Walk Around the McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom Jet Fighter Aircraft

The McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom is a mean-looking two seat, twin engine jet powered all-weather, long range supersonic jet fighter bomber that was initially developed for the United States Navy. The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1939 in Missouri and was known for building other iconic aircraft such as the Banshee and the Voodoo. The company merged with Douglas Aircraft which itself had a long list of well-proven aircraft such as the C47 Dakota, A1 Skyraider, A4 Skyhawk, C74 Globemaster and the Douglas Dauntless.

The Phantom took to the skies in 1958 and entered service the same year the Berlin Wall was built, in 1961. Production of the Phantom ran right up until 1981 and it became the most highly produced American supersonic aircraft, with over 5,100 aircraft being built.

The Phantom is capable at flying over twice the speed of sound and can carry more than 8,400 kg of weapons on its 9 external hardpoints.

During the Vietnam War the type served as the American’s main air superiority fighter and was operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps.
The Phantom formed the backbone of American Air Power until the 1970s and 1980s, when it began to be replaced by aircraft such as the F14 Tomcat, F15 Eagle, F16 Falcon and the FA/18 Hornet.

The Phantom was also exported to the British, Greek, Iranian, Israeli, Japanese, South Korean, Spanish and Turkish air forces. I believe the type may still be in use by some militaries – let me know in the comments if you know which countries still operate them!