Subject: McDonnell F-4 Phantom (7 of 49)

From: [email-masked] (joseph.f.baugher)
Date: 7 May 94 19:07:40 GMT

The impressive performance of the Phantom immediately caught the 
attention of the USAF, which ordinarily would have been quite 
reluctant even to consider any aircraft that had originally designed 
for the Navy.  However, under pressure from Secretary of Defense 
Robert McNamara, who wanted to reduce defense expenditures by 
achieving greater commonality between the aircraft flown by the 
various services, the Air Force agreed in 1961 to undertake an 
evaluation of the F4H-1 Phantom II.  

A comparative evaluation between the F4H-1 and the F-106A took place 
under the code name *Operation Highspeed*.  The F4H-1 had better 
overall speed, altitude and range performance than the F-106A.  In 
addition, it could carry heavier loads than the F-106A over longer 
distances and had a 25 percent greater radar range.  Later, the Air 
Force also looked into the possibility of using the Phantom as a 
tactical fighter and as a tactical reconnaissance aircraft.  The F4H-1 
was much more versatile than the Air Force's F-105 Thunderchief, since 
it could not only carry similar external loads but was also 
potentially a much better air superiority fighter due to its more 
favorable wing and power loadings.  In the reconnaissance role, the 
Phantom offered a much better performance than the RF-101A/C, and 
unlike the Voodoo, could be fitted for night photographic missions.  

Since the Phantom had so much going for it, in January of 1962, 
President Kennedy requested Congressional approval for the procurement 
of F4H-1 derivatives for the Air Force under the designation F-110.  
The F-110A was to be the tactical fighter version, with RF-110A being 
the tactical reconnaissance version.  The name *Spectre* was assigned 
to the aircraft.  

In support of this program, the Defense Department instructed that 
McDonnell deliver two Navy F4H-1s to the Air Force for evaluation.  On 
January 24, 1962, the two Navy F4H-1s (BuNos 149405 and 149406) were 
delivered to the Air Force at Langley AFB in Virginia.  They were 
painted in USAF markings with the designation "F-110A" prominently 
displayed on the nose, but initially retained their Navy BuNos.  They 
were later given Air Force serials 62-12168 and 62-12169 respectively.  

The results of the trials were impressive.  The Phantom met or 
exceeded all the Air Force's expectations.  In March of 1962, the 
Defense Department announced that land-based versions of the Phantom 
were to be the standard tactical fighter and tactical reconnaissance 
aircraft of the USAF.  On March 30, McDonnell received a letter of 
intent for one F-110A (serial number 62-12199), and on May 29, another 
letter was received for a pair of YRF-110A reconnaissance aircraft 
(62-12200 and 62-12201).  

In order to formalize the F-110 project, the Air Force issued Specific 
Operational Requirement 200 on August 29, 1962.  It called for an 
aircraft based on the F4H-1 but with added ground attack capability.  
The folding wings, catapult attachment points, and arrester hooks of 
the naval version were to be retained, but dual controls were to be 
provided for the crew member in the rear seat.  The high tire pressure 
of the Navy F-4B was unacceptable to the Air Force, and new wider 
tires with lower pressures were to be fitted.  Anti-skid wheel brakes 
were to be provided, the Air Force considering that even the tailhook 
would not be enough insurance in case of a landing emergency.  

On September 18, 1962, the Defense Department ordered that all Air 
Force, Army, and Navy aircraft be designated under a common, universal 
system.  This was done because Secretary McNamara was interested in 
achieving greater commonality between the services.  According to one 
story, he supposedly had gotten hopelessly confused when his aides 
told him that the Navy and the Air Force had completely different 
designation schemes, often for what was basically the same aircraft.  
Under the Defense Department order, the separate naval designation 
system which had been around since 1922 was eliminated.  In 
particular, this meant that the F4H naval designation for the Phantom 
was abolished and replaced by F-4.  At the same time, the F-110 Air 
Force designation for the Phantom was also abolished and replaced by 
F-4.  Henceforth, both Navy and Air Force Phantoms were to be 
designated F-4, with Air Force and Navy Phantoms being distinguished 
from each other only by series letters.  The Navy F4H-1 Phantom was 
redesignated F-4B, whereas the Air Force F-110A became known as F-4C 
and the YRF-110A became YRF-4C.  At the same time, the separate name 
*Spectre* for the USAF's version was eliminated, and from that moment 
onward, both Air Force and Navy F-4s were named *Phantom*.  

