Today marks the start of my fall aircraft series.

Today's entry is the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
TheMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II[N 1]is a tandem, two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-rangesupersonicjet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for theUnited States NavybyMcDonnell Aircraft.[1]It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was also adopted by theU.S. Marine Corpsand theU.S. Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their respective air wings.[2]

The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of overMach2.2. It can carry over 18,000 pounds (8,400kg) of weapons on nine externalhardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was designed without an internal cannon. Later models incorporated aM61 Vulcanrotary cannon. Beginning in 1959 it set 15 world records for in-flight performance,[3]including an absolute speed record, and an absolute altitude record.[4]

During theVietnam Warthe F-4 was used extensively; it served as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, and became important in the ground-attack andreconnaissanceroles late in the war. The Phantom has the distinction of being the last U.S. fighter flown to attainacestatus in the 20th century. During the Vietnam War the USAF had one pilot and two weapon systems officers (WSOs),[5]and the US Navy one pilot and one radar intercept officer (RIO), achieve five aerial kills against other enemy fighter aircraft and become aces in air-to-air combat.[6]The F-4 continued to form a major part of U.S. military air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft such as theF-15 EagleandF-16in the U.S. Air Force; theGrumman F-14 TomcatandF/A-18 Hornetin the U.S. Navy; and the F/A-18 in the U.S. Marine Corps.

The F-4 Phantom II remained in use by the U.S. in the reconnaissance andWild Weasel(suppression of enemy air defenses) roles in the 1991Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996.[7][8]It was also the only aircraft used by both U.S. flight demonstration teams: the USAFThunderbirds(F-4E) and the US NavyBlue Angels(F-4J).[2][9][10]The F-4 was also operated by the armed forces of 11 other nations. Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in severalArabo Israeli conflicts, while Iran used its large fleet of Phantoms in theIrano Iraq War. Phantoms remain in front line service with seven countries, and in use as anunmanned targetin the U.S. Air Force.[11]Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built, making it the most numerous American supersonic military aircraft.[2][12]