I was engineering groundcrew on that Squadron, on that aircraft, for 4 years. You’re probably not the first German in that one: we had Luftwaffe pilots and navs on the Squadron as exchange crew! (Good characters and I can even remember some names.)
Do you also find the Thunderbolt II the same ugly/beautiful mix? Asking because I find both a great example of function defining form and creating something that should be aesthetically ugly, yet is so beautiful in operation.
As a young Marine pilot, I spent a lot of time looking at that instrument panel. I flew the F-4B at Mach I at 500 feet over the Yuma desert and Mach 2 at 35,000 feet. It was a hell of a ride and I loved every minute of it. It brought me home from Vietnam and I will always have a soft spot in my heart every time I see one.
Awesome. Thanks! Originally from Scotland, I was blown away by a pair of F-4s flying low over Loch Doon, southeast of Girvan and The Royal Turnbury on the Southwest Scottish Coast in my early teens. I had no idea what they were doing there, though military aircraft often stopped in at Prestwick just up the coast, and they were heading south towards England, but a little too low and fast in my mind looking back. Just me and my Grandad, who'd taken me fishing that day. No one else as far as the eye could see. Absolutely priceless!
@@feslerae It was a beast and accelerated like no other plane because of the J-79 engines. It had variable stator vanes and they would streamline during acceleration and the rpm would spin up very fast, thus full power very fast. It was big and roomy and a pleasure to fly. Making bombing runs in Vietnam was like riding downhill in a runaway hot rod. One time I had a 37mm tracking me as I went into my run and the bright orange shells were just above my canopy. He had me lined up but could not get his gun to go down as fast as I was going. Once I flew above 50,000 feet and saw the curvature of the Earth! I was a stupid 2nd Lt and didn't have on a pressure suit like I should have but it was thrilling.
The F4 was always refered to as a muscle jet with good reason. The full amount of ordinance load was incredible making it so versatile it lasted a long time in the Navy's and Air Force's arsenals.
The Phantom did everything. Didn't do anything great but it did everything it was asked to do. Including bringing my uncle and a lot of other pilots home while absorbing a lot of damage
@@maciek_k.cichon Tom Baker was great. Actually, I can't think of any Doctors that weren't, until Peter Capaldi. He had his moments, but he mostly acted like a senile old man
I learned that a friend of mine flew these while he was in a Air Force. He never mentioned that he was in the military, much less a pilot, to any of us and we all learned of this part of his life only after he died very unexpectedly. Had I known that he flew the F-4 I would have had a thousand questions for him.
My dads buddy flew an F-4 in Nam, he did napalm sorties. My pop flew the Cobra Gunship in nam also. I I met his buddy and he had a hanger full of birds, 1 pitts s-1 and a cessna 190? It had a radial engine, and I got to sit in the co pilot seat for a fun ride. He said the phantom handled like a trash truck but it got the job done. Thanks Mr. Bismark for good av-history videos!
This series is definitely helpful for us modellers. I realized I may have missed something out on the Phantom FGR.2 I finished and in turn, this video along with my 2gb folder are probably why I have 4 of them now.
My uncle Jack piloted the F4 phantom in Vietnam late 60's early 70's, I was a young boy and in awe, I wanted to ask him about it on the rare times he was home for holidays but back then you kept your mouth shut, plus I don't think he'd want to talk to me about his missions or his experiences. Cool show, thank you 🇺🇸🙏
Thanks for making this vid!!! My great grandpa was the Captain of the carrier USS Ranger for the US Navy and was previously the head test pilot for the E variant of this plane. Currently looking into his tapes for more information about him, just thought it was nice to share.
I was a signalman on the USS Saratoga (CVA-60) 1962-1966. We had two squadrons of F-4 Phantoms on board, which are probably more responsible for my old-age hearing problems. But that never stopped me from standing on the signal bridge, watching those lovely birds taxi to the catapult, light their afterburners and take off in front of two trails of smoke! Their landings were just as awesome. Great memories.
The phantom was the first jet I ever fell in love with,it didn’t help all the stories my grandpa would tell me about them and the Cobras during nam. He would always say “when you would hear that roar over the mountains coming towards you you’d always hear a sigh and a little cheer over the guys when they came around”
My favorite plane of all time. My first contact with the Phantom II was the Blue Angels flying in a airshow my father took me to in 1971 when I was 6 years old. I've been in love with "Old Smokey" ever since.
