Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Two-seat tactical strike fighter

Power Plant:

(F-4E)

Two 11,870 lb dry and 17,900 lb st with reheat General Electric J79-GE-17 turbojets

Specifications:

Armament:

One 20 mm Vulcan M-61A1 rotary cannon; four or six AIM-7E Sparrow IIIB plus four AIM-9D Sidewinder air-to-air missiles; or up to 7,257 kg (16,000 lb) of external stores

History:

For many years the McDonnell Phantom II was one of the most important aircraft in the western world’s inventory, but has been phased out of major service. In all 5,201 airframes had been completed by the time production ceased in 1981. Work progressed for many years to upgrade some of the Phantoms still in service by fitting new weapons systems, upgrading the cockpit, and installing Pratt & Whitney PW 1120 engines.

On 27 May 1958 the McDonnell chief test pilot Robert Little flew the prototype XF4H-1 (142259) from Lambert Field, St Louis, Missouri. However, it was lost in a crash on 21 October 1959. In 1967 McDonnell merged with Douglas and the type became known as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom. Total procurement for the US Navy, US Marine Corps and USAF was 4,074 airframes. A total of 138 was built in Japan; and the type has seen service with West Germany, Great Britain (most with Rolls Royce Spey engines), Greece, Iran, Israel, South Korea and Turkey. At various stages the type held 15 world records, including a speed record of 2,585.086 km/h (1,606.342 mph) on 22 November 1961.

The first US Navy unit to receive the Phantom was VF-101 based at Miramar, California, in December 1960, this being the Pacific Fleet Fighter Replacement Training Squadron, followed by VF-121 at Key West Naval Air Station, Florida. The first operational squadron was VF-74 with F-4H-1s with the Atlantic Fleet, and FV-114 with the Pacific Fleet. Carrier qualification trials took place on the USS Saratoga in August 1962. Not long afterwards it began to be supplied to US Marine Corps units, VMFA-314 receiving its first aircraft in 1962. In that year a number of F-4Bs were based at Edwards Air Force Base, California for evaluation, and the USAF ordered the F-4C with the J79-GE-15 engine, the first aircraft being delivered to squadrons of the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida in 1962.

The Phantom demonstrated its inherent combat potential to good effect in a number of campaigns, including the Middle East, in the June 1967 Yom Kippur war in 1973; and in Vietnam, where it had a number of successes against MiG 17s and MiG 21s, as well as ground strafing, missile launching, bomb dropping, reconnaissance, and “Wild Weasel” operations in the suppression of hostile weapon radar guidance systems. The type has also been used by the US Navy “Blue Angels” and USAF “Thunderbirds” aerobatic teams. At the peak of its production 70 aircraft a month were rolling off the St Louis production line.

Throughout its life the Phantom continued to be developed, through the F-4F, of which 175 were built, F-4G (12), F-4J (523) and the F-4K and F-4M for the RAF and RN, which were obtained to replace the de Havilland Sea Vixen and Hawker Hunter. The initial contract was placed in September 1964 and part of this contract was for as much British equipment as possible to be included, this including the installation of the Rolls Royce Spey RB 168-25R engine which provided 12,250 lbst dry and 20,515 lbst with afterburning. Due to the higher exhaust gas temperature of the Spey, it was necessary to use some 591 kg (1,304 lb) of titanium in the structure. The first YF-4K flew on 27 June 1966 and 52 were delivered to the Royal Navy. The first F-4M for the RAF flew on 17 February 1967 and 118 were delivered, this order being completed in August 1969, these aircraft becoming known as the Phantom FGR Mk II. Later the F-4Ks were transferred to the RAF. The type was eventually replaced by the Panavia Tornado.

The YF-4E prototype was first flown on 7 August 1965, the first production aircraft flying on 30 June 1967 and deliveries began to TAC at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada on 3 October 1967. During its life the F-4E had a number of improvements, including manoeuvring slats, and production took place from 1972 to 1979, when 1,387 had been delivered. A further 151 RF-4Es for the reconnaissance role were produced, a variant of this being for the West German Air Force, this featuring improved reconnaissance capability and a very-long-range HF communications system. The first RF-4E was flown on 15 September 1970. Deliveries of the F-4E series were: USAF 831, Iran 177, West Germany 10, Korea 37, Greece 56, Turkey 72 and Israel 204.