The first production F-4C (62-12199) took off on its maiden flight on 
May 27, 1963.  The factory designation was Model 98DE.  The F-4C was 
externally almost identical to the naval F-4B, even retaining the 
folding wings and arrester gear.  However, it differed internally from 
the F-4B.  It was fitted with dual controls, as the Air Force intended 
to fly it as a two-pilot aircraft.  Low-pressure tires were fitted, 
which required thicker wheels which, in turn, required deeper wheel 
wells which resulted in a slight bulge having to be added above and 
below the inner wing panels.  An anti-skid wheel system was fitted.  
The probe-and-drogue midair refuelling system of the Navy version was 
replaced by a boom-type refuelling system with a refuelling receptacle 
being mounted on top of the fuselage behind the rear cockpit.  The 
backseat crew member (who was now also a pilot) had new consoles, a 
lowered panel for improved forward visibility, and a relocated radar 
tracking handle, attack switches, and other refinements.  

The F-4C had substantially different electronic equipment, including a 
Westinghouse AN/APQ-100 radar system with ground mapping capability, 
an AN/APA-157 CW illuminator for the AIM-7 Sparrow family of 
air-to-air missiles, an AN/AJB-7 all-altitude nuclear bomb control 
system with low-altitude release capability and option for Bullpup 
release, a Litton AN/ASN-48 (LN12A/B) inertial navigation system, and 
an AN/ASN-46 navigation computer.  Other systems included the ASN-39 
(later -46) dead-reckoning navigation computer, the ALR-17 electronic 
countermeasures radar warning receiver, APR-25 radar homing and 
warning system, an APR-26 SAM launch warning system, an APN-141 (later 
-159) radar altimeter, an A24G central air data computer, a General 
Electric ASA-32A analog autopilot and flight-control system, an ASQ-19 
communications/navigation/ identification package, and an ARW-77 
Bullpup missile control system.  Some F-4Cs were equipped with the 
SST-181X Combat Skyspot radar bombing system.  

The F-4C was powered by two 10,000 lb.s.t.  (17,000 lb.s.t.  with 
afterburning) General Electric J79-GE-15 turbojets.  A built-in 
cartridge starting system was provided.  The crew members sat on 
Martin-Baker Mk H5 ejector seats.  

The F-4C had no built-in cannon armament.  Four AIM-7D or -7E Sparrow 
missiles could be mounted in recesses underneath the fuselage.  Four 
AIM-4D Falcon or AIM-9B or -9D Sidewinder infrared homing air-to-air 
missiles could be carried externally on the inboard underwing pylon.  
Air-to-ground missiles that could be carried included the AGM-12 
Bullpup, the AGM-45 Shrike, and the AGM-65 Maverick.  Unguided rocket 
launchers could also be carried, and a load of retarded and unretarded 
bombs (conventional, cluster, fire, chemical, or leaflet) could be 
carried.  The Mk.28 "special store" could be carried, although the 
F-4C did not have a nuclear mission as one of its primary goals.  A 
maximum external load of 16,000 pounds could be carried.  

In later years, the lack of an internal gun came to be a problem, and 
a centerline SUU-16/A pod containing an M61A1 gun and 1200 rounds of 
ammunition was fitted underneath the fuselage.  The F-4C could carry 
as many as three SUU-16/A (later -23/A) pods, each housing an M61A1 
cannon and 1200 rounds of ammunition.  