I'm with you, bud. Everything about that plane is beautiful. I'm not sure if you're aware, but the United States had been converting them into drones for target practice. It's enough to make your head spin until you hear that they were difficult to shoot down. They were THAT tough. If I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere it took four or five hits from a Raptor to kill one.
@@fkerpants Funny you mention that, I was in the ADA during my time in the Army, we didn't fire at F-4 drones but I've seen them used. Our drone while I was stationed at Bliss was a A-7. And our HAWK missile obliterated it. Not sure what they used for our live fire at Crete, but our missile ruined it's day as well.
This is the Jet that I first fell in love with, and discovered aviation. When I was 8 years old my grandpa bought me a model of the F-4 Phantom II to put together with him. I've always loved everything about the F-4 and still do. The absolute greatest aircraft ever made and to fly. Thank you McDonnell Douglas.
I had the pleasure of watching two phantoms scramble from raf wildenrath when I was at school; my teacher was the squadron commanders wife. Amazing sight that is still vivid 30 years on. Great video, thanks!
The Phantom is not a brick, aerodynamically, so in the end that's just silly and misleading. The British proved that a more brick-like design actually does go slower, despite more powerful Spey engines.
Great job - so fun that you had access to cockpit controls. Thanks for such an intimate look at one of my top favorite aircraft. One of the last plastic models I made was a 1/32 scale model of the F4E flown by Captain Ritchie USAF in Vietnam. Fun to get a closer look at the things I was toiling over when I made the model!
I remember in the 80s when the phantoms were at coningsby with RAF 228 ocu,I used to see them running along the seafront at Mablethorpe on there way to RAF Donna nook bombing range,you could see the gun pack under the fuselage,great days,better days here for aviation spotting,range is fairly quiet nowadays
Jim Powell here. I served in Navy fighter squadron VF-154 in Vietnam. Two deployments from 1967-68 and 1968-69, we flew the F4 Phantom. I worked on the radar systems. I was a fire control technician. Our last cruise we had the F4J bird. The F4 was a work horse. It could fly as a bomber with a significant payload or as a fighter in a support role carrying sparrow missiles and side winders. The F4 was a big fighter, the engines were J79’s. They could fly right at Mach 2. They were a magnificent and very durable aircraft. I really enjoyed being part of the Navy and being part of VF-154, the Black Knights. The best fighter squadron in the Navy.
Good presentation Chris on my beloved F-4 Phantom 2. I flew them in W.Germany days as a Reconnaissance fighter over a 10 year period. To illustrate the USAF's initial adoption of the F-4 one of my military instructors was an evaluation pilot in the early 1960s and told me of that process. In the late 1950s the USAF had the idea of a multi-role fighter to reduce costs. They proposed an interceptor, strike, reconnaissance, bomber, eieio. General Dynamics and Boeing won the proposal and eventually, GD won it as the F-111. At the same time during the Kennedy admin Robert McNamara ( the greatest disaster for the US military readiness affecting decades of damage) tried to force the Navy into adopting the F-111B. The aircraft eventually worked but only as a light bomber. That left a void in the other roles for the USAF which if they could not cover them then the interservice conflict may lead to a transfer of missions. SO they scrambled to find existing alternatives for the F-111. They tried the Navy's Phantom 2 as the F-110, the A-7 for Close air support, and the Skyraider as the B-66 light bomber. All functioned admirably and were timely replacements but this led to a political decision that the USAF would never adopt another services platform for the primary missions.
When I was younger, every day, every hour and every half our, the sky was filled with jets.. Sometimes even with US-Navy jets.. Now the skies are empty
Haha, here on the other side of the curtain, it is pretty much the same. My father told me MiGs would fly sorties non-stop over the underdeveloped countryside. Today's skies are very sparse, only the occasional Gripen flight, or some Mi-17 relics, thank God those are still flying.
As a kid I’d go through the NASA air and space museum and the F-4 phantom always caught my eye, it’s perfect war face painting lit up my young mind. I love the F-4
As a corporate jet pilot and airplane freak in general, there is something menacing and just “plane” brutal about the F4. Looks like it could take endless fire that would just bounce off. Love it. True unadulterated power and ruggedness. Use to love watching these as a little kid living near Hill AFB. I can see the runway from my house and I remember the huge black smoke trails as those monsters would take off. Being in my late 30s the majority have been F16s (which I miss already) and now F35s, but I still remember those F4s like it was yesterday. Thanks for sharing.
