What Couldn’t the F-4 Phantom Do?

Air & Space Magazine ^ | March, 2015 | Stephen Joiner

[sukhoi-30mki]

First, they tried an F-104. “Not enough wing or thrust,” recalls Jack Petry, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. When NASA engineers were launching rockets at Florida’s Cape Canaveral in the 1960s, they needed pilots to fly close enough to film the missiles as they accelerated through Mach 1 at 35,000 feet. Petry was one of the chosen. And the preferred chase airplane was the McDonnell F-4 Phantom.

“Those two J79 engines made all the difference,” says Petry. After a Mach 1.2 dive synched to the launch countdown, he “walked the [rocket’s] contrail” up to the intercept, tweaking closing speed and updating mission control while camera pods mounted under each wing shot film at 900 frames per second. Matching velocity with a Titan rocket for 90 extreme seconds, the Phantom powered through the missile’s thundering wash, then broke away as the rocket surged toward space. Of pacing a Titan II in a two-seat fighter, Petry says: “Absolutely beautiful. To see that massive thing in flight and be right there in the air with it—you can imagine the exhilaration.”

***

For nearly four decades of service in the U.S. military, the Phantom performed every combat task thrown at it—almost every mission ever defined.

[IncPen]

ping

[Iron head mike]

“It couldn’t fire guns because it had none?”
From the AF E model on they were equipped with multiple barrel rotating guns

[taxcontrol]

LOL - yeah, some of the old timers would say that the F4 was proof that with a big enough engine, you could make a brick fly.

[AppyPappy]

According to my neighbor who flew them in ‘nam, they couldn’t parallel park worth a damn. He also mentioned the unwillingness to turn.

[Iron head mike]

“The one in the photo has a gun in the chin. A late model F-4.”

that’s some kind of sensor in a small dome.

[Steely Tom]

I’ve always heard that the J-79 was exceedingly loud.

The F-104 Starfighter had just one, and it was loud as hell. Sounded like the mother of all vacuum cleaners, attached to a moose in heat with a megaphone.

The F4 had two J-79s. It must have sounded like the crack of doom.

I’m too young to have experienced either one personally.

Although I have it on good authority that the sound that Johnny Quest’s dad’s jet made was actually a that of Starfighter at idle speed. Basically the coolest turbine whine you can imagine.

[BwanaNdege]

"F4s remain my favorite plane to this day."

Amen to that! I was an 81 mortar FO with Lima, 3/26 further south in I Corps. We had a lot of F-4 (and A-4, plus an occasional "Spad" A-1 Skyraider) CAS. They definitely had the Vulcan 20mm cannon, but don't remember if those were internal or in external pods. We nearly got brained by the empty brass kicked out by the 20mm!

My wildest memory of F-4 CAS was in Arizona Territory. I was trying to locate an NVA mortar and a .50 cal. The F-4 came over from behind us, about 75 feet off the deck. About 75 yards behind us, he released (6) 250# Snake eyes and 2 canisters of napalm. All that ordinance flew right over our heads and nailed the NVA position. Scared the snot out of me and I wasn't the target!

[Preachin']

We had these at Spangdahlem AB, Germany while I was there (1984-86). I was in telecommunications and I don’t know much about (or care to research) the specs on any of the aircraft we had on base. One thing I do know is that the F4 was terribly loud.

Just seeing the pictures here brings back a ton of memories for me.

[Chainmail]

God bless our Marine Phantom drivers! I owe my life to Snake and Nape delivered right in the middle of the enemy when we needed it most. He had to fly that thing so slow and so low I was afraid he'd hit the trees.

I sure I could find that particular pilot and buy him a case of his favorite champagne.

[Jacquerie]

Agree, which is why I have the utmost respect for Phantom drivers, especially those who landed on pre-Forrestal aircraft carriers. Plus or minus 150 kt approach speed, at night, in all wx? No thanks.

[mj1234]

you are correct-

The plane is from VF111- the “sundowners”this is
our sister squadron- (I was in VF51-screaming eagles)

That was a first gen model FLIR- infrared- and it
worked like - sh**- most Never turned it on-
finally removed the blasted thing-

Cannot make out the VTAS sensors in the cocpit-
so I am guessing this is an F4B- I worked on this,
and was there for the F4N upgrades-

Oh as a side note- the Coral Sea was off Vietnam when
Saigon fell- both VF51 and VF11 flew aircap during
the evacuation- then ...on to the Mayaguez rescue

[red-dawg]

I have two memories of that loud beast.

First time I stood plane guard on a destroyer behind a carrier holding an M-14.
By the time my watch was over, I was covered in jet fuel and soot from head to toe and couldn't hear a thing.

Second time was when I got transferred and I had to sit outside the terminal at Clark AFB,
*RIGHT NEXT TO A TAXI LANE*.

It blew me and my seabag about fifty feet when he turned and pointed the exhaust at me.

[PhiloBedo]

Pardo's Push: 1967

[vetvetdoug]

The last photograph was General Daniel “Chappie” James. He presented me one of my greatest honors as “Outstanding Airman of the Year, 1976”. He retired and passed away in January of 1978. He had a great sense of humor and was a decent racquetball partner.

[Nowhere Man]

They need to junk the F-35 and bring back the F-4 and F-14 with some avionics updates. I’d love to see some F-5’s or F-20’s too.

[Mr Rogers]

My first plane. Like first loves of another sort, one never forgets. Last flew Double Ugly in March of 1989. Still miss it.

[TalonDJ]

Different material properties. You would have to do a complete redesign to make that happen. And it still would not be stealthy since that requires a different shape.

[TalonDJ]

It did. Growing up I spent time living on a base were some were stationed. Our house was no where near the flightline but you still had to stop your conversation and wait for them to finish taking off. Loud.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

For nearly four decades of service in the U.S. military, the Phantom performed every combat task thrown at it—almost every mission ever defined.

Except one: dogfighting. In that scenario, it was a miserable failure.

[tanknetter]

Technically I think it was an IRST: infrared search and track. Same concept as FLIR, but used primarily as a targeting tool for air to air combat as opposed to safe navigation of the aircraft in bad weather/night conditions or air to ground attacks. Some Navy and early USAF (C and D models) birds had them. In later years the fairings were used to mount sensors for the ECM/RWR suite.

When the USAF adopted the gun the F-4 (Navy and Marines never did that, continued to rely on a centerline mounted gunpod) never got a longer nose and smaller radar dish/nose cone. It’s the short fat vs long skinny nose that differentiates the gun equipped Phantoms, not a blister under the nose.