| McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II Phamily | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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About the models: THe F-4J is a typical Revell kit, but is more complex to build than the norm. I would not recommend it as a first kit, but it would be very good for an experienced builder looking for a decent 1:48 scale F-4J. The paint on mine is wrong. It's supposed to by the standard gull gray over white scheme; I used compass ghost gray so I wouldn't have to paint it white. The F-4G is a Testors kit. It's very similar to the Revell F-4J, but not quite the same. Again, some experience is required. It includes the parts and decals to build a Luftwaffe F-4F. The F-4E is an Italeri kit, and is one of the best in my collection; no real problems at all, except for some minor putty work. The decals are from an aftermarket decal sheet. I should also note that the rear seat needs to be raised about an 1/8 of an inch; a shim of plastic should take care of that, just be careful not to raise it high enough that the canopy won't fit over it. About the F-4 Phantom II: Described as one of the fastest and most powerful combat aircraft ever created, the awesome F-4 Phantom II is an incredible fighting machine. This lethal aircraft was originally developed as a shipboard interceptor, but the brutal air war in Southeast Asia transformed the F-4 into a versatile combat aircraft capable of handling a wide range of missions. Not only did the F-4 prove an excellent all-weather interceptor, but it also served admirably as a fighter-bomber. Initial deliveries of the Phantom began in 1961, and over a span of twenty years 5057 aircraft were built and delivered to three U.S. services and ten foreign countries. There were fourteen major variants of the Phantom, starting with the F-4B (the F-4A was the prototype version). At the time of its introduction, the F-4B was the most advanced aircraft in the Navy. It could carry an air-to-air load of six AIM-7 Sparrow missiles or four Sparrows and four AIM-9 Sidewinders. For bombing missions it could carry up to 22,500 lbs of ordnance (though it never carried more than 16,000 lbs into combat). The F-4B carried an IR seeker under its bulbous radome. The F-4B also participated in Project HIGH JUMP, in which it broke every existing time-to-climb record in the world. A grand total of 649 F-4Bs were delivered to the Navy and Marine Corps between March, 1961 and 27 January, 1967. The US Air Force was sufficiently impressed with the performance of the Phantom to procure a slightly modified version as their primary fighter aircraft. This decision was made because of the results of Project HIGHSPEED, in which the F-4 Phantom II beat the F-106 Delta Dart in an intense competition to determine which was the better multi-purpose fighter. The newly christened F-110A (later renamed F-4C) was essentially the same aircraft as the F-4B with a few modifications. These included larger main landing gear wheels, removal of the Navy's IFR probe in favor of the Air Force boom receptacle, addition of the APQ-100 radar, and provisions for the AIM-4 Falcon and AGM-12 Bullpup missiles. 583 F-4Cs were eventually delivered to the Air Force. The F-4D was the first version of the Phantom specifically designed to meet Air Force needs. Based entirely on the F-4C airframe, the F-4D had many improvements in its air-to-air and air-to-ground capability. These improvements included the AN/APQ-109 radar with air-to-ground ranging capability, a variety of new avionics systems designed to improve navigation and bombing accuracy, and deletion of the IR seeker. These new systems replaced the number one fuel cell behind the cockpit. F-4Ds gained fame in the Vietnam War as the first aircraft to carry laser-guided weapons, using them to destroy the infamous Red River (Paul Doumer) and Thanh Hoa (Dragon's Jaw) bridges in May of 1972. F-4Ds also accounted for more MiG kills than any other aircraft of the theater, with 45 to their credit. 793 F-4Ds were delivered to the Air Force. The next version of the Phantom was the F-4E. The E model incorporated many major modifications from the F-4D, including the addition of an M-61 cannon with 640 rounds, the APQ-120 radar, newer ejection seats, more powerful engines, leading edge maneuvering slats on the wings, and slotted leading edges on the horizontal tails. The addition of the cannon and leading edge slats transformed the Phantom into a much more agile dogfighting aircraft, though it was not ideal. 993 were eventually produced. The F-4F was a modified version of the F-4E built for the West German Luftwaffe. Essentially identical to the F-4E, it differed in that it carried less internal fuel, had a simplified APQ-120 radar, was incapable of carrying Sparrow missiles, lacked the avionics for air-to-ground weapons, and had no in-flight refueling capability. The USAF F-4G Wild Weasel was based on the airframe of the F-4E, but was extensively modified for use in the Wild Weasel mission. The M-61 cannon was removed and replaced with RHAW (radar homing and warning) gear. Additional RHAW antennas were housed in a blister on the top of the vertical tail. The F-4G was capable of firing the latest anti-radiation missiles in the US inventory, including the AGM-78 Standard ARM, while retaining their air-to-air capability. 116 F-4Es were converted to F-4Gs. The F-4J was the Navy's successor to the F-4B. Changes included beefed-up main landing gear, slotted horizontal tails, AWG-59 radar, ECM gear, an additional fuel cell, more powerful engines, and removal of the F-4Bs IR seeker. 522 were built, including seven for the US Navy Blue Angels. Based on the F-4J, the F-4K and F-4M were built for Britian's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force respectively. British Phantoms differed from American Phantoms in that they were re-engined with Rolls Royce Spey engines and fired the British Aerospace Skyflash air-to-air missile. During the late sixties and early seventies, the Navy faced a fleet of aging F-4Bs and F-4Js, with the new F-14 Tomcat still in development. Their solution was to rebuild their F-4Bs and F-4Js into F-4Ns and F-4Ss respectively. Between 1971 and 1978, 301 F-4Bs and 302 F-4Js were sent to the Naval Air Rework Facility for the F-4 at NAS North Island. Here, they were tested for structural fatigue, with any worn-out airframe components rebuilt or replaced. Newer avionics and more powerful engines were also fitted in. The F-4N served in the last few years of the Vietnam War. Leading-edge maneuvering slats were fitted onto the F-4S only. Rebuilt F-4s were given a service life projected that lasted into the 1990s. The last major variants of the Phantom were the RF-4 reconnaissance Phantoms. The first of these was the RF-4C, which was developed in parallel with the F-4C, featuring the same engines and rear fuselage but with a redesigned nose section which increased the plane's length by 4' 8". This new nose contained a comprehensive package of reconnaissance equipment, consisting of an APQ-99 forward-looking radar, KS-77, KA-55 and KA-56 cameras, an infrared line-scanner, and an APQ-102 side-looking radar. The RF-4C served with the USAF until the mid-nineties. The other versions of the RF-4 were the carrier-compatible RF-4B built for the Marine Corps, and the RF-4E export version, which had a simplified reconnaissance package which varied depending on the wishes of the customer. RF-4s were not capable of carrying weapons. The last Phantoms flown by the U.S. were retired in 1996, after more than thirty years of faithful service.
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Copyright ©2003 David Jong [Jong Productions, Ltd.], All Rights Reserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: December 8, 2003. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