The opening line was pretty funny Bismark 'first used in the second world war......jets' got me hooked and questioning my understanding of the chronology for a second! Keep up the amazing work!
It's easy to laugh, but don't. There are actually a lot of really, REALLY stupid people out there that know nothing of history before yesterday, which is when they were born. At least in the U.S., that is.
Australia didn't order Phantoms mate. We got them on some sort of lease to use until our F-111's were ready. I'm told the pilots liked them so much they didn't want to return them.
Ahh i fucking love freedom fighter/Tiger. Waiting For MiG-21 (even though i live in jyväskylä near finnish aviation museum with multiple actual MiG-21s and enterable MiG-cockpit)
@@lauriewise6271 The Tiger II actually still maintained the twin engines. The inly evolution in the F-5's design was the F-20 Tigershark, which was originally designated as the F-5G. Honestly though, I really wish the Tigershark entered service, but it was only ever a prototype...
I have. While primarily a F4 WCS (Weapons Control System) specialist I was also qualified on the F105 and the F5. Mainly as an instructor for foreign students.
TheSkipjack95 Also an excellent one. Especially since the early versions had the dirty black exhausts A classic English language one is “The Triumph of Thrust Over Aerodynamics”
Something worth mentioning is that the Phantom was designed without a gun largely due to it's intended role, which was to intercept Soviet bombers and attack aircraft. It was never really intended to fill the role of a multi role fighter bomber, because the Navy believed that the F8 Crusader and F11F Tiger would be more than sufficient in that role, so the Navy didn't think a gun would be worth the trade-offs. After all, if you're only expected to be firing Sparrows at Tu-95s from beyond visual range, what's the point in wasting weight on a gun?
Used to be an armourer on Phantoms, finishing up on the now long since defunct Phantom Servicing School at Coningsby as an instructor. Military jet noise, the sound of freedom.
Mate I'm just so glad I found your channel. The methodical thoroughness that you have going through the aircraft and cockpit really appeal to me as someone with Asperger's. When I research aircraft types there are a lot of grey areas which I cannot easily find and you clear a lot of these away.
"Lead Sled" was applied to several different aircraft, including the F-84 and (especially) the F-105, but AFAIK wasn't commonly associated with the F-4.
At 20 years old I had the chance to watch a combat intercept (coldwar 1984) launch of a pair of F4's. Almost as good as watching the SR71 launch. By the by, The F4's were just gone......
@@knutdergroe9757 🇩🇪 Phantoms were once based at Pfrerdsfeld. The afterburner takeoffs for practice scrambles blew the roofs off the houses of the nearby town. It was evacuated by the time I visited Pferdsfeld in 1982.
II Royce Spey engines were not simply a pointless addition soley to keep British jobs, while the FGR phantoms were slower than the American counterparts at high altitude Mach 1.9 appossed to Mach 2.2~2.3 it was faster at sea level. Also the British phantoms at low altitude out accelerated the American phantoms having a 20% shorter take off distance and a faster initial climb rate also. This was important to the Royal Navy given their carriers relatively small size compared to their American cousins. So this demand was largely at Royal navy's request while the RAF was happy to receive the F-4 Phantom II as it was. Still amazing video for a rarely covered variant of the F-4!
Since the Speys were turbofan engines as opposed to the turbojet J79s, they also had a longer range than the American versions. Plus, they were smokeless from the start. It was only on the later versions that the newer "smokeless" J79s were used. Having a smoke trail was a dead giveaway to enemy fighters.
I was told by a USAF ground control officer back in the 1970s, that the Spey Phantoms could put on power and fly out of Angle-of-Attack problems, where a GE crew would eject. He was an F-4 pilot.
Thank you Bismarck, another great video! When i was young, kynda thirty years ago, i'd have to struggle for days, visit libraries and send letters to gather a FRACTION of the infomations you presented us with in this video. What exciting modern times we're living in (quote from capt Aubrey). Keep up the outstanding job!
Loaded weapons on this type of aircraft, F4-E, when I was stationed at George AFB, CA in 1978. Saw the last active duty F-105 retire. The aircraft that I worked on were marked for the German training squadron, 20th AMU. Originally Blue section, later changed to Silver section. Was a member of the 35th MMS.
