vietnam

Description

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic fighter-bomber originally developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. Proving highly adaptable, it became a major part of the air wings of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force. It was used extensively by all three of these services during the Vietnam War, serving as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, as well as being important in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles by the close of U.S. involvement in the war. In the Vietnam Conflict, US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps Phantom crews achieved 147 air-to-air combat victories. The first Phantom air-to-air victory of the war took place on 9 April 1965 when an F-4B from VF-96 Fighting Falcons piloted by Lieutenant (junior grade) Terence M. Murphy and his RIO, Ensign Ronald Fegan, shot down a Chinese MiG-17 'Fresco'. On 17 June 1965, an F-4B from VF-21 Freelancers piloted by Commander Thomas C. Page and Lieutenant John C. Smith shot down the first North Vietnamese MIG of the war. On 28 August 1972, Capt Steve Ritchie became the first USAF ace of the war. On 9 September 1972, WSO Capt Charles B. DeBellevue became the highest-scoring American ace of the war with six victories. In service with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli Phantom pilots claimed 116 air-to-air victories in various conflicts with its Arab neighbors. On 15 August 1990, 24 F-4G Wild Weasel Vs and six RF-4Cs were mobilized to the Middle East for Operation Desert Storm. The reason for this was that the F-4G was the only aircraft in the USAF inventory equipped for the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) role since the EF-111 Raven lacked the offensive capability of the AGM-88 HARM missile, while the RF-4C was the only aircraft equipped with the ultra-long-range KS-127 LOROP (long-range oblique photography) camera. In combat the F-4 held a superior advantage in thrust and was capable of reaching 1485 mph (2390 km/h) with a climb rate of approximately 41000 feet per minute! Phantom could carry more than 16000 pounds of ordinance that included Sparrow and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. Ultimately, Phantom was responsible for a record 280 air to air victories, the vast majority of them in the skies over Vietnam. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5195 built. Of these, 2874 went to the USAF, 1264 to the Navy and Marine Corps, and the rest to foreign customers. The Phantom served with the air forces of many countries, including Australia, Egypt, Germany, United Kingdom, Greece, Iran, Israel, Japan, Spain, South Korea and Turkey. The U.S. military retired the F-4 in 1996.