‘It was a superior aircraft along with its Wide turning radius, and its lack of a gun. Only three things as I recall were regrettable… Its excessive engine smoke, its ‘Nothing was “bad” about the F-4 Phantom! This print is available in multiple sizes from – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. While there isn’t any doubt about the aircraft tremendous capabilities, was there anything bad about the iconic F-4 Phantom?Īccording John Chesire, F-4 US Navy combat pilot during the Vietnam War, the mighty Phantom was nearly a perfect machine. military flight demonstration teams, the Navy Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds, flew the Phantom II from 1969 to 1973. Had built 5,068 Phantom IIs, and Mitsubishi, in Japan, had built 127.į-4s saw combat in both the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm and served with the air forces of 11 countries in addition to the United States. By the end of production in 1985, McDonnell

In 1961, an F-4 set the world speed record atġ,604 mph (2581 kph) on a 15-mile circuit. In 1959, its prototype set the world altitude record atĩ8,556 feet (30,000 meters). The F-4 established 16 speed, altitude and It served in the first line of more Western air forces than any other jet. The McDonnell two-place, twinjet, all-weather F-4 Phantom II, with top speeds more than twice that of sound, was one of the most versatile fighters ever built. Smaller planes could out turn it however a well flown Phantom was the king until the next generation fighters came out,” Rick Danzey, former USAF F-4 Phantom driver. “The hard wing variants did not turn as well as the slatted models.

Cockpit f4 phantom