I once went to an airshow in Florida, and I think I saw a phantom take off and fly back low and fast. I'll never forget what I felt that day.. The rumble from its two mighty engines roaring through the sky, it muffled anything else around me. That roar of the engines making every part inside me tremble. I didn't know if I was feeling the sound waves, or in shock and awe of this powerful machine. It's shark decals near the nose as it flew by, stuck me with the thought that it could take down anything it saw, and that anything it faced was going to feel fear. It certainly scared me. As it passed I saw its two engines glowing a bright yellow, it looked like a pair of eyes of a monster, a big scary one, it looked mighty angry too. It flew away beyond the horizon, making way for another jet. But just like a phantom it came, striking fear, before leaving as if nothing happened.
F4s used to fly out of the base I lived at as a kid - Clark AFB in the Philippines. I always thought they were just an unattractive plane. That and their engines left a trail of black smoke. But hearing them go supersonic over the South China Sea occasionally on their way to Vietnam was kind of neat.
Thanks for that, great detail of the F4 cockpit, much appreciated. The Phantom was always one of my favorites growing up especially as we had the 74th Bengal (Tiger) Squadron based just down the road from me at RAF Wattisham in Suffolk. We often saw them coming and going from their daily exercises :)
Another great video Mr Bismarck, thanks. I have the good fortune to know a few guys who flew these for the Fleet Air Arm (as well as having sat in a few as well, on the ground - but i have had a go at a sim) so it was comfortingly familiar. One thing they did mention was the amount of drag produced by the 'bins' at the back of the engines as well. Looking fwd to your next video - cheers.
1. The Royal Navy was originally planning to replace its (then) present aircraft carriers with new fleet carriers with displacements falling between the American Midway and Forrestal fleet carriers (see the correction by Force A1 in comments). This was dropped due to the opposition of all things sensible in British military affairs...the Treasury. So, the F-4K had expensive modifications to let it fly more easily from HMS Eagle and HMS Ark Royal. (Note that Eagle had just been - expensively - refitted to fly the new F-4Ks when the Treasury insisted that the Navy had to lose a carrier. Inexplicably, the Navy chose to lose the just refitted Eagle and retain the increasingly decrepit Ark Royal - which promptly spent more time in port than at sea until being decommissioned and scrapped). 2. As Calemb Jackson notes elsewhere in the comments, the Spey was draggier but much more powerful and, at low level, this was fine for the RAF and RN flight profiles, which emphasised low level tactics in the light of US experience in Vietnam and (you guessed it) Treasury reluctance to actually spend money on things like...ECM or decoys. It was also less smokey than the J79 turbojets (until GE finally fixed the fuel burn ratios in the 1980s). 3. The F-4J(UK)s were not retrofitted with Speys because the engine was thought a bad idea by then but because the RAF needed to station a squadron of Phantoms in the Falklands, the existing squadrons were already committed in the UK and West Germany and there was not the industrial capacity (or time) to build new F-4s, so a new squadron was stood-up and took over. These were only intended as a stop-gap solution. The F-4J(UK) had better high-altitude performance, so the role of air-defence over the Falklands was better suited to this model. (addendum) 4. The pod on top of the vertical stabiliser is a RWR pod, not an ECM pod.
CVA-01 had by 1965, a displacement of 54,500tons (earlier designs displaced 53,000 tons). It was considerably smaller than US CVA/CVAN designs, and was designed around projecting power East of Suez in wars with Third-world countries (admittedly with access to modern Soviet weapons).
86% of the length of a Forrestal or Kitty Hawk but you're quite right about this being a smaller design - my error from memory. The complement of aircraft was smaller - about 2/3s of the Forrestal design but still potent with 18 Phantoms and 18 Buccaneers and the extra length would have reduced or removed the need for the extended nose-wheel on the F-4K.
The F-4Js could not have been retro fitted with the Spey as fitting of them required the fuselage to be widened. Little know fact: the wing span was the same, in other words the Spey Phantoms had less wing area.
A Royal Navy F-4 cross-decked along with a Buccaneer in 1972 on my ship the USS JFK from the HMS Ark Royal. I got pictures of that. We had 2 squadrons of F-4 onboard at the time.
I remember when these aircraft were the main stay and you'd see them tooling along leaving their big smoke trails through the sky. Eventually they got versions of the engines that didn't produce all that smoke. Yes. A very capable aircraft for a very long time. .
