The painters made an approximation of the F-4’s camouflage scheme using a schematic from an outdated technical order
The 45th annual Freedom Flyer Reunion of the 560th Flying Training Squadron took place on March 22–23, and a T-38 Talon with a color scheme familiar to U.S. Air Force (USAF) pilots who flew missions during the Vietnam War will play a significant role.
At Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, it will continue to be a sight to behold.
One of the T-38Cs belonging to the 560th FTS has been repainted to resemble the F-4 Phantom II from the Vietnam War, which many USAF pilots were flying when they were shot down over North Vietnam and taken to prisoner-of-war camps. The F-4 Phantom II’s original colors were gray, green, and tan.
“The T-38 was specifically painted for this year’s reunion,” said Maj. Wil Harris, 45th Freedom Flyer Reunion director. “It will be a central piece in the freedom flights of three ex-POWs on March 22. It will also be on display at the reunion’s wreath-laying ceremony at Washington Circle the next day.”
According to Harris, 560th FTS director of standards and evaluations, the idea to paint one of the T-38s like the F-4 originated from a squadron discussion about the Freedom Flyers and Vietnam, as stated by Robert Goetz, 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs, in the article T-38C dons F-4’s colors for the role during Freedom Flyer Reunion.
“We have numerous pictures of Vietnam-era aircraft in our squadron as part of our Freedom Hall, and as we discussed the aircraft of the era, we started talking about how cool the paint scheme looked and mentioned how awesome it would look on a T-38,” he pointed out.
Harris gave the 560th FTS instructor pilot Lt. Col. Dennis Hargis credit for realizing the vision. The procedure was started when Hargis sent the plan to Lt. Col. Jonathan Elza, commander of the 560th FTS.
“Lt. Col. Elza was completely supportive, and the email was sent up, so from inception to execution was literally two days,” Harris said. “The paperwork came back approved within a few weeks, so at every level, folks were supportive of the plan and really helped move this idea along.”
The corrosion control team of the 12th Maintenance Group was tasked with changing the T-38’s colors, and they concluded the job on March 3 after receiving the aircraft on February 23.
According to Don Collier, a member of the 12th MXG corrosion control team, the process involved masking the aircraft, sanding it, painting the landing gear, masking the landing gear, priming and painting the aircraft in the new colors, and stenciling it.
“It took six hours to paint the aircraft,” he said. “A normal paint job on a T-38 takes about two hours.”
According to Collier, the painters attempted to replicate the F-4’s camouflage pattern using a schematic from an outdated technical order.
“The T-38’s a lot smaller, so we had to adjust the schematic to suite the aircraft,” he said. “It was all through trial.”
The project’s corrosion control team also included Mario Tarin, Neil Orlowski, John Esquivel, and Martin Herrera in addition to Collier.
As a continuous member of the T-38 fleet, the aircraft will continue to fly in the F-4’s colors long into the following ten years, he claimed.
“I will say it looks even better than what we imagined,” Harris said. “The 12th Maintenance Group really did an amazing job; the work that they put into the aircraft really makes it a fitting tribute to the men and women of the Vietnam era who sacrificed so much for this nation.”
The reimagined T-38, according to Harris, was the “perfect centerpiece” for the reunion.
“It will let the Freedom Flyers and POWs know that we as a nation are still indebted to them for their sacrifice and humbled by their return with honor in the face of such harsh circumstances.”
Photo by U.S. Air Force