THRILLING COLD WAR ERA VIDEO FEATURES U.S. AIR FORCE F-4 PHANTOM INTERCEPTORS PERFORMING ZULU ALERT SCRAMBLE

THRILLING COLD WAR ERA VIDEO FEATURES U.S. AIR FORCE F-4 PHANTOM INTERCEPTORS PERFORMING ZULU ALERT SCRAMBLE

By Dario Leone
Jan 7 2017
Share this article

During Zulu Alert Scrambles the F-4 Phantoms had to be airborne within 5 minutes of horn going off

Taken in a West Germany air base in the 1970s the gorgeous video in this post shows a typical Cold War Era scramble performed by a couple of U.S. Air Force (USAF) F-4E Phantoms on “Zulu Alert.”

Noteworthy Zulu Alert is the air-sovereignty mission where fighters scramble to intercept unknown ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone which actually is airspace over land or water in which the identification, location, and control of unidentified aircraft is performed in the interest of national security) intruders or anyone else who shouldn’t be where they are.

F-4E Print
This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. F-4E Phantom II 32nd TFS, CR 68-446

As explained in the video the interceptors had to be airborne within 5 minutes of horn going off, while the usual loadout of the Phantoms for this type of mission consisted of 20 mike mike M61 Vulcan cannon, AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles and AIM-7 Sparrow semi-active radar homing (SARH) missiles.

According to the clip description, moments during Zulu Alert scrambles were so tense that “sometimes during taxi and takeoff you were still trying to finish strapping in.”

So sit down, enjoy the video and feel the adrenaline of a Cold War Era Zulu Alert Scramble.

Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Belzee says:

    Participated in many, many claxon’s while being a SAC Crewchief. Four claxon’s a month at any given hour and one of the four required our four 135 tankers and eight B52’s to taxi into takeoff position. In some cases we were across the base at the barber shop or BX or even in a theater when that claxon’s sounded you better be at the aircraft and on headset within 10 minutes. It’s very very chaotic when 12 flight crews and the crew chiefs are running out to the jets when the horn blew. Needless to say, the sound of a loud buzzer type horn stayed with me for a couple of years. Loved SAC.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

    List of some possible advertising permissions:

    You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices