The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operated 24 McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II fighter-bombers between 1970 and 1973. The aircraft were leased from the United States Air Force (USAF) as an interim measure owing to delays in the delivery of the RAAF's General Dynamics F-111C bombers. The F-4C Phantom was evaluated by the RAAF in 1963 as a possible replacement for the English Electric Canberra, but was judged unsuitable. The F-111 was selected instead, but when technical faults delayed the project, the RAAF decided that the F-4E would be the best alternative. The Australian and US governments negotiated an agreement in 1970 for the RAAF to lease 24 F-4Es from the USAF. The Phantoms entered service in September that year, and proved highly effective. They prepared aircrew to operate the sophisticated F-111, and the training program improved the RAAF's professional standards. One of the F-4Es was destroyed in an accident in June 1971, and another was repaired by the RAAF after it was damaged in a crash landing. The 23 surviving aircraft were returned to the USAF in two batches during October 1972 and June 1973.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_in_Australian_service

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1739:

During his invasion of the Mughal Empire, the forces of Nader, Shah of Persia, defeated the Mughal army at Karnal within three hours, despite being outnumbered six-to-one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karnal

1815:

The Cambridge Union Society, one of the oldest debating societies in the world, was founded at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Union_Society

1931:

New Delhi (India Gate pictured) was inaugurated as the new capital of British India by Viceroy Lord Irwin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Delhi

1961:

American geode prospectors discovered what they claimed was a 500,000-year-old rock with a spark plug encased inside. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coso_artifact

1991:

Gulf War: The United States Air Force dropped two laser-guided "smart bombs" on an air-raid shelter in Baghdad, Iraq, which was believed to be a military command site, killing at least 408 civilians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiriyah_shelter_bombing

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

trigger warning: A notice placed before the beginning of media content (usually an online article, e-mail, or post) to warn of potential traumatic triggers it contains. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trigger_warning

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The priceless heritage of our society is the unrestricted constitutional right of each member to think as he will. Thought control is a copyright of totalitarianism, and we have no claim to it. It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error. We could justify any censorship only when the censors are better shielded against error than the censored.   --Robert H. Jackson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_H._Jackson