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Phantom Country by Simon Atack. At the height of the Cold War during the 1970s and through the 80s, low level, fast-jet training sorties were absolutely crucial to Britains air defences. This was an era of the true, thoroughbred supersonic jet fighter like arguably the greatest of all jet combat aircraft of that time; the McDonnell Douglas F.4 Phantom. Scorching down the peaceful beauty of the Spey river valley, Scotland, four RAF Phantom FG-1s led by (at that time) Wg. Cdr. Ian Macfadyen and his navigator flying XV500, flash over Craiglockhart Castle on an ultra low-level training sortie during the squadrons period of transition from its formation at RAF Conningsby to its home station at RAF Leuchars. |
Phantoms F-4 by R E Pierce. (P) No text for this item |
Reunion Over Hanoi by Philip West. Col. Ken Cordier and Col. Bob Buckey were classmates in high school and college in Akron, Ohio. After college, they both became USAF fighter pilots, and although the two school chums never served together, their careers took separate yet parallel paths - until December 1966. On 2nd December 1966, then Cap. Ken Cordier and his back-seat pilot 1st Lt Mike Lane, were flying with the 559th TFS out of Cam Ranh Bay when they were shot down and captured 85 miles NW of Hanoi. They were to languish in North Vietnamese prisons for the next six years, first listed as MIA, then years later as POWs. Linebacker II was the code-name of the bombing offensive designed to force the North Vietnamese to agree to a ceasefire and peace accord. It was during the Linebacker II bombing campaign of December 1972 that then Maj. Bob Buckey and his back-seater, Capt Dan Tibbets, flew over Hanoi with the 555 TFS out of Udorn, Thailand. Their mission was to provide MIG-CAP for the B-52 bombers which were delivering punishing blows to the communist regimes capital city. On the ground, Ken was unaware that his old friend was a part of that campaign which would result in gaining his and the other POWs freedom after enduring long years of torture and deprivation. Bob, on the other hand, had known for years that Ken was a POW. So, every time he flew Downtown, Bob thought about Ken down there locked up in the infamous Hanoi Hilton and wondered when they would meet again. The bombing campaign had the desired effect and the North Vietnamese signed the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973. Shortly thereafter, Operation Homecoming brought the POWs home to family, friends and freedom. Six months after his release, at a class reunion in Akron, Ken and Bob met and had a great time comparing war stories and resuming their old friendship. The image shows Maj. Bob Buckey as he pulls his F-4E Phantom II away from the Hanoi Hilton. |
Vietnam War Veteran by Stan Stokes. The McDonnel Douglas F-4 Phantom II was produced from 1958 Thorough 1981. In excess of 5,000 aircraft were produced in twenty variants. The F-4 evolved from McDonnels earlier work on the F3H Demon and the F-101A Voodoo, an aircraft substantially heavier and larger than first generation jet fighters. The Phantom was initially intended as a fleet interceptor, but the aircraft was asked to take on additional tasks for which it was not totally optimized for. It is a testament to the basic quality of the design of the aircraft, and the skill and determination of the pilots which flew it, that the Phantom was a success in most of the varied roles it was asked to undertake. The F-4 was designed to be a platform for high-tech weaponry, with highly supersonic qualities, excellent range, and the ability to lift a large external payload. Initially only ordered by the U.S. Navy, the aircraft was carrier qualified in February 1961. In 1962 under intense pressure from the Department of Defense the Air Force relented and announced that four wings of F-105s would be replaced with Phantoms. By the mid-sixties over 1,000 Phantoms had been delivered, and it was generally anticipated that the aircraft would be in production for only four or five more years. However, forecasters failed to fully comprehend the eventual scope of the United States involvement in Vietnam, and the serious problems with the development of the F-111 (also known as the TFX). As a result the Phantom got a second lease on life, and production of improved versions of the aircraft were accelerated. The ultimate Air Force version of the Phantom was designated the F-4E, and 1,242 were manufactured from 1967 to 1978. The Vietnam War gave the Phantom an assured place in aviation history. One version of the Phantom was equipped with additional electronics and given the mission of detecting and destroying enemy Surface-to-Air missile sites. Aircraft so-equipped were accurately nicknamed Wild Weasels. During the Vietnam War the F-4s aerial adversaries included the Mig-17, Mig-19, and the Mig-21. A shark-mouthed Air Force F-4 in a near miss situation with a Mig-19 over the cloudy skies of North Vietnam. The Phantoms two-man crew is looking to the port side of the aircraft, as they anticipate a close encounter of the wrong kind. |
