Posted by: livelovethinkexist | August 1, 2009
Photos – Spangdahlem AB, Germany – 1983-1987 (Set Two – Zaragoza AB, Spain, WTD)
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As soon as I joined the 23rd TFS “Fighting Hawks,” I went on a training deployment to Zaragoza AB, Spain, with the squadron; this building housed our squadron at Zaragoza AB.
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In those years, each squadron at Spangdahlem AB deployed to Zaragoza, AB, Spain, twice a year; for a month at a time on each trip for training.
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We were able to conduct flight training in the sunshine of Spain; and here the local sheep keep the grass “mowed” at Zaragoza AB, Spain.
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My pilot and I stayed behind with a jet that needed repairs, and then flew back to Spangdahlem AB “single ship” in this F-4E “Phantom II.”
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I had my camera with me as usual, so I took a series of cockpit portraits wearing the “Fighting Hawks” helmet design.
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I always liked the reflections from the cockpit on the helmet visor.
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The canopy bow of the F-4E is reflected here in my helmet visor.
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This picture is a reflection of my helmet looking into the right canopy bow mirror.
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There was a nice “blue sky” background that day for this series of photos.
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This is a very good photo of my helmet’s reflection on the canopy above me.
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My pilot looks back in the mirror from the front cockpit, demonstrating the limited forward visibility from the rear cockpit in the Phantom.
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My pilot’s new “gray style” helmet is reflected in his mirror from the front cockpit.
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I wear the “standard issue” white helmet with the blue “Fighting Hawks” visor housing.
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These next six photos show the Alps on the horizon looking out the right side of the cockpit.
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To see the Alps in a wide panorama perspective on the distant horizon is really a beautiful sight.
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Of course, actually “seeing” the Alps first hand, instead of viewing a photograph, is always better!
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If you enlarge and expand the photo by clicking on it, you get a better perspective on the view.
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I liked the variations of blue shading in this photograph, which seems to actually show the curvature of the earth.
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In my four initial years at Spangdahlem AB, I traveled to Zaragoza AB at least 8 different times for training, spending close to a year in Spain during the process.
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All of Europe is a giant patchwork of fields and forests, as is this photo taken somewhere above France I believe.
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These mountains are located west of the Rhein River and between Basel, Switzerland, and Strasbourg, France.
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This smaller mountain range was always a nice view along our route of flight on the to and from Spain.
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Looking down on them from altitude, these mountains are actually pretty rugged.
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It must be nice living along the Rhein and driving up into the mountains just to the west of the river valley.
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In the distance on the far horizon is Germany and our destination of Spangdahlem AB.
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Back on “terra firma,” our crew chief took my picture climbing down the ladder, while my pilot signed off the forms after the flight.
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This is a picture of me in the 23rd TFS “Fighting Hawks,” which I found at a later date while working on some other photos and added it to this post.
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My husband, David, was also a Warhawk from 1978-1981, prior to his Homestead tour and your tour at Spang. We lived in the village of Landscheid for a year and moved into base housing for the remainder of his tour.
By: Patricia B. H. on February 6, 2012
at 10:04 am
Patricia,
Those were very famous Warhawk years from the stories I’ve heard! I started out in the 23rd TFS ‘Fighting Hawks’ and went down the street to the 480th TFS ‘Great Warhawk Nation’ during the great squadron swap in the fall of ’83 soon after I arrived. I hope the photos and memories I’ve captured of those days bring your memories back to life as well, and show you a little of what happened after you left for Homestead AFB! On-base housing was never available during any of my assignments in USAFE, and it was very special to live on the economy for all those years!
Cheers,
Mark
By: livelovethinkexist on February 7, 2012
at 7:07 pm