The internal fuel was 1979 US gallons, carried in six fuselage tanks 
and two integral wing tanks.  To supplement the internal fuel, the 
F-4C could carry a single 600-gallon drop tank on the centerline rack 
and/or one 370-gallon drop tank underneath each wing 

In order to give the Air Force an early start in getting the Phantom 
into service, the Navy temporarily loaned 27 more F-4Bs to the USAF.  
These planes were BuNos 150480, 150486, 150493, 150630, 150634, 
150643, 150649, 150650, 150652, 150653, 150994, 150995, 150997, 
150999, 151000, 151002, 151004, 151006, 151007, 151009,151011, 151014, 
151016, 151017, 151020, and 151021.  They were temporarily assigned 
the USAF serials 62-12170/12196.  In November of 1963, these aircraft 
were delivered mainly to the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing at 
MacDill AFB in Florida.  They were soon followed by production F-4Cs.  
This wing was assigned the initial responsibility for crew training 
for the F-4C.  Some of these borrowed aircraft later went to the 12th 
TFW, also based at MacDill.  The 12th TFW was the first operational 
user of the F-4C, receiving its first machines in January 1964, 
replacing the unit's F-84F Thunderstreaks.  The 12th TFW achieved 
initial operational capability in October of 1964.  As the pace of 
F-4C deliveries quickened, the borrowed F-4Bs were returned to the 
Navy.  

On December 2, 1964, four F-4Cs set an unofficial endurance record for 
jet fighters.  They landed at MacDill after an 18-hour flight of 
nearly 10,000 miles during which they were refuelled by KC-135 
tankers.  

A total of 583 F-4Cs were built.  The last F-4C rolled of the 
production line on May 4, 1966.  

The 15th TFW deployed its 45th Tactical Fighter to Thailand in 1965.  
On July 10, 1965, two F-4C crews scored the USAF's first kills of the 
Vietnam War when they destroyed two MiG-17s over North Vietnam with 
Sidewinder missiles.  In time, the F-4C took over the bulk of the 
heavy fighting over North and South Vietnam.  On a typical mission 
over the North, an F-4C would carry four Sparrows, four Sidewinders, 
and a load of eight 750-pound bombs.  

The AIM-7D/E Sparrow was carried in the ventral trays.  It gave the 
Phantom a beyond visual range capability at distances of up to 28 
miles.  However, such launches were very rarely permitted under the 
terms of the rather restrictive rules of engagement.  When it was 
fired, the Sparrow turned out to be virtually useless against 
fighter-sized targets, especially at low altitudes.  The AIM-9B/D 
Sidewinder was usually the weapon of choice.  The AIM-9D had a range 
of up to 12 miles.  The PbS infrared seeker head of the AIM-9D had to 
be cooled before it could lock onto a target, but this was not usually 
a problem.  The early Sidewinders were generally effective only in 
close stern engagements in good weather at high altitudes.  In bad 
weather or at low altitudes, the results were less impressive, the 
Sidewinder often losing its lock on its target due to interference 
from rain or from clouds or having a tendency to lock onto the Sun or 
onto reflections in lakes or ponds.  Ultimately, the Sidewinder scored 
more aerial victories in the Vietnam War than any other weapon.  

On July 24, 1965, F-4C 63-7599 of the 47th Tactical Fighter Squadron 
was downed by a surface to air missile, becoming the first American 
warplane to be downed by s SAM.  

In the first two years of combat in Vietnam, the casualties among the 
first F-4C squadrons had reached almost 40 percent, for a total of 54 
aircraft.  Most were lost to AAA, but a few were lost in stall/spin 
accidents at low altitude.  During close-in dogfights, when pulling 
high-gs or when at steep angles of attack, it was very easy to lose 
control of an F-4C, especially if it was carrying a centerline store.  
Recovery from a spin at an altitude below 10,000 feet was essentially 
impossible, and the only option for survival was generally for the 
crew to eject.  

The F-4C lacked the guns of a complete fighter system, which was found 
to be a serious deficiency in close-in air-to-air combat.  The 
addition of a SUU-16A gun pod on the underfuselage centerline 
compensated for the lack of a gun, but it seriously degraded overall 
performance and in addition made the aircraft somewhat unstable and 
difficult to recover from a spin.  