As a USMC Phantom Phixer, I worked fire control on the F-4J and F-4S for 6 years; spent my days and nights in both cockpits, in the nose radar, and down at the missile stations. A lot of good memories, except when one of them pulled in to park across from me and I would get a face full of exhaust. Of note, in the late '70s, we intercepted Russian bombers every night during our deployment to Iceland.
i can imagine how many times Heatblur looked at this video, despite having their own real F-4E to module graphically, looking more and more to other F4 planes is never too much when you want to achieve perfection like They did, this plane in DCS is a master piece to fly
My father was an F-4 pilot in Vietnam from 1967-68, flying out of Tan Son Nhut AFB. 210 missions. Dad said that his navigator would get sick more often than not on takeoff!!
btw Spey powered Phantoms had their fuselages enlarged. The fuselages are significantly wider than that of a GE powered Phantom and one of the key features installed were the doors on the side of the fuselage.
Good summary. But the losses to SAMs and AAA over Vietnam had nothing to do with the F-4 being a multi-role aircraft. SAMs and opposing fighters were both a threat across all altitudes and mission types. The F-4 suffered losses to SAMs had more to do with a lack of detection and countermeasures systems, which was a problem for the wider US air effort as well. It was only when aircraft started to be fitted with RWR, jammers and chaff that radar-guided threats at least became less of an issue. The 'countermeasures pod' you mention fitted to the top of the fin actually isn't; those are the Sky Guardian 18228 RWR antennas, and they're not a pod. UK F-4s would on occasion carry the ALQ-101-10 ECM pod on an underwing station. I think the intakes are unchanged from the F-4J the UK aircraft were based on. It's the rear fuselage that was redesigned and made fatter to incorporate the bigger engines. The F-4 could carry Sparrows/Skyflash and Sidewinders. The radar missiles were semi-recessed as you say and the AIM-9s on the wing pylons. I'm don't see why you compare the F-4 with the F-5. One was a heavy multi-role fighter/bomber built round an enormous AI radar, the other was deliberately designed to be a basic, low-cost option for nations that didn't need or couldn't afford more capability. They were opposite ends of the spectrum. The throttle friction lever is not to tailor the feel to your personal taste; it stops the throttles moving when you don't want them too. The little cube-like joystick is actually the guidance controller for the AGM-12 air-to-surface missile system. Bombs don't need steering. The AGM-12 was not used by the RAF, not least because these aircraft spent most of their lives in the counter-air role. A lot of the controls on the right are for Nav, not just comms. I was hoping for a discussion on the radar display. It was not immediately intuitive and I knew some navigators (they were navs not WSOs or RIOs back then) who couldn't actually explain it! Anyway, good to see the old girl again!
0:40 seconds.....That's totally fascinating. It appears to be a G meter totalizer. It appears to count the number of times the airframe has been taken to -1g. and a full range of positive Gs. up to 8g. They probably used those numbers to calculate the Green Time left on the airframe.
If you think about it, the first flight of F-4 Phantom was back in 1950s...for more than half of the history of human powered flight, F-4 Phantom was in service in various air forces around the globe, and it is still flying today. That itself is a feat of it's own.
My father worked on the F-4 Phantoms, and once he brought my brother and I down to check it out. First thing he said while putting me into the pilots seat was "Don't touch ANYTHING", and the first thing I did was grab the stick and press the fire button! He pulled me right out! Not sure if my brother made it in or not. I was like 8 or 9. F-4's are cool!
As an army fixed wing aviator assigned to a non flying position at a ROTC unit, I wanted to keep my flying skills honed and was fortunate to have the flight simulator facility at George AFB, Victorville, CA. Whenever there was an opening and the F4 simulator was not in use, they let me climb in and use it for as long as I wanted. It was a complete F4 cockpit with motion, sound and video. Using some basic information and a checklist, I taught myself to fly the F4. Did a bunch of IFR flights around he Southwest including approaches to LAX. It was so realistic that I’d finish up a session soaked in perspiration.
While on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War I watched F4's ladened with huge bomb loads that defied belief how they could get airborne in such a short launch. Those F4 powerplants we're something.
Have been blessed to work VERY closely with the RF4…. Priceless time in the GEAF and it’s Recce forces! But the UK version of the carrier based bird, priceless! We called them the air diesel, since they would throw a never ending smoke tail, because their prat and Whitney’s would do that w/o the suppressor cartridges!
