F4-B Phantom II

VF-111 Sundowners

Embarked Aboard U.S.S. Coral Sea (CV-43)

WestPac 1971-1972

By the time of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August of 1964, 13 Navy fighter squadrons were equipped with F-4Bs. The first Phantom combat sorties were flown during Operation Pierce Arrow on August 5, 1964 from the USS Constellation (CVA-64). These were flown by F-4Bs from VF-142 and VF-143, which flew top cover to warplanes striking North Vietnamese torpedo boat bases in retaliation for the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

The first Phantom air-to-air kill of the Vietnam War did not actually involve a North Vietnamese fighter. It took place in a battle between F-4Bs from the USS Ranger (CVA-61) and Chinese MiG-17s near Hainan Island on April 9, 1965. F-4B BuNo 151403, piloted by Lt jg Terence M. Murphy of VF-69 shot down a Chinese MiG-17. However, he himself was shot down immediately thereafter, probably by a Sparrow fired by one of his wingmen. This incident was not generally reported, lest it complicate Chinese-American relations.

The first American crew to shoot down a North Vietnamese fighter were Commander Thomas C. Page and Lieutenant Jon C. Smith Jr of VF-21 flying F-4B 151488 from USS Midway (CVA-41), who destroyed a MiG-17 near Haiphong on June 17, 1965.

In air-to-air combat the F-4 had to rely on its Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles, there being no internal cannon fitted. As a result of combat experience in Vietnam, chaff dispensers were added above the rear fuselage sides. ECM capabilities were steadily improved, with the addition of Radar Homing and Warning Systems and Deception Systems such as the ALQ-51 and AN/ALQ-100.

The Marine Corps received its first F4H-1s in June of 1962 when VMF(AW)-314 traded in its F4D Skyrays for the Phantom. Beginning in April of 1965, Marine Corps F-4Bs were based at airfields in Vietnam and Thailand (as well as aboard the USS America (CVA-66)). They took an active part in the Vietnam war, primarily in the ground support role. 72 Marine F-4Bs were lost in combat and three others were destroyed in operational accidents.

A total of 649 F-4Bs were built and delivered to the Navy and the Marine Corps between June 1961 and March of 1967.

Navy F-4Bs were flown by operational squadrons until the late 1960s. During the early 1970s, 228 F-4Bs were upgraded as F-4N under Project Bee Line. The first F-4N flew on June 4, 1972. Other F-4Bs were replaced in service by the F-4J, which was a later production variant of the Phantom. The last two active duty Navy squadrons to operate the F-4B, VF-51 and VF-111, finally traded in their planes in 1974.

Specification of the F-4B Phantom: Two General Electric J79-GE-8A/-8B/-8C turbojets, 10,900 lb.s.t. dry, 17,000 lb.s.t. with afterburner. Maximum speed 1485 mph at 48,000 feet, 845 mph at sea level. Initial climb rate 28,000 feet per minute. Service ceiling 62,000 feet, combat ceiling 56,850 feet. Combat range 400 miles, maximum range 2300 miles with maximum external fuel. 28,000 pounds empty, 44,600 pounds gross, 38,500 pounds combat weight, 54,600 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 (1358 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 3328 US gallons. Armed with four AIM-7D or -7E Sparrow semiactive radar homing missiles in underfuselage recesses. Inner underwing pylons could each accommodate an additional Sparrow or a pair of AIM-9 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.