| rdfs:comment | - McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem (two-seat), twin-engined, all-weather, long-range jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was also adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their respective air wings.
- The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was also adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their respective air wings.
- The Phantom gathered a number of nicknames during its career. Some of these names included "Snoopy", "Rhino", "Double Ugly", "Old Smokey", the "Flying Anvil", "Flying Footlocker", "Flying Brick", "Lead Sled", the "Big Iron Sled" and the "St. Louis Slugger". In recognition of its record of downing and heavily damaging large numbers of Soviet-built MiGs, it was called the "World's Leading Distributor of MiG Parts". As a reflection of excellent performance in spite of its bulk, the F-4 was dubbed "the triumph of thrust over aerodynamics." German Luftwaffe crews called their F-4s the Eisenschwein ("Iron Pig"), Fliegender Ziegelstein ("Flying Brick") and Luftverteidigungsdiesel ("Air Defense Diesel").
- The F-4 Phantom II is a twin-engine, all-weather, third generation fighter-bomber. The cost of a new one during its age was 2.4 million. The aircraft could perform four tactical air roles: air superiority, interdiction, close air support and fleet defense, as it did in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. First flown in May 1958, the Phantom II originally was developed for U.S. Navy fleet defense and entered service in 1961. The USAF evaluated it for close air support, interdiction, and counter-air operations and, in 1962, approved a USAF version after it was discovered to be over 100 miles per hour faster than the F-104 Starfighter. The USAF's Phantom II, designated F-4C, made its first flight on May 27, 1963. Production deliveries began in November 1963. In its air-to-ground role the F-4
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| abstract | - McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem (two-seat), twin-engined, all-weather, long-range jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was also adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their respective air wings. The F-4 is only mentioned in TopGun as the plane used by Maverick's father when he was shot down on the wrong side of enemy lines near Vietnam. However it does appear in the video game Top Gun Combat Zones as a bonus plane for beating the game & in Top Gun: Hard Lock as a drone during flashback missions.
- The Phantom gathered a number of nicknames during its career. Some of these names included "Snoopy", "Rhino", "Double Ugly", "Old Smokey", the "Flying Anvil", "Flying Footlocker", "Flying Brick", "Lead Sled", the "Big Iron Sled" and the "St. Louis Slugger". In recognition of its record of downing and heavily damaging large numbers of Soviet-built MiGs, it was called the "World's Leading Distributor of MiG Parts". As a reflection of excellent performance in spite of its bulk, the F-4 was dubbed "the triumph of thrust over aerodynamics." German Luftwaffe crews called their F-4s the Eisenschwein ("Iron Pig"), Fliegender Ziegelstein ("Flying Brick") and Luftverteidigungsdiesel ("Air Defense Diesel"). Later models incorporated a M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for in-flight performance, including an absolute speed record, and an absolute altitude record.
- The F-4 Phantom II is a twin-engine, all-weather, third generation fighter-bomber. The cost of a new one during its age was 2.4 million. The aircraft could perform four tactical air roles: air superiority, interdiction, close air support and fleet defense, as it did in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. First flown in May 1958, the Phantom II originally was developed for U.S. Navy fleet defense and entered service in 1961. The USAF evaluated it for close air support, interdiction, and counter-air operations and, in 1962, approved a USAF version after it was discovered to be over 100 miles per hour faster than the F-104 Starfighter. The USAF's Phantom II, designated F-4C, made its first flight on May 27, 1963. Production deliveries began in November 1963. In its air-to-ground role the F-4 could carry twice the normal bomb load of a WW II B-17. USAF F-4s also flew reconnaissance and "Wild Weasel" anti-aircraft missile suppression missions (the latter had a specialized variant known as the F-4G Wild Weasel). Phantom II production ended in 1979 after over 5,000 had been built more than 2,600 for the USAF, about 1,200 for the Navy and Marine Corps, and the rest for friendly foreign nations, including to Israel, Iran, Greece, Spain, Turkey, South Korea, West Germany, Australia, Japan, and Great Britain. The F-4 was used extensively in the Vietnam War, where its numerous dogfights with North Vietnamese MiG fighters earned it the nickname "the world's leading distributor of MiG parts." The Phantom also saw service in the Middle East with the Israeli Air Force. The Israeli Phantoms were delivered under the Peace Echo I though IV and Nickel Grass programs. Israeli F-4E Phantoms were nicknamed Kurnass (heavy hammer) while the RF-4E's was called Orev (raven). In the Beqqa Valley the Phantom shot down 4th generation soviet aircraft piloted by Russians under Syrian markings. The last Israeli Phantoms were retired in 2004. Later versions of the aircraft were still active in the U.S. Air Force inventory well into the 1990s. F-4s are no longer in the USAF inventory but are still flown by foreign nations. The aircraft is still used by the USAF in an unmanned drone form (the QF-4E) for training in air-to-air gunnery. In one particular incident, a flight of four F-22 Raptors were on a training mission where they had to 'intercept' a QF-4E. Each Raptor fired missiles at it, but for some reason, all of them missed, despite the QF-4E flying in a straight line the whole time. Finally, all four Raptors fired missiles all at once and finally shot down the aging Phantom. A veteran pilot on the ground was known to have said "So it takes four Raptors to shoot down one Phantom...". Starting in 1973, F-4E's were fitted with target-identification systems for long-range visual identification of airborne or ground targets. Each system is basically a television camera with a zoom lens to aid in positive identification, and a system called Pave-Tack, which provided day and night all-weather capability to acquire, track and designate ground targets for laser, infrared and electro-optically guided weapons. Another change was a digital intercept computer that includes launch computations for all AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-7 Sparrow.
- The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was also adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their respective air wings. The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2. It can carry over 18,000 pounds (8,400 kg) of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was designed without an internal cannon, but later models incorporated a M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records, including an absolute speed record, and an absolute altitude record. The F-4 was used extensively by these three U.S. services during the Vietnam War, serving as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, as well as being important in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles by the close of U.S. involvement in the war. The Phantom has the distinction of being the last U.S. fighter flown to attain ace status in the 20th century. During the Vietnam War, the USAF had one pilot and two WSOs, and the US Navy one pilot and one RIO, become aces in air-to-air combat. It 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 the F-15 Eagle and F-16 in the U.S. Air Force; the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet in 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 and Wild Weasel (suppression of enemy air defenses) roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. It was also the only aircraft used by both U.S. flight demonstration teams: the USAF Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the US Navy Blue Angels (F-4J). The F-4 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 in the Iran–Iraq War. Phantoms remain in front line service with seven countries, and in use as an unmanned target in the U.S. Air Force. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built, making it the most numerous American supersonic military aircraft.
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