Thunder & Lightnings

McDonnell-Douglas/BAC F-4K/M Phantom II - Survivor XT597

FG.1 XT597 - British Phantom Aviation Group, Cotswold Airport, Kemble, Gloucestershire

Click for previous survivorSurvivor imageClick for next survivor

Phantom FG.1 XT597 at Cotswold Airport, 31st July 2021; Jake Wallace

XT597 first flew on the 1st of November 1966 and spent her entire life on various trials work, including the initial carrier suitability trials on USS Coral Sea. Moving from the MoD(PE) to the A&AEE, she became a laboratory aircraft from 1974 onwards and had the long nose probe fitted then. She was used as a high-speed chase and calibration aircraft and on retirement (as the last Spey-powered F-4) was earmarked for lightning strike trials.

After retirement, XT597 was donated to the Boscombe Down museum where she was one of the star exhibits, unfortunately the museum's plans to open to the public on a regular basis were stymied by the MoD bureaucracy and with a massive increase in rent. The collection moved out and had to leave the F-4 behind.

Efforts to get her to Bruntingthorpe and return her to ground running condition were sabotaged and she became one of the first F-4s to be disposed of to Everett Aero (in November 2012), who then moved her to storage at Bentwaters.

Mark Abbott, who is apart of the British Phantom Aviation Group(BPAG) acquired the airframe in late 2019 and had it moved to Wymeswold where it was to form the centrepiece of a new museum. However, plans changed and in late 2020 BPAG publicly announced that they are moving XT597 to Cotswold Airport (formerly RAF Kemble) along with Phantoms XT905 and ZE360 for long term restoration.

XT597 was transported by road to Cotswold Airport in the evening of 21st July 2021 where it now sits alongside XT597 awaiting reassembly and restoration and eventually static display. BPAG has recently announced huge plans for the group which is to build a Phantom museum that will house all three of their Phantoms, you can support BPAG and their goal on their Crowdfunder page.

Information on this page current as of 01/09/2021, last updated by Jake

Find other photos of XT597 on the following sites:

Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net