High Flying Aardvarks by Keith Aspinall. F-4B Phantoms of VF-114 Aardvarks flying a MIGCAP mission over the Gulf of Tonkin in the spring of 1968. |
Phantom Fury by Robert Taylor. The biggest, fastest, most powerful fighter of its day, the McDonnell Phantom was an awesome war machine that came to dominate aerial combat for over two decades. It may have been the size of many World War II bombers but it could outperform anything that crossed its path; it was quicker, could turn faster, was better equipped with electronics, carried more ordnance than anything comparable, and it had an unbelievable rate of climb. The F-4 Phantom was the benchmark against which every fighter in the world came to be judged; it was simply the best. And when it saw combat for the first time, in Vietnam in 1961, it was the lucky Navy and Marine Corps pilots who were the first to fly it. Whether it was carrier-based attack with the Navy, land-based bombing missions with the Marines, air combat sorties, or Forward Air Control missions, it was unbeatable. So impressed were the Air Force that they bought it too, and three years later, in 1964, the USAF received their Phantoms. The Air Force pilots just could not wait to get their hands on it. And one of those just itching to take it into combat was a young, then Captain, Steve Ritchie. Flying with the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, the illustrious Triple Nickel, Ritchie would, in the space of a few weeks during Operation Linebacker in the summer of 1972 become a legend - the only USAF fighter pilot Ace of the Vietnam War. The painting shows Steve Ritchie, first into action, flying his lead F-4D Phantom through a hail of deadly enemy flak as he exits the target area after a typical FAST FAC mission on enemy installations in North Vietnam, 1972. Behind him a vast trail of devastation mark the progress of the mission, as his fellow Phantom crews continue to wreak havoc with their heavy ordnance, the target area exploding in a series of mighty detonations. |
Phantom FGR 2 of III Squadron by Geoff Lea. No text for this item |
Gear Up - Go! by Ivan Berryman. The F.4c Phantom II of Colonel Robin Olds of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing tucks the landing gear up as he blasts out of a forward airfield in January 1967. |
Phantom Raiders by Simon Atack. Just 50 miles north west of Hanoi in North Vietnam, lies the long and winding valley of the infamous Red River - a name that was to become bitterly familiar to the F4U Phantom pilots of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. Flowing for miles through the countrys deep interior, the waters of the Red River fed the strategically important steel mills at Thai Nguyen, and the power stations at Viet Tri; they also irrigated the rice and shrimp paddy fields that fed the armies of the North Vietnamese and Vietcong, distributed to the combat areas through a sophisticated network of hidden trails and tracks, bridges and railways. Defending these vitally important targets was a vast array of anti-aircraft systems of every conceivable type and calibre; at Yen Bai the North Vietnamese even established a secret fighter airfield where their Mig jet fighters were hidden in hangars dug by hand deep into the surrounding hills - in short it was one of the most heavily defended and awesome places on Earth. But these targets had to be destroyed, and one aircraft above all others became inextricably and forever linked with the fast, low-level jet attacks to obliterate these heavily fortified objectives - the legendary F4U Phatnom, the fastest, the most powerful, versatile fighter of the day. The bravery and determination of the Phantom crews as they flew into the maelstroms of intense, deadly, flak and ground fire remain an inspiration to all ground attack combat pilots and crew. Simon Atacks powerful limited edition depicting the high-speed, low-level attack by F4 Phantoms of the 435th Tactical Fighter Squadron on the bridge near Viet Tri, 24 May 1967. |
