McDonnell Douglas F-4C (64-0829) Phantom II Walk Around Page 1

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These pictures were taken and shared with the web by Weichao Chen .

First flown in May 1958, the Phantom II originally was developed for U.S. Navy fleet defense and entered service in 1961. The USAF evaluated it (as the F-110A Spectre) for close air support, interdiction and counter-air operations, and in 1962, approved a USAF version. The USAF's Phantom II, designated F-4C, made its first flight on May 27, 1963. Production deliveries began in November 1963. In its air-to-ground role, the F-4 can carry twice the normal bomb load of a World War II B-17. USAF F-4s also fly reconnaissance and Wild Weasel anti-aircraft missile suppression missions. Phantom II production ended in 1979 after over 5,000 had been built -- more than 2,800 for the USAF, about 1,200 for the Navy and Marine Corps, and the rest for friendly foreign nations.

In 1965 the first USAF Phantom IIs were sent to Southeast Asia. The first USAF pilot to score four combat victories with F-4s in SEA was then-Col. Robin Olds, a WWII ace. The aircraft on actual display at the museum is the one in which Col. Olds, the aircraft commander, and Lt. Stephan B. Croker, the backseat pilot, scored two of those victories in a single day (May 20, 1967).

Located at the National Museum of the Air Force, Wright Patterson AFB, OH.

- NMAF Fact Sheet