Made in the late 1970s, THE FABULOUS PHANTOM celebrates the completion of the 5000th F-4 Phantom. The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor aircraft/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was also adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their respective air wings.
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 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, including an absolute speed record, and an absolute altitude record.
During the Vietnam War, the F-4 was used extensively; it served as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, and became important in the ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance roles late in the war. The Phantom has the distinction of being the last U.S. fighter flown to attain ace status in the 20th century. 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 in the U.S. Air Force, the Grumman 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.Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built, making it the most numerous American supersonic military aircraft.
The film begins with historic images of flight including bi-planes, World War I and World War II combat, and shows the “Great Aircraft” built and flown in large numbers. The McDonnell Douglas F4 is one of them. What qualities distinguish this type of aircraft from others, how did its design and evolution come about? Harlan Barkey who is the man behind the moving force of the F4 was interviewed at mark 2:37 and he was questioned about all these. He talked about how the discussion of the f4 came about. He also talked on the distinguishing characteristics of the F4 at mark 3:50. At mark 4:03, is a model of the F4, here, he talked on how the configuration of the plane evolved. He talked on the navy’s selection and their competition at mark 5:40. At mark 6:55 is the McDonnel. Co where F4H-1 was rolled out and made ready for flight on May 27, 1958. At mark 7:05 is the pilot who made that flight, Bob Little of the McDonnell Co. Admiral Frederick H. Michaelis, Chief of Naval Material and one of the senior naval aviators describe how the USN use the F4 from mark 11:25.
Although built for the navy, the distinguishing characteristics of the F4 so attracts the US air force and in 1962 a number of trials and competitive exercises proved its importance. General William W. Momayer former commander of the tactical air command tells of the qualities of the F4 performance to the U.S airforce at mark 15:10. In the late 60s, the F4 was chosen to be used as the official flight demonstration aircraft to be used by both the U.S navy and the U.S airforce thunderbirds as seen at mark 19:18. On February 4, 1971, the F4-4000 was rolled out at mark 20:00 and was flown and after this, it was delivered to the USAF. The USAF has delivered to 10 different nations of the international community making it a worldwide standard against which other crafts are measured. May 24, 1978 is the ceremony for F4-5000; a celebration of 20 years of service to the free world by the F4 as seen at mark 21:15.
The film ends with McDonnell President George Graff and James S. McDonnell rolling out the 5000th Phantom.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
