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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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 |
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