F6FFan wrote:
63-7742 was his assigned RF-4, the third RF-4C ever built coincidentally, it apparently lived at McDD for a while, being built into a C, D and I think an E before being rebuilt into an RF-4C configuration.
F6FFan
It would have been the 5th RF-4C built (including prototypes) after 62-12200/201 and after the first two in its Block 17: 63-7740-41.
If true, it would be interesting to know 7742's history. Exactly what changes were made to make it an E (working gun? Slotted stabilizer etc?)...and when?
A ship three places down the line...63-7445, served as the YF-4E development aircraft.
Your theory is somewhat the reverse history of the well-known (and preserved) 62-12200 now at the AF museum...it began life as a F-4B, became YRF-110A then became the aerodynamic prototype for the F-4E.
I'm sure there is a Phantom expert out there that might know more. Does it survive?