Launch at Sundown by Philip West. Under full after-burner, an F-4B Phantom of VF-111 (Sundowners) launches from the carrier USS Coral Sea, positioned in the Gulf of Tonkin, March 6, 1972. The crew will engage and destroy a MiG-17 over North Vietnam during the mission. |
Double Strike by Robert Taylor. Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - is the holiest day in the Hebrew calendar and in Israel is marked by a national holiday but on that day in 1973 the unexpected happened. At 14.00 hours on 6 October the coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israeli positions. Thousands of Egyptian troops swarmed across the Suez Canal into Israeli held Sinai whilst in the north nearly 1,500 Syrian tanks backed by artillery thrust west towards Israel. Facing this sudden surprise attack on the Golan Heights were less than 200 Israeli tanks. In the air, too, Egyptian and Syrian air forces struck in a single, co-ordinated assault hitting the Israeli anti-aircraft defences and hoping to deliver a fatal blow. Largely unprepared, Israel reeled however within hours it mobilised its fighting reserves and began a ferocious battle to stem the enemies advance. As Israeli tanks and infantry rushed to hold the front line and, in the north, push the enemy back, Israeli Air Force jets overhead fought a heroic battle to regain the initiative and control of the skies. It was grim work. Both Egyptian and Syrian forces were equipped with hundreds of Soviet-supplied SAM missiles but the tide of war was turning and a battered Israeli Air Force now went on the counter-offensive. And amongst their main targets were the heavily-defended Egyptian air bases that lay deep in the Nile delta. Robert Taylor's powerful and dramatic painting depicts one such strike that took place on 14 October 1973, half way through the war, when Israeli F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers made simultaneous strikes against the Egyptian air bases at Mansoura and Tanta north of Cairo. After the first wave struck the elite Egyptian MiG-21 units at El Mansoura, the other Phantom squadrons attacked Tanta in waves, turning to dog-fighting immediately after dropping their ordnance. Tanta was also home to two squadrons of Libyan Mirage 5s and the furious air battle that ensued involved countless fighter aircraft. Despite bitter opposition, the successful IAF missions eliminated much of the effectiveness of the Egyptian Air Force and its Libyan allies. |
Mutual Support by Michael Rondot. In any conflict, accurate intelligence about the enemy is important, but during the Gulf War it was crucial to the rapid ending of hostilities with minimum Allied casualties. US Air National Guard RF-4C Phantoms, flying deep-penetration photo reconnaissance missions into Iraq and occupied Kuwait, provided much of the vital intelligence which enabled Allied ground forces to outflank and overwhelm Iraqi opposition with such devastation. Their missions were dangerous, taking them into the most heavily defended airspace over Baghdad and The Kuwait of Operations in broad daylight. They were fired on by SAMs and intense AAA barrages, but none were lost in over 300 missions. Michael Rondots painting portrays a classic formation of two RF-4Cs in action over Iraq, flying in company to provide lookout and mutual support in case of attack. On the ground, palls of Sand and smoke drift away from Iraqi artillery positions following an air strike, as the Phantoms accelerate and turn in for their battle-damage assessment photo run. In the next minutes they will come under fire from heat-seeking missiles and flak defenses around the target before escaping South, back to their base at Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain. In the days following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, RF-4C Phantoms from the 117 TRW, Birmingham, Alabama ANG were among the spearhead of Units deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. Operating under difficult and dry conditions from Al Dafra AB, UAE, the Birmingham Guardsmen flew border reconnaissance missions using long range oblique cameras until mid-December, when the Nevada Air Guard took over and moved to similarly tense and dry Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain. The two Phantoms in Mutual Support represent both the Birmingham Guard and the Nevada Guard, the High Rollers. Aircraft 886 flew 54 combat missions during Desert Storm, whilst 056 flew 51 missions in combat before it was lost on 30 March following a catastrophic systems failure over the Persian Gulf. The 192 TRS, Nevada ANG, flew 350 combat and combat support missions during Desert Storm. They did this with just 6 aircraft and 12 crews, supported by a small detachment of technicians and support personnel from their home base in Reno. The Part Timers are now back at their civilian jobs, but their contribution is commemorated marking the twilight of the RF-4C Phantom in service with the Nevada and Alabama ANG. |