Early F-4Cs had problems with wing tank leaks, these problems being so 
serious that the tanks had to be carefully resealed after each flight.  
The radar had a tendency to malfunction far too easily, the humid air 
of Southeast Asia being a persistent problem.  Early F-4Cs also had 
problems with cracked ribs and stringers on the outer wing panels.  
Later F-4Cs were equipped with a heavier stringer and an additional 
wing rib.  These modifications were retrofitted to earlier F-4Cs.  

A number of F-4Cs were modified and equipped with a radar homing and 
warning (RHAW) system, which enabled these fighters to act as killer 
pack leaders for air strikes on radar and surface-to-air sites.  

The Air Force lost six F-4s in crashes between June 1966 and December 
1967 because of defects in cylinder barrels that controlled the 
ailerons.  By mid-1968, an inferior potting compound was found in 
various electrical connections and relays of 385 early production 
F-4Cs.  It took over a year to correct each of these problems.  

In 1969, the Air Force finally concluded that the two-pilot policy for 
the F-4C was a mistake, and flight controls were removed from the rear 
cockpits of the F-4C, with the backseat crew member becoming a weapons 
system officer.  

Several F-4s had been lost because of fires in the engine bay.  This 
caused a major reconfiguration program to be undertaken which lasted 
from January through October of 1970.  

As F-4Cs were superseded in front-line service by later marks of the 
Phantom, they were transferred to Air Force Reserve units or to units 

The following USAF Wings operated the F-4C: 

8th Tactical Fighter Wing 

12th Tactical Fighter Wing 

15th Tactical Fighter Wing 

32nd Tactical Fighter Wing 

35th Tactical Fighter Wing 

52nd Tactical Fighter Wing 

57th Fighter Weapons Wing 

57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron 

58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing 

81st Tactical Fighter Wing 

86th Tactical Fighter Wing 

347th Tactical Fighter Wing 

355th Tactical Fighter Wing 

366th Tactical Fighter Wing 

401st Tactical Fighter Wing 

405th Fighter Wing 

475th Tactical Fighter Wing 

479th Tactical Fighter Wing 

3247th Test Squadron 

4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing 

4525th Fighter Weapons Wing 

4531st Tactical Fighter Wing 

6512th Test Squadron 

As F-4Cs were superseded in front-line service by later marks of the 
Phantom, they were transferred to Air Force Reserve units or to units 
of the Air National Guard.  

The first F-4Cs began to reach Air Force Reserve units in 1978, 
initially equipping the 93rd TFS of the 915th Tactical Fighter Group 
based at Homestead AFB in Florida.  In 1981, the 93rd TFS of the 482nd 
TFW (also based at Homestead) received F-4Cs.  These were the only Air 
Force Reserve units to get the F-4C version of the Phantom, with most 
of the other Phantom-equipped AF Reserve units getting later F-4Ds and 
Es.  These units operated the F-4C for only a brief time, converting 
during the early 1980s to F-4Ds.  

Ex-USAF F-4Cs first began to reach units of the Air National Guard in 
1972.  First to get the F-4C was the 170th TFS of the 183rd TFG of the 
Illinois ANG, which began to receive the type in January of 1972.  
F-4Cs ended up serving with seven ANG units in the tactical role.  In 
addition, they served in the air defense role from 1978 with seven ANG 
fighter interceptor squadrons and with a air defense training squadron 
They equipped the following ANG units: 

110th TFS, 131st TFW, Missouri ANG 111th FIS, 147th FIG, Texas ANG 
113th TFS, 181st TFG, Indiana ANG 114th TFTS, 142nd FIG, Oregon ANG 
122nd TFS, 159th TFG, Louisiana ANG 123rd FIS, 142nd FIG, Oregon ANG 
136th FIS, 107th FIG, New York ANG 163rd TFS, 122nd TFW, Indiana ANG 
170th TFS, 183rd TFG, Illinois ANG 171st FIS, 191st FIG, Minnesota ANG 
182nd TFS, 149th TFG, Texas ANG 184th TFS, 188th TFG, Arkansas ANG 
196th TFS, 163rd TFG, California ANG 199th TFS, 154th CB, Hawaii ANG 

