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HISTORY
Aviation Photojournal was fortunate to speak with Lt. Col. Dimitris Papadimitriou, the commander of the 348th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. He has over 2.000 flight hours in the Phantom, is rightfully proud of the squadron and is keen to share its history: “348 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron is one of the older and most historical squadrons in the Hellenic Air Force. It was set up initially as 348 Tactical Reconnaissance Flight under the 112 Combat Wing in 1953.”
Back then, it was operating with F-84G aircraft which had been altered to perform tactical recce missions. Two years later the 348 flight became a squadron, named the 348 Mira Taktikis Anagnoriseos (MTA; Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron) ‘Mátia’ (‘Eyes’), and was provided with RT-33 and later with RF-84F aircraft
The Colonel explains why there are two types of RF-4 Phantom operating in the squadron: “In 1979 The RF-4E aircraft entered the inventory of the 348 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. They were new aircraft supplied by the USAF, and were delivered in the same camouflage pattern they flew the whole era. In the summer of 1993, the Hellenic Air Force received 27 more RF-4E aircraft from the German Air Force, which were added to squadron’s fleet. They had a much more dark green camouflage pattern, and were not repainted as well.”
ANALOG CAMERAS
The RF-4E Phantom II is designed from birth to be used for tactical reconnaissance. One of the squadrons instructor pilots, Captain Nik Sofologis, “So'ph'os” (meaning “wise man”, and with the 'ph' for Phantom) emphasized that the entire platform is centered around the most important element - the cameras. He starts: “The RF-4 is an old aircraft which uses cameras which are analog cameras that record frames on black and white film. When you see the aircraft, you'll notice three glasses, two are on the sides and one is on the bottom. Those are the three camera stations.” Combinations of photographic equipment can be installed, depending on the mission. Two of the camera types are built by CAI, the KS-87B classic camera, and the KS-127A Long Range Oblique Photography (LOROP) cameras. For panoramic view, KA-56E cameras are used for low altitude, and KA-91B for high altitude. For specific day or night missions the near-infrared AAD-5 cameras can be used.
Captain Sofologis is especially impressed by the 66-inch (1676mm) long range LOROP cameras. “It's a big camera, it takes all the stations. It was used to take strategic pictures from a great altitude, I can remember 35,000 ft (10,668m). We can get great pictures with a great ground resolution. We are able to zoom in very far, and find in the frame what we need." (Continued on Page 54)
Opposite Page: An RF-4E pilot prepares for the day's mission.