Originally Posted by
dojetdriver
I asked in another thread but nobody seemed to know. How did it get the the nickname "Rhino"?
Was it because it was a big, fast, powerful beast but only when moving in a straight line? If you ask it to turn, ehhhh, not so much?
I was told:
A rhinoceros can run very fast, is ugly, dangerous to its enemies, is hard to kill (with spears), but can't turn very well.
Later, when they painted us tactical grey, the allusion was complete.
As I've posted on APC before: the Super Hornet guys can call their jet a 'Rhino,' but they're about 4 decades too late.
Back to the photo that started this thread: I visited the museum with a Captain on a trip; he was civilian-background. Right next to this F-4 is an SA-2. I told him I had one of those shot at me, west of Bahgdad.
"But that thing is huge!!!" he proclaimed.
"That's exactly what I said when we were being shot at!"
Originally Posted by
III Corps
Anyone want to chance a guess of the name originally offered by McDonnell for the F-4?
Hint: think of all the other names of McDonnell aircraft and the one big name missing.
III Corps: Spectre.