This brief film presents the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. This was developed for the US Navy. The Phantom II is a tandem two seat twin engine long range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter bomber. It first flew in May of 1958. An F-4 from VF-74 and the USS Forrestal air group appears in the sky (:17). It spins in the air demonstrating it’s stability (:24). Two fly side by side (:46). The aircrafts carry 2,000 gallons of fuel with the ability to carry additional external tanks. F-4 flies over an aircraft carrier (1:20). They were capable of carrying conventional or nuclear weapons (1:30). The F-4 takes off (1:49). It was developed with a powerful airborne radar unit (1:55). As the pilot navigates the radar detects and tracks targets (1:59). The air to air armament is comprised of radar guided Sparrow III (2:07) and infrared heat-seeking Sidewinder missiles. Extensive laboratory and shock tests were conducted (2:44). McDonnell, Navy, Marine and Air force pilots conducted over 6,000 hours of flight testing (3:02). Navy and Marine pilots made record flights — the Project Top Flight F-4 is shown (3:36). (Top Flight was a series of twelve ballistic zoom climbs from 50,000ft at maximum power between October and December 1959). The 16km course (3:54) and the 3km low altitude course (3:59). The 100km (4:09) and the 500km closed course follow (4:23). Results are also presented from the sustained altitude in level flight (4:29). The high altitude record (4:39). Project High Jump aircraft. Time to climb records are divulged (5:05). The US Navy also put the craft through extensive testing (6:14). The F-4 touches down onto the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (6:45). It’s low altitude attack capability is demonstrated (7:11). The Air Force also sought the versatile craft (7:37). Incendiary bombs are dropped, burning up the test range (8:21). Demonstrations by the Air Force testing the craft follow (9:03). In an incredible shot, the aircraft is shown with the roughly 8 tons of payload it can carry, spread out before it (9:41). Tests were conducted to ensure simple maintenance (10:20). Rounds are loaded (10:34). FJ-405 U.S. Air Force F-4 on the tarmac, this was one of two F4H-1s that had been taken over from the USN by the USAF for test purposes.. AN F-4 takes off the aircraft carrier deck (11:03).

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a 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 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 a signature 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, 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.

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