Book Review of
McDonnell F-4B Phantom II
Authors: Przemysław Skulski & Janusz Swiatton
Mushroom Model Publications (MMP)
Single No. 40
ISBN: 978-83-66549-79-1
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $11.90
Single No. 40
ISBN: 978-83-66549-79-1
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $11.90
HISTORY:
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it first entered service with the Navy in 1961 before it was adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s it had become a major part of their air arms.
Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history, and cementing its position as an iconic combat aircraft of the Cold War.
The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. It can carry more than 18,000 pounds (8,400 kg) of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was initially designed without an internal cannon.
Later models incorporated an M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for in-flight performance,[6] including an absolute speed record and an absolute altitude record.
The F-4 was used extensively during the Vietnam War. It served as the principal air superiority fighter for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps and became important in the ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance roles late in the war. During the Vietnam War, one U.S. Air Force pilot, two weapon systems officers (WSOs), one U.S. Navy pilot and one radar intercept officer (RIO) became aces by achieving five aerial kills against enemy fighter aircraft.
The F-4 continued to form a major part of U.S. military air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force, the F-14 Tomcat in the U.S. Navy, and the F/A-18 Hornet in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
The F-4 Phantom II remained in use by the U.S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. It was also the only aircraft used by both U.S. flight demonstration teams: the United States Air Force Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the United States Navy Blue Angels (F-4J).
The F-4 was also operated by the armed forces of 11 other nations. Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in several Arab–Israeli conflicts, while Iran used its large fleet of Phantoms, acquired before the fall of the Shah, in the Iran–Iraq War. As of 2021, 63 years after its first flight, the F-4 remains in active service with the air forces of Iran, South Korea, Greece and Turkey.
The aircraft has most recently been in service against the Islamic State group in the Middle East.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Interceptor, fighter-bomber
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
First flight: 27 May 1958
Introduction to service: 1961
Retired: 1992 (United Kingdom),1996 (U.S. combat use), 2013 (Germany), 2016 (U.S. target drone), 2021 (Japan)
Status: In limited service
Primary users: United States Air Force (historical), United States Navy (historical), United States Marine Corps (historical), Iranian Air Force
Produced: 1958–1981
Number built: 5,195
Variants: McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1/FGR.2
THE BOOK:
Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) is based in the UK. This book was printed by their associate Stratus in Poland.
The book is soft-cover of 24 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 34” page format
The cover is a bright-yellow background with a color illustration of a F-4B Phantom II on it.
It is an above view that wraps around the spine of the book with half of it on the back cover.
The Phantom is overall pale-gray, with black sections above the engines tops, black anti-glare panel in front of the wind-screen, white rudder flaps and ends of elevators.
There are 52 black and white photos and 8 color ones in the book. A line-drawing 6-view profiles illustration in 1/72nd scale, with illustrations of the bulkheads inside the fuselage and their locations.
Technical drawings of the dashboard and side panels with names of the instruments and dials, the joystick and seats. Six photos show squadron insignias on the rudders of Phantoms.
The book ends with a color 3-view profile of the Phantom in the cover art scheme. It further shows it to have a black rudder tip, a white rudder flap, black and white eagle feathers angling down from the black areas above the engines, large black N L over 9457 on the rudder sides, medium-gray VF-51 over black NAVY on the fuselage sides and small black 113 on the sides of its nose, U.S. stars with bars on the fuselage sides and atop the left wing.
This is a neat book about this aircraft. It will be of interest to modelers planning on building a model of an Phantom and to aviation enthusiasts alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of MMP books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it first entered service with the Navy in 1961 before it was adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s it had become a major part of their air arms.
Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history, and cementing its position as an iconic combat aircraft of the Cold War.
The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. It can carry more than 18,000 pounds (8,400 kg) of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was initially designed without an internal cannon.
Later models incorporated an M61 Vulcan rotary cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for in-flight performance,[6] including an absolute speed record and an absolute altitude record.
The F-4 was used extensively during the Vietnam War. It served as the principal air superiority fighter for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps and became important in the ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance roles late in the war. During the Vietnam War, one U.S. Air Force pilot, two weapon systems officers (WSOs), one U.S. Navy pilot and one radar intercept officer (RIO) became aces by achieving five aerial kills against enemy fighter aircraft.
The F-4 continued to form a major part of U.S. military air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force, the F-14 Tomcat in the U.S. Navy, and the F/A-18 Hornet in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
The F-4 Phantom II remained in use by the U.S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996. It was also the only aircraft used by both U.S. flight demonstration teams: the United States Air Force Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the United States Navy Blue Angels (F-4J).
The F-4 was also operated by the armed forces of 11 other nations. Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in several Arab–Israeli conflicts, while Iran used its large fleet of Phantoms, acquired before the fall of the Shah, in the Iran–Iraq War. As of 2021, 63 years after its first flight, the F-4 remains in active service with the air forces of Iran, South Korea, Greece and Turkey.
The aircraft has most recently been in service against the Islamic State group in the Middle East.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Interceptor, fighter-bomber
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
First flight: 27 May 1958
Introduction to service: 1961
Retired: 1992 (United Kingdom),1996 (U.S. combat use), 2013 (Germany), 2016 (U.S. target drone), 2021 (Japan)
Status: In limited service
Primary users: United States Air Force (historical), United States Navy (historical), United States Marine Corps (historical), Iranian Air Force
Produced: 1958–1981
Number built: 5,195
Variants: McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1/FGR.2
THE BOOK:
Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) is based in the UK. This book was printed by their associate Stratus in Poland.
The book is soft-cover of 24 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 34” page format
The cover is a bright-yellow background with a color illustration of a F-4B Phantom II on it.
It is an above view that wraps around the spine of the book with half of it on the back cover.
The Phantom is overall pale-gray, with black sections above the engines tops, black anti-glare panel in front of the wind-screen, white rudder flaps and ends of elevators.
There are 52 black and white photos and 8 color ones in the book. A line-drawing 6-view profiles illustration in 1/72nd scale, with illustrations of the bulkheads inside the fuselage and their locations.
Technical drawings of the dashboard and side panels with names of the instruments and dials, the joystick and seats. Six photos show squadron insignias on the rudders of Phantoms.
The book ends with a color 3-view profile of the Phantom in the cover art scheme. It further shows it to have a black rudder tip, a white rudder flap, black and white eagle feathers angling down from the black areas above the engines, large black N L over 9457 on the rudder sides, medium-gray VF-51 over black NAVY on the fuselage sides and small black 113 on the sides of its nose, U.S. stars with bars on the fuselage sides and atop the left wing.
This is a neat book about this aircraft. It will be of interest to modelers planning on building a model of an Phantom and to aviation enthusiasts alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of MMP books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly Recommended.