The Phantom Turns 50 by Mark Munzel

May 27 represents a milestone in the history of military aviation. On this day in 1958, the first McDonnell F-4 Phantom II lifted off from Lambert Field in St. Louis, Missouri.

Fifty years on, several countries still fly the F-4 in its design roles of interceptor and tactical fighter – and they are not third-world nations with shoestring defense budgets. The Phantom still serves in its home country too, as a target drone. Few if any other fighters have been as widely used by major nations, so long after their appearance.

Like a living dinosaur, the F-4 is one of the last links to a golden age when there was a multitude of military aircraft – the Century Series, F-111, F-8, A-3, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-7, Buccaneer, Jaguar, Sea Vixen, SAAB Draken, Mirage III, and more – and new ones were being developed at a startling rate. The F-4 survives to remind us of the diversity we have lost.

The F-4 is famous for more than its longevity, though. Fifty years of history have shown it to be the most important US fighter of the missile era. Other combat aircraft have been built in greater numbers, served in more roles, and had more influence on the nature of warfare, but few have struck the same balance as the F-4.

With its bent nose, flared intakes, upturned wingtips, and drooping stabilizers, the Phantom looks functional, not beautiful. But the ugly lack pretension, and they get the job done!

By the Numbers

Nor do the totals convey how omnipresent the F-4 was in the US military. Today, Phantom Phanatics get excited when one camouflaged F-4 appears at a US airshow, as part of the Heritage Flight program. When the F-4 was in its prime, the ramps at many US Air Force bases – Seymour Johnson, Shaw, Moody, Eglin, Homestead, Holloman, Bergstrom, George, and others – were covered with similarly-painted Phantoms. USAF Phantom wings or squadrons were stationed at 16 bases in the Pacific, including eight in South Vietnam and Thailand during the Vietnam War, and 13 in Europe. F-4s also equipped Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard squadrons in 28 states.

In the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and Tonkin Gulf, F-4s from 26 seagoing US Navy fighter squadrons launched from the decks of aircraft carriers, their glossy grey and white colors and hi-viz markings shining like medieval armor. The Fleet squadrons were backed by training, reserve, and test units. Twenty-five Marine Corps squadrons deployed fighter or recon Phantoms wherever Leathernecks on the ground needed their support.

The F-4 was even flown by both the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels, although the oil crisis of 1970s quickly forced both teams to switch to smaller aircraft.

More than 1600 Phantoms served internationally, including 334 transferred from the USAF to other nations. Around 700 of them remain in service. The F-4 will spend its 50th birthday on active duty in Germany, Greece, Turkey, Japan, Korea, Egypt, and Iran. Only the United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, and Australia* have retired it.

Roles and Variants

Circa 1967, Phantoms would be just one type of aircraft in a USAF strike package in Vietnam, providing fighter escort for F-105 bombers and defense-suppression aircraft and RF-101 recon planes. Five years later, during the Linebacker I bombing campaign, the F-4 had replaced those other aircraft and all-Phantom packages were common. And while 60 or more Phantoms were heading to downtown Hanoi against major targets, single Phantoms would be interdicting trucks on the Ho Chi Minh trail or providing close air support for troops in contact.

The US services would fly several generations of F-4, adding newer radars, slatted wings, and, in the USAF’s case, an internal 20mm cannon. The straight fighter models were eventually replaced by F-14s, F-15s, F-16s, and F/A-18s. The recon and Weasel variants would be the last operational US Phantoms, flying until 1996.

While most Phantoms sold overseas were based on US models, some were unique. The UK’s Phantom FG.1 s and FGR.2s had Rolls Royce Spey engines. German F-4Fs were simplified models with less internal fuel and no radar-guided missiles. Israel’s F-4E(S)s looked like fighters but were really reconnaissance aircraft with a monstrous HICON camera. Most foreign aircraft received avionics and weapons upgrades to keep them effective in middle age.

There might have been still more F-4 variants if McDonnell Douglas designers had had their way. A controlled-configuration variant was tested with canards. More radical proposals included a Mach 3 capable F-4X and a swing-wing variant as an alternative to the F-14.

The F-4’s carrier origins made it rugged and its two Pratt and Whitney J-79 engines made it powerful and survivable. But its most important design feature was probably its two-seat configuration, common for 1950s interceptors but not for other tactical aircraft. Having two crewmen allowed the F-4 to excel on missions that would have overwhelmed the pilot of a single-seat aircraft. The Phantom’s pilot could concentrate on flying and navigating, or "rowing the boat," while the backseater "shot the ducks," operating the radar or mission systems.

Variously called the Weapons System Operator, Radar Intercept Operator, or simply the "Guy in Back," the second crewman provided a second set of eyes to look for target in bombing run, or to check six in a dogfight. And two crewmen meant company on lonely combat air patrols, a ready second opinion, and a calm voice to keep the pilot focused during night landings or when limping home with combat damage.

The F-4 Makes History

Many names have become synonymous with the Phantom: Operation Bolo, where the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, the "Wolfpack," shot down seven North Vietnamese fighters in one day. The "Dragon’s Jaw," a bridge near Hanoi that had withstood several major attacks but fell to just twelve F-4s armed with Paveway bombs. Topgun, the US Navy’s Fighter Weapons School whose graduates demonstrated that even without an internal gun, a big, missile-armed fighter could win a close-range knife-fight against small, nimble MiGs.

The names include people, of course. Robin Olds was the charismatic leader of the Wolfpack and Daniel "Chappie" James was his deputy. Don Pardo literally pushed a wingman’s damaged airplane out of hostile airspace with his own Phantom. Randy Cunningham, Willie Driscoll, Steve Ritchie, Chuck DeBellevue, and Jeff Fenstein, all the US’s post-Korean war aces, scored their kills in F-4s. Less well known are Israel’s nine F-4 aces, or Iran’s.

Hopefully, tensions between North and South Korea, Turkey and Greece, and the US and Iran will remain low, so the Phantom will not get to make any more history. But the F-4 is still able to do so, and can still hold its own if called into battle. How many 50-year olds can claim that?

* Yes, Australia! The RAAF briefly flew 24 loaner F-4Es while awaiting delivery of its F-111Cs.

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