HA1904 HM F-4F Phantom II Luftwaffe Molders

The West German Government decided to buy the F-4F to replace their F-104s. The "F" version was basically an "E" with major components made in Germany. Between September 1973 and April 1976 175 F4Fs were delivered. Some aircraft went to equip Hunting Squadron "JG 74" MÖLDERS. Carrying on a tradition of honoring their war heroes, in 1973 the JG 74 Squadron received the name "MÖLDERS". MÖLDERS was a WWII Ace with 101 victories when in November 1941 he died in a plane crash while a passenger on a He-111. In 2005 the German Defense Ministry decided that since MÖLDERS had been in the Condor Legion that took part in bombing of a Spanish town during the Spanish Civil War that he didn't deserve to be honored and his name would no longer be associated with JG 74.