First time I saw an F4H was at MCAS Beaufort. We were working a rare Saturday (F8U-2NE squadron), so everyone was working off a hangover. Two F4H planes took off and immediately hit afterburners. Three guys fell on the ground holding their head, screaming.
ping
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.