Jim Powell speaking here. The F-4 Phantom was my bird in the Vietnam war. I joined the Navy in 1965, after boot camp and A school, I was ordered to fighter squadron VF-154, the Black Knights. Was stationed at NAS Miramar. Went on my first Westpac cruise in 1967-68 and my second cruise in 1968-69. I was a radar tech otherwise known as an AQ, which was a fire control technician. Our squadron was in in the carrier air wing that served aboard the USS Ranger. We were the best fighter squadron in the Navy, on the best Aircraft Carrier in the Navy at that time. I may be a bit biased, but I don’t think so.
I like the statement, this was the time that air to air missiles were beginning to work, Sort Of. In 1966-1968 when I flew F4’s in Vietnam they didn’t work work a shit!
terry waller, another problem was that the iron bombs we carried were from a previous police action in Korea. Those blunt nosed bombs caused aa lot of drag thereby limiting our effective ordinance loads. The missiles were a great contribution to the VC in providing explosives from their unused warheads since more often than not they just fell from our racks when fired.
Zeee Man, I’m sorry, Marine Corps. We pretty much had what the Navy didn’t want. :) We were all Naval Aviators, or tail hookers! Like any good Marine will tell you, yes we are a department of the Navy, The Men’s Department. LOL. As for the fragile hydraulics goes, the Air Force pilots would declare an emergency with utility hydraulics failure. Usually this was on the primary side. I once told and Air Force Pilot in an officers club discussion that that was nothing because Marine Corps and Navy pilots took off that way. LOL.
Art Tafil you’ll get no argument from me on that score, Semper Fi ! p.s. by the time I was flying them they had improved both the 7’s and the 9’s. Fox 2
And I get confused checking the 6 display dials on my car's dashboard. I don't care what anyone says, to be a fast jet pilot you need to be a very special breed. My respects and admiration to those pilots, both past and present.
Australia had ordered the F-111 which fell behind in delivery, so the phantoms were provided as a stop gap aircraft, though hardly a poor choice. It was much loved, and I recall the amazing performance of the Phantom II at airshows. as a strike fighter, it held an enviable reputation.
If this is a ground attach Phantom, why is it in an interceptor colour scheme? This one is probably one of the ones that took up the interceptor role in between the Lightning and the Tornado ADV.
AFAIK, the Phantom II never saw combat with the RAAF. However, it was apparently useful as a training aircraft for the crews which transitioned from the EE Canberra to the F-111.
We got the F-4Es while waiting for the F-111Cs (they were late). One still remains down at RAAF Museum Point Cook. It's in a hangar with a Canberra and an F-111G "Boneyard Wrangler".
For anyone not in the know this particular Phantom weapon fit is a C44+ (2 x wing supersonic drop tanks, 4 x Sparrow AAM's, 4 x Sidewinder AAM's Plus a 20mm 6 barrel cannon pod on the centre line position), not bad for a truck with afterburner's!
They really are huge. The F-14 is also humongous, I couldn’t believe how big until I saw one in a museum. I’ts about the size of a small local service airliner like a CRJ-200.
@@thekinginyellow1744 RIO is from the USN, because it was fighter only it was all about the "Radar Intercept". With the F/A18 getting more into the multi-role groove they joined the Wisso train as he's suddenly also bombardier now.
The F-4 Phantom shines forever in its great and majestic history, and its brilliant achievements will be handed down to future generations as a part of the great history of the country that operated the F-4 fighter. The F-4 fighter and I commend the pilots for their hard work.
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Educational......nice
Outstanding episode!
cheers
I was engineering groundcrew on that Squadron, on that aircraft, for 4 years.
You’re probably not the first German in that one: we had Luftwaffe pilots and navs on the Squadron as exchange crew!
(Good characters and I can even remember some names.)
I See you in the RAF Museum and my dad know how are you he thing UA-cam wher som stupid
“World’s Leading Distributer of MiG Parts!”
I like that. Very clever!
Comrades Mikoyan and Gurevich have disliked this video
I paused for a second to let that sink.
Best nickname a Western jet can have really
Just FYI, that's been a moniker of the Phantom since Vietnam.
Yeah, very clever propaganda...
Phantoms have a very majestic rugged look that I really love.
