Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>F-4>HA1971

General Background

The F-4 Phantom II first entered US Military service in 1960. It was designed as a fleet defense fighter for the US Navy but by 1963 it was adopted as the US Air Force primary fighter-bomber. Despite the size and weight of this Cold War icon the F-4 broke 15 world records and continued to hold five of them until 1975.

Produced from 1960 to 1981 there were 5,195 Phantom IIs manufactured. Eleven countries other than the USA had the Phantom II in their inventory.

The Aircraft

On May 10, 1972 VF-96 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II 155749 was still a “J” variant and credited with a MiG-17 kill. In 1979 the aircraft was converted to an “S” variant, one of the first 43 converted “J”s that didn’t receive the leading edge slats but were later added. The aircraft spent time with VMFA-235 before retiring and conversion to a manned target drone. 155749 belonged to the VF-301 (reserve) “Devil’s Disciples”. On April 20, 2002 during an air show at NAS Pt. Mugu the F-4S crashed killing the crew.

Specifications :

Dimensions
Length:	17.7m
Height:	4.7m
Wingspan:	11.6m
Wingarea:	49.2 sq m
No. of Engines:	2
Powerplant :	General Electric J79-GE-10 (A/B 17,900Lb/8,119Kg)
Performance
Range:	2,222 km
Cruise Speed:	908 km/h
Max Speed:	2,299 km/h
Climb:	12,572 m/min
Ceiling:	16,672 m