Phantom II fighter-bombers between 1970 and 1973. The aircraft were
leased from the United States Air Force (USAF) as an interim measure
owing to delays in the delivery of the RAAF's General Dynamics F-111C
bombers. The F-4C Phantom was evaluated by the RAAF in 1963 as a
possible replacement for the English Electric Canberra, but was judged
unsuitable. The F-111 was selected instead, but when technical faults
delayed the project, the RAAF decided that the F-4E would be the best
alternative. The Australian and US governments negotiated an agreement
in 1970 for the RAAF to lease 24 F-4Es from the USAF. The Phantoms
entered service in September that year, and proved highly effective.
They prepared aircrew to operate the sophisticated F-111, and the
training program improved the RAAF's professional standards. One of the
F-4Es was destroyed in an accident in June 1971, and another was
repaired by the RAAF after it was damaged in a crash landing. The 23
surviving aircraft were returned to the USAF in two batches during
October 1972 and June 1973.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_in_Australian_service>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1739:
During his invasion of the Mughal Empire, the forces of Nader,
Shah of Persia, defeated the Mughal army at Karnal within three hours,
despite being outnumbered six-to-one.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karnal>
1815:
The Cambridge Union Society, one of the oldest debating
societies in the world, was founded at the University of Cambridge in
Cambridge, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Union_Society>
1931:
New Delhi (India Gate pictured) was inaugurated as the new
capital of British India by Viceroy Lord Irwin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Delhi>
1961:
American geode prospectors discovered what they claimed was a
500,000-year-old rock with a spark plug encased inside.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coso_artifact>
1991:
Gulf War: The United States Air Force dropped two laser-guided
"smart bombs" on an air-raid shelter in Baghdad, Iraq, which was
believed to be a military command site, killing at least 408 civilians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiriyah_shelter_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
trigger warning:
A notice placed before the beginning of media content (usually an online
article, e-mail, or post) to warn of potential traumatic triggers it
contains.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trigger_warning>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The priceless heritage of our society is the unrestricted
constitutional right of each member to think as he will. Thought control
is a copyright of totalitarianism, and we have no claim to it. It is not
the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into
error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from
falling into error. We could justify any censorship only when the
censors are better shielded against error than the censored.
--Robert H. Jackson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_H._Jackson>
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