Do you also find the Thunderbolt II the same ugly/beautiful mix?
Asking because I find both a great example of function defining form and creating something that should be aesthetically ugly, yet is so beautiful in operation.
@@ShadrachVS1
Yes I do. I wouldn't say beautiful/ugly, I'd say "rustic and charming" more than beautiful.
Kinda hard to explain actually.
@@Cramblit I understand.
The two nick names the Phantom had in the U.S. were Rhino and Double Ugly
@@ShadrachVS1 i just like the way it looks lol
As a young Marine pilot, I spent a lot of time looking at that instrument panel. I flew the F-4B at Mach I at 500 feet over the Yuma desert and Mach 2 at 35,000 feet. It was a hell of a ride and I loved every minute of it. It brought me home from Vietnam and I will always have a soft spot in my heart every time I see one.
Awesome. Thanks! Originally from Scotland, I was blown away by a pair of F-4s flying low over Loch Doon, southeast of Girvan and The Royal Turnbury on the Southwest Scottish Coast in my early teens. I had no idea what they were doing there, though military aircraft often stopped in at Prestwick just up the coast, and they were heading south towards England, but a little too low and fast in my mind looking back. Just me and my Grandad, who'd taken me fishing that day. No one else as far as the eye could see. Absolutely priceless!
@@rudyyarbrough5122 Do you have any interesting stories about the F-4? What else did you like about it?
@@feslerae It was a beast and accelerated like no other plane because of the J-79 engines. It had variable stator vanes and they would streamline during acceleration and the rpm would spin up very fast, thus full power very fast. It was big and roomy and a pleasure to fly. Making bombing runs in Vietnam was like riding downhill in a runaway hot rod. One time I had a 37mm tracking me as I went into my run and the bright orange shells were just above my canopy. He had me lined up but could not get his gun to go down as fast as I was going. Once I flew above 50,000 feet and saw the curvature of the Earth! I was a stupid 2nd Lt and didn't have on a pressure suit like I should have but it was thrilling.
The F4 was always refered to as a muscle jet with good reason. The full amount of ordinance load was incredible making it so versatile it lasted a long time in the Navy's and Air Force's arsenals.
They were huge...
The Phantom did everything. Didn't do anything great but it did everything it was asked to do.
Including bringing my uncle and a lot of other pilots home while absorbing a lot of damage
Yes indeed sir this type of aircraft has some great endurance in terms of durability no wonder everybody in the west love this famous warbird.
I'd say that plane was great at going fast, but I get what you mean. :)
It broke 13 records, it did more things than other fighters at the time, foreign or domestic.
@@a-10thunderboltii24 i think it did more things that any other aircraft. Including today's.
It truly is /was a beast.
2 engines baby
18:12 "Jelly Baby Dispenser". Obviously a critical modification for the UK version...
Time frame: Fouth Doctor era
this is the comment i was looking for
@@maciek_k.cichon Tom Baker was great. Actually, I can't think of any Doctors that weren't, until Peter Capaldi. He had his moments, but he mostly acted like a senile old man
I learned that a friend of mine flew these while he was in a Air Force. He never mentioned that he was in the military, much less a pilot, to any of us and we all learned of this part of his life only after he died very unexpectedly. Had I known that he flew the F-4 I would have had a thousand questions for him.
When you are so american that even your airplane manufacturer is a Mc Donald.
But McDonald is Scottish tho
Mc Donnel/Douglas...
Remember Mc Donnel asks "Do you want Cannons with that?", McDonald asks about Fries...
That's "McDonnell Douglas," now part of McDonnell Douglas Hughes North American Boeing multi-conglomerate aviation company... aka Boeing
Hilarious!!! this comment definitely deserve more likes
@@leontam221 You shouldn't like it. Boeing absorbing MD has been one debacle after another. Actually, Boeing has been that for a while now...
My dads buddy flew an F-4 in Nam, he did napalm sorties. My pop flew the Cobra Gunship in nam also. I I met his buddy and he had a hanger full of birds, 1 pitts s-1 and a cessna 190? It had a radial engine, and I got to sit in the co pilot seat for a fun ride. He said the phantom handled like a trash truck but it got the job done. Thanks Mr. Bismark for good av-history videos!
This series is definitely helpful for us modellers. I realized I may have missed something out on the Phantom FGR.2 I finished and in turn, this video along with my 2gb folder are probably why I have 4 of them now.