Colonel Robin Olds by Ivan Berryman. F-4C Phantom II of Colonel Robin Olds of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, January 1967. |
Phantom Thunder by Philip West. An F4 Phantom of 92 Squadron, based at Wildenraf, Germany, about to embark on yet another QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) mission to intercept potential hostile aircraft during the Cold War. |
Flying the Jolly Roger by Robert Watts. A pair of Navy F-4 Phantoms of VF84 prepare to recover aboard the carrier U.S.S. Independence. A beautifully proportioned painting by one of the most accomplished American aviation artists, provides a spectacular view of the legendary Phantom. Seen against a beautiful Yankee Station sundown, an element of F-4s decelerate in preparation for deck landing, following a combat mission m 1965. Revered by all who flew it, the classic F-4 Phantom served the Navies and Air Forces of more Western world countries than any other combat jet. Robert Watts superb print edition pays tribute to this legendary aircraft, as it phases out of front-line duties after over 30 years of service. |
Ark Royal by Philip West. HMS Ark Royal IV - Flagship of the Flag Officer Aircraft Carriers - a mobile airfield and a most impressive sight as she launches a Phantom from one of her catapults. She had a standard displacement of 43,000 tons, a beam of 168 feet, and was 846 feet long. Ships company numbered 2,570 and her Air Group consisted of Phantom Interceptors, Buccaneer strike and Gannet AEW aircraft together with Wessex SAR and Sea King ASW helicopters. She served her Nation and the Royal Navy for 23 years and sailed 800,000 miles of valuable service, finally being decommissioned in 1979. |
Showtime 100 by Philip West. Lt Randy Cunningham with his back-seaeter Willie Driscoll, score their second of three MiG kills on a single mission on May 10, 1972. With two previous victories, Cunningham and Driscoll became the only US Navy Aces of the Vietnam war. |
USS Coral Sea by Ivan Berryman. USS Coral Sea (CV-43 being replenished by fast combat support ship USS Seattle (DE-3) as two of the carriers compliment of F.4s of VF-111 The Sundowners makes a low pass. |
Yankie Station by Randall Wilson. CVN 65 USS Enterprise on her first deployment in the Gulf of Tonkin. On this day she flew 165 sorties, a carrier record! Two A4 Skyhawks head towards a bombing mission while an F4 phantom rides escort. |
Shadowing the Bear - Tribute to No.43 Squadron by Ivan Berryman. Reformed in 1969, 43 Sqn Fighting Cocks returned to RAF Leuchars equipped with the mighty McDonnell F-4 Phantom, operating in the maritime air defence role, frequently intercepting and 'escorting' Soviet interlopers such as the Tupolev TU-95 Bear away from British airspace, as represented here by a pair of 43 Sqn FGR.2s. |
Phantom II by David Pentland. Phantom II of US Marine Corps, VMFA-531 (Grey Ghosts) Vietnam, Danang April 1965. |
Phantom The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber produced for the U.S. Navy by Mcdonnell Douglas. It became a major part of the United States Navy, Marine Corps and American Air Force. The Phantom F-4 saw service with all American forces during the Vietnam war serving as a fighter and ground attack aircraft. The Phantom first saw service in 1960 but continued in service until the 1980’s (being replaced by the F-15 and F-16 ) The last Phantoms saw service during the Gulf war in 1991 being used for reconnaissance. Other nations also used the Phantom to great success. The Israeli Air Force used them during various Arab-Israeli wars and the Phantom also saw service in the Iranian Air Force during the Iran Iraq War. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built. The Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy flew versions based on the F-4. The British Phantoms were powered by Rolls Royce Spey engines and also received British avionics, under the names pf Phantom FG.1 and Phantom FGR.2. The last British Phantoms served with 74 Squadron until they were dispanded in 1992. |
| Top Aces for : Phantom | |
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown this aircraft. | |
| Name | Victories |
| Marion Carl | 18.50 |
| Robin Olds | 13.00 |
| Randall Cunningham | 5.00 |
| Willie Driscoll | 5.00 |
| Richard Ritchie | 5.00 |
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