Most of the ANG's F-4Cs were replaced in service by later-model F-4Ds 
and Es (as well as by F-15s and F-16s) during the mid- to late-1980s.  
The last ANG squadron to fly the F-4C, the 123rd FIS of the Oregon 
ANG, exchanged its F-4Cs for F-16s in the spring of 1989.  None remain 
in service with any ANG units today.  

The only F-4Cs exported to overseas customers were ex-USAF machines 
(mainly from the 81st TFW) which were shipped to Spain's Ejercito del 
Aire in 1971-72.  

F-4C-24-MC serial number 64-0829 is on display in the USAF Museum at 
Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.  It was once flown by Robin 
Olds, who scored four MiG kills in Vietnam.  

Serials of the F-4C:

62-12199		McDonnell F-110A Spectre
				later redesignated F-4C-15-MC Phantom
63-7407/7420		McDonnell F-4C-15-MC Phantom
63-7421/7442		McDonnell F-4C-16-MC Phantom
63-7443/7468		McDonnell F-4C-17-MC Phantom
63-7469/7526		McDonnell F-4C-18-MC Phantom
63-7527/7597		McDonnell F-4C-19-MC Phantom
63-7598/7662		McDonnell F-4C-20-MC Phantom
63-7663/7713		McDonnell F-4C-21-MC Phantom
64-0654/0672		McDonnell F-4C-21-MC Phantom
64-0673/0737		McDonnell F-4C-22-MC Phantom
64-0738/0817		McDonnell F-4C-23-MC Phantom
64-0818/0881		McDonnell F-4C-24-MC Phantom
64-0882/0928		McDonnell F-4C-25-MC Phantom

Specification of the F-4C: 

Two General Electric J79-GE-15 turbojets, 10,900 lb.s.t dry, 17,000 
lb.s.t. with afterburner.  Maximum speed 1433 mph at 48,000 feet, 826 
mph at sea level.  Inital climb rate 40,550 feet per minute.  Service 
ceiling 56,100 feet, combat ceiling 55,600 feet.  Combat range 538 
miles, maximum range 1926 miles with maximum external fuel.  28,496 
pounds empty, 51,441 pounds gross, 38,352 pounds combat weight, 58,000 
pounds maximum takeoff weight.  Wingspan 38 feet 5 inches, wing area 
530 square feet, length 58 feet 3 3/4 inches, height 16 feet 3 inches.  
Maximum internal fuel was 1986 US gallons (1343 gallons in fuselage, 
630 gallons in wings).  Maximum external fuel load was 600 US gallons 
in centerline tank underneath the fuselage and 740 US gallons in two 
underwing tanks, bringing total fuel to 3313 US gallons.  Armed with 
four AIM-7D or-7E Sparrow semiactive radar homing missiles in 
underfuselage recesses.  Inner underwing pylons could each accommodate 
a pair of AIM-9B/D Sidewinder infrared homing missiles.  In ground 
attack mode, could carry as much as 16,000 pounds of ordnance on 
centerline pylon underneath the fuselage and on four underwing 
hardpoints.

Sources:
 
  The World's Fighting Planes, William Green, Doubleday, 1964.

  McDonnell F-4 Phantom: Spirit in the Skies.  Airtime Publishing, 1992.

  Modern Air Combat, Bill Gunston and Mike Spick, Crescent, 1983.

  The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

  United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and
  Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.

  Post-World War II Fighters: 1945-1973, Marcelle Size Knaac,
  Office of Air Force History, 1986.

  The World Guide to Combat Planes, William Green, Macdonald, 1966. 

  The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament, Bill Gunston,
  Orion, 1988. 

  The World's Great Attack Aircraft, Gallery, 1988.

Joe Baugher			**************************************
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