Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series
HA19042
F-4F Phantom II "Norm 81" 38+56, JG 71 "Richthofen", GAFTIC 86, CFB Goose Bay, Canada, May 1986
 
General Background
The 501st TRS was the JASDF’s only Recon Squadron. It was formed in December 1961 and uses the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker as it emblem. In 1972 the JASDF decided to replace their RF86F with 14 RF-4Es and formed a detachment at Hyakuri AB to handle the new aircraft. The first F-4Es were numbered 6901- 6914 and began arriving throughout 1974 and 1975. For operation over the water 6901, 6905 and 6913 were given a special Ocean Blue scheme while converted F-4EJ and F-4EL Kai were painted in green/gray Forest scheme.
 
The Aircraft 
JG 71 "Richthofen" converted from the F-104G to the F-4F beginning March 1974 and completed by 1975. Various paint schemes had been used by the Luftwaffe but in 1982 and onward the standard scheme was the “Norm 81”. In the 1970s and 80s NATO countries adopted low-level flying to avoid radar detection. With Europe being heavily populated it made it almost impossible to fulfill this role so to accomplish this, Germany and others were based at Goose Bay Labrador that provided 294,000 km of airspace with a population of less than 30,000.