Had a good long run. Hope they preserve a few.
Auf Wiedersehn, Phantom!
The Luftwaffe's last F-4F Phantom IIs bade their final farewell on 29 June to a crowd of 130,000 people attending an open day at their home base of Wittmund. Since the landing of the Luftwaffe's first two Phantoms at Wittmund on 31 August 1973, the aircraft clocked up 279,000 flying hours.
Luftwaffe photo by Toni Dahmen
At the time, the Phantom was meant to serve five to 10 years, a period which was extended to 15 but ended up lasting four decades.
Luftwaffe photo by Christian Esser