In 1963 the Australian Government ordered the General Dynamics F-111C for service with No 82 Bomber Wing but, because of a number of problems which involved delivery delays, the RAAF leased 24 examples of the F-4E under an agreement known as Peace Reef pending delivery of the F-111Cs. Throughout Australian service these aircraft carried RAAF roundels and USAF serials (69-0304 to 69-0307; 69-7201 to 69-7217, 69-7219, 69-7220 and 69-7234). All were F-4E-43 MC models and saw service with Nos 1 and 6 Squadrons operating from Amberley, QLD. The aircraft were ferried to Australia mainly by USAF crews, being flown from California via Hawaii and Guam, with refuelling provided by Strategic Air Command KC-135 tankers. Initially they were to have been serials 69-304 to 69-307 and 69-7201 to 69-7220. However, 69-7234 was delivered in lieu of 69-7218, and in the event as they were on lease they all retained their USAF serials.

Standard USAF South East Asia camouflage was applied, as were RAAF ‘kangaroo’ roundels but no tail fin flashes. The last two digits of the serial were painted in grey on the tail for identification. The A69 RAAF serial prefix was allotted out of order as the aircraft series identifier, this being the last two digits of the USAF serial. The first five arrived on 14 September 1970 and the last on 27 June 1973. One (69-7203) was lost off Evans Head, NSW on 16 June 1971 during night bombing exercises. Another crash landed on 19 October 1970 due to a fault with the runway arrestor cable. Extensively damaged, it was conveyed to No 3 AD where repairs were completed in September 1971. The F-4Es were able to provide RAAF personnel with valuable experience with modern equipment. It is interesting to note in 1972 the US Government offered to sell the remaining 23 F-4Es to Australia but the offer was not taken up.

The F-4Es were operated by Nos 1 and 6 Squadrons of No 82 Wing, No 482 Maintenance Squadron being responsible for work on the aircraft. Once the F-111C became available in 1972 eleven F-4Es were returned to the United States so No 6 Squadron could prepare for the new type, whilst No 1 Squadron continued to operate the F-4E into 1973. On return to Hill Air Force Base in Utah they were mostly converted to F-4G Wild Weasel Electronic Warfare aircraft but at least one (69-0305) is known to have become a QF-4G target drone with the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron at Tyndal Air Force Base in Florida.

The variant used by the RAAF, the F-4E, was the first model of the Phantom to incorporate the 20 mm rotary cannon and entered the Tactical Air Command inventory of the USAF on 3 October 1967. The cannon armament arose out of a requirement which arose in Vietnam for air-to-ground strikes and fighter-versus-fighter dogfights where the effectiveness of the air-to-air missiles could be nullified. Other changes included AN/ANPQ fire control radar, up-rated engines, and increased fuel. The Phantom received a considerable amount of development through a variety of models during its production life, and over the years has been a regular visitor to this region during exercises.

Overall, only a few remain in service, some having been converted to Drone Target configuration. It has been retired by the German Luftwaffe, and the last of 316 conversions to QF-4 drone status in California has been completed. Towards the end of its life some 425 examples remained in service in Egypt, Greece, Iran, Japan, South Korea and Japan.

In 1989 HMAS Tobruk returned from the US with F-4E Phantom 67-0237, this being a gift to the RAAF Museum, Point Cook by the USAF Museum at Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft received some restoration work at Amberley, QLD and was painted to represent 69-7208, one of the aircraft which saw service with the RAAF.

Two F-4G Phantoms have been allotted in the US for the Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra. These aircraft (69-7212 and 69-7216), which served with the RAAF, have been stored at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at the Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. In 2015 discussions were taking place to ship the aircraft to Australia where they would be returned to F-4E standard. Both aircraft flew 50 and 60 missions respectively during Operation Desert Storm and after Australian service were returned to the United States in October 1972 and June 1973.  However, the Queensland Museum still awaits their delivery.