McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber. It first entered service in 1961 with the U.S. Navy, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their air arms. As of 2020, 62 years after its first flight, the F- 4 remains in service with Iran, Japan, South Korea, Greece, and Turkey.

About McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in brief

Summary McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIThe McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber. It first entered service in 1961 with the U.S. Navy, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their air arms. The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2. 2. It can carry more than 18,000 pounds of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air- to-ground missiles, and various bombs. It was used extensively during the Vietnam War, and remained in use in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. As of 2020, 62 years after its first flight, the F- 4 remains in service with Iran, Japan, South Korea, Greece, and Turkey. The aircraft has most recently been in service against the Islamic State group in the Middle East. In 1952, McDonnell’s Chief of Aerodynamics, Dave Lewis, was appointed by CEO Jim McDonnell to be the company’s preliminary design manager. In 1953, McDonnell Aircraft began work on revising its F3H Demon naval fighter, seeking expanded capabilities and better performance. The company developed several projects, including a variant powered by a Wright J67 engine, and variants powered by two Wright J65 engines, or two General Electric J79 engines. The J79-powered version promised a topSpeed of Mach 1. 97. On 19 September 1953,.

McDonnell approached the United States Navy with a proposal for the \”Super Demon\”. Uniquely, the aircraft was to be modular, as it could be fitted with one- or two- Seat noses for different missions, with different nose cones to accommodate radar, photo cameras, four 20 mm cannon, or 56 FFAR unguided rockets in addition to the nine hardpoints under the wings. The Navy was sufficiently interested to order a full-scale mockup of the FGH-3H-9F-1-1, but felt that the upcoming Gr9 and XF8U-1 Vought XF9F was already satisfied. The McDonnell design was therefore reworked into an entirely new design with 11 externalhardpoints for weapons and on 18 October 1954, the company received a letter of intent for two YAH-1 prototypes for the F4 Skyhawk for ground attack and dog-fighting project. The F4 was also the only aircraft used by both U. S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the United. States Navy Blue Angels. It was also operated by the armed forces of 11 other nations. Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in several Arab–Israeli conflicts, while Iran used its large fleet of Phantoms, acquired before the fall of the Shah, in the Iran–Iraq War. The aircraft was the most produced American supersoni military aircraft, with a total of 5,195 built, making it the most popular fighter aircraft in the world.