift a glass to "big ugly", and thank the men who crewed and flew them. We are still free thanks in no small part to them all.