McDonnell Douglas
F-4 / F4H
Phantom II
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Photo: Robert Deering 6/28/2010
USS Midway Museum (CV-41)
San Diego, California

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Photo: Robert Deering 1980
Carswell AFB (FWH)
Fort Worth, Texas


F-4 Phantom II
Photo: Robert Deering 4/9/2019
Technik Museum

Speyer, Germany

F-4S Phantom II
Photo: Robert Deering 10/23/2006
National Air and Space Museum
Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Chantilly, Virginia
 
First flown in May 1958, the Phantom II originally was developed for U.S. Navy fleet defense. The U.S. Air Force's first version, the F-4C, made its first flight in May 1963, and production deliveries began six months later. Phantom II production ended in 1979 after over 5,000 had been built -- more than 2,600 for the USAF, about 1,200 for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, and the rest for friendly foreign nations.

In 1965 the USAF sent its first F-4Cs to Southeast Asia, where they flew air-to-air missions against North Vietnamese fighters as well as attacking ground targets. The first USAF pilot to score four combat victories with F-4s in Southeast Asia was Col. Robin Olds, a World War II ace. The aircraft on display is the one in which Col. Olds, the pilot, and Lt. Stephen Croker, the weapons system officer, destroyed two MiG-17s in a single day, May 20, 1967.

In its air-to-ground role, the F-4C could carry twice the normal load of a WWII B-17. The armament loaded on the aircraft on display is a typical configuration for an F-4C in 1967. It consists of four AIM-7E and four AIM-9B air-to-air missiles, and eight 750-pound Mk 117 bombs. The aircraft also carries two external fuel tanks on the outboard pylons and one ALQ-87 electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod on the right inboard pylon.

Source: National Museum of the United States Air Force


F-4N Phantom II
Photo: Robert Deering 4/18/2015

National Museum of Naval Aviation
NAS Pensacola (NPA)
Pensacola, Florida

F-4H Phantom II
Photo: Robert Deering 6/13/2017

USS Intrepid Museum (CV-11)
New York City, New York
 
F-4J Phantom II
Photo: Robert Deering
4/9/2019 Technik Museum

Speyer, Germany
 
F-4C Phantom II
Photo: Robert Deering 10/18/2012
National Museum of the USAF
Wright-Patterson AFB (FFO)
Dayton, Ohio
SPECIFICATIONS: PERFORMANCE:
Span: 38 ft., 4 7/8 in.
Length: 
58 ft., 3 in.
Height:  16 ft., 3 in.
Empty Weight:  
28,000 lb.
Gross Weight: 
54,600 lb.
Crew:
Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer (RIO)
Maximum speed: 1,485 mph at 48,000 ft.
Cruising speed:
Range:
2,300 miles
Service ceiling:
62,000 ft.
Engines: Two 10,900 lb. static thrust (17,000 lb. with afterburner) General Electric J-79-GE-8 turbojets
Armament: AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles; up to 16,000 lb. of ordnance
   
SOURCE: National Museum of Naval Aviation  
VARIANTS:

RF-4
Phantom II

TF-4
Phantom II

1959 DOD Aircraft
Recognition Manual Page

F-4G USAF
Fact Sheet