Revelle Kit #H-289-3800 F-4E Phantom II

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II (PART TWO)

Sixteen squadrons of Phantoms were permanently deployed between 1965 and 1973, and 17 others deployed on temporary combat assignments.[60] Peak numbers of combat F-4s occurred in 1972, when 353 were based in Thailand. A total of 445 Air Force Phantom fighter-bombers were lost, 370 in combat and 193 of those over North Vietnam (33 to MiGs, 30 to SAMs, and 307 to AAA).

The RF-4C was operated by four squadrons,[62] and of the 83 losses, 72 were in combat including 38 over North Vietnam (seven to SAMs and 65 to AAA).[61] By war's end the U.S. Air Force had lost a total of 528 F-4 and RF-4C Phantoms. When combined with U.S. Naval and Marine losses of 233 Phantoms, 761 F-4/RF-4 Phantoms were lost in the Vietnam War.

On 28 August 1972, Capt Steve Ritchie became the first USAF ace of the war.[5] On 9 September 1972, WSO Capt Charles B. DeBellevue became the highest-scoring American ace of the war with six victories.[5] and WSO Capt Jeffrey Feinstein became the last USAF ace of the war on 13 October 1972.[63] Upon return to the United States, DeBellevue and Feinstein were assigned to pilot training (Feinstein was given a vision waiver) and requalified as USAF pilots in the F-4. USAF F-4C/D/E crews scored 107½ MiG kills in Southeast Asia (50 by Sparrow, 31 by Sidewinder, five by Falcon, 15.5 by gun, and six by other means). USAFE F-4G, A-10A and RF-4C in 1987.

On 31 January 1972, the 170th Tactical Fighter Squadron/183d Tactical Fighter Group of the Illinois Air National Guard became the first Air National Guard unit to transition to Phantoms when their F-84F Thunderstreaks were found to have corrosion problems.[64] The F-4's ANG service lasted until 31 March 1990, when it was replaced by the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

On 15 August 1990, 24 F-4G Wild Weasel Vs and six RF-4Cs were mobilized to Shaikh Isa AB, Bahrain, for Operation Desert Storm. The F-4G was the only aircraft in the USAF inventory equipped for the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) role, and was needed to protect coalition aircraft from Iraq's extensive air defense system. The RF-4C was the only aircraft equipped with the ultra-long-range KS-127 LOROP (long-range oblique photography) camera, and was used for a variety of reconnaissance missions. In spite of flying almost daily missions, only one RF-4C was lost in a fatal accident before the start of hostilities. One F-4G was lost when enemy fire damaged the fuel tanks and the aircraft ran out of fuel near a friendly airbase. The last USAF Phantoms, F-4G Wild Weasel Vs from 561st Fighter Squadron, were retired on 26 March 1996. The last operational flight of the F-4G Wild Weasel was from the 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, in April 1996.[65] The last operational USAF/ANG F-4 to land was flown by Maj Mike Webb and Maj Gary Leeder, Idaho ANG.

Like the Navy, the Air Force has operated QF-4 target drones, serving with the 82d Aerial Targets Squadron at Tyndall AFB, Florida. It is expected that the F-4 will remain in the target role with the 82d ATRS until 2013–14, when they will be replaced by early versions of the F-16 Fighting Falcon converted to a QF-16 configuration. Several QF-4s are maintained in historical color schemes, being displayed as part of Air Combat Command's Heritage Flight at weekends, while serving as target aircraft during the week.

It's been 40 years since the "Phabulous Phantom" first took to the air on May 27, 1958. The F-4 Phantom II aircraft, which still flies in defense of 8 nations, was retired in 1996 from U.S. military forces, ending a record-studded 38-year career.

The Phantom was first used by the U.S. Navy as an interceptor but also was capable of flying as a ground-support bomber for the U.S. Marine Corps. The aircraft flew every traditional military mission: air superiority, close air support, interception, air defense suppression, long-range strike, fleet defense, attack and reconnaissance.

It could fly short training missions or 4.5-hour sorties as a Wild Weasel in search of anti-aircraft defense systems. It starred in both the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm with a record of 280 air-to-air victories and the destruction of more than 200 anti-aircraft sites.

The Phantom was the first multiservice aircraft, flying concurrently with the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. It is the first and only aircraft ever to be flown concurrently by both the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. It has been flown by the defense forces of 11 other nations: Australia, Egypt, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Turkey.

F-4 Phantom II in flight The last F-4s in active U.S. operational service were retired in 1996. Yet by the late 1990s, having been upgraded in a number of air forces, more than 1,000 Phantoms still flew worldwide.

It's only been 95 years since the Wright Brothers first took humans into the skies, and the F-4 Phantom II has been flying more than 40 percent of those years.

From 1958 to 1979, when the production line stopped, a total of 5,195 F-4 Phantom II aircraft were built. Of those, 5,057 rolled off the McDonnell Aircraft (later McDonnell Douglas) production line in St. Louis, Mo. The last 138 were built under license by Mitsubishi Aircraft Co. in Japan. The 21-year production run was the longest on record until surpassed by the F-15 Eagle, which has now been in production 26 years (1972-98 and counting).

Of the 5,057 built in the United States, the U.S. Air Force took delivery of 2,874 aircraft; the Navy and Marine Corps, 1,264; and international customers, a combined total of 919. The Phantom still holds the record for the largest production run of any supersonic fighter built in the United States.

F-4 production line (Neg#: D4C-36084) In the 1960s, most of the thousands of McDonnell employees were involved in delivering the Phantom. Between 1966-67, production averaged 63 F-4 aircraft each month. Production peaked at 72 Phantom aircraft a month in 1967. By 1978, production was 4 to 6 aircraft a month. In all, production of the F-4 contributed to more than 1 million man-years of employment at McDonnell.

The two-place, twin-engine supersonic F-4 Phantom II, flew at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound), and could carry a payload of up to 16,000 pounds of bombs, rockets, missiles and guns. Each aircraft has 54,197 feet of wiring and 643,000 fasteners holding it together. (Three View Image)

The pilots and crews who worked with the aircraft called it many nicknames, but most of all they praised it as a workhorse, an aircraft you could count on, an aircraft that did it all, and an aircraft that got the job done and got you home again.