Model some Belkan Aggressors
@@rubenlopez3364 nahh. Currently working on a Fine Molds F-4EJ right now..
20:00 i like "Luftverteidigungsdiesel" (Air defence diesel) which was given to the F-4 because the trailing smoke of the engines
That one was new. It may be the best I've ever heard ;-)
worked on them for 4 years, usn, f4-b, vf-11, 1967-71. brought back allot of memories.
My uncle Jack piloted the F4 phantom in Vietnam late 60's early 70's, I was a young boy and in awe, I wanted to ask him about it on the rare times he was home for holidays but back then you kept your mouth shut, plus I don't think he'd want to talk to me about his missions or his experiences. Cool show, thank you 🇺🇸🙏
Thanks for making this vid!!! My great grandpa was the Captain of the carrier USS Ranger for the US Navy and was previously the head test pilot for the E variant of this plane. Currently looking into his tapes for more information about him, just thought it was nice to share.
I was a signalman on the USS Saratoga (CVA-60) 1962-1966. We had two squadrons of F-4 Phantoms on board, which are probably more responsible for my old-age hearing problems. But that never stopped me from standing on the signal bridge, watching those lovely birds taxi to the catapult, light their afterburners and take off in front of two trails of smoke! Their landings were just as awesome. Great memories.
The phantom was the first jet I ever fell in love with,it didn’t help all the stories my grandpa would tell me about them and the Cobras during nam. He would always say “when you would hear that roar over the mountains coming towards you you’d always hear a sigh and a little cheer over the guys when they came around”
My favorite plane of all time. My first contact with the Phantom II was the Blue Angels flying in a airshow my father took me to in 1971 when I was 6 years old. I've been in love with "Old Smokey" ever since.
I'm with you, bud. Everything about that plane is beautiful. I'm not sure if you're aware, but the United States had been converting them into drones for target practice. It's enough to make your head spin until you hear that they were difficult to shoot down. They were THAT tough. If I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere it took four or five hits from a Raptor to kill one.
@@fkerpants Funny you mention that, I was in the ADA during my time in the Army, we didn't fire at F-4 drones but I've seen them used. Our drone while I was stationed at Bliss was a A-7. And our HAWK missile obliterated it. Not sure what they used for our live fire at Crete, but our missile ruined it's day as well.
Shawn
I'm English, but yes a great 'don't mess with me' aircraft!!
Served the Royal Air Force very well.
My grandad flew a variant of the Phantom in the German air force. I still think it is one of the best looking post ww2 planes out there.
@@neues3691 RIO / WSO
@@neues3691 Literally "Combat observer". In the RAF, a Weapon Systems Operator, colloquially 'wizzo' or sometimes GiB, 'Guy in the Back'.
@@neues3691 :D Great air forces speak alike!
It had a predatory look that was unmistakable. Adaptability was it's greatest virtue.
IMO, the Hawker Hunter was the best looking plane of that era, & the Handley-Page Victor the most menacing.
This is the Jet that I first fell in love with, and discovered aviation. When I was 8 years old my grandpa bought me a model of the F-4 Phantom II to put together with him. I've always loved everything about the F-4 and still do. The absolute greatest aircraft ever made and to fly. Thank you McDonnell Douglas.
I had the pleasure of watching two phantoms scramble from raf wildenrath when I was at school; my teacher was the squadron commanders wife. Amazing sight that is still vivid 30 years on. Great video, thanks!
The phantom, or the wife?
I also like „Americas proof to the world that even a brick can fly, if the engines, are powerful enough“
And yet it would be Mickey D's next major fighter contract, the F-15, which successfully flew on only one wing. But yes, I do enjoy that one.
But that's the soviet approach to fighter planes (after MiG-17).
The Phantom is not a brick, aerodynamically, so in the end that's just silly and misleading. The British proved that a more brick-like design actually does go slower, despite more powerful Spey engines.
it’s even more so in the case of the F-104
Vermiliontea it may be silly and misleading but that’s what we would joke about sometimes when we were flying them way back when
The F-4 Phantom, AKA a Brick with engines.
Triumph of thrust over aerodynamics! :)
Matteo Haha yes
The A-10 of its day?
@@ludgerhoutman4464 the A10 was the A10 of its day
@@ludgerhoutman4464 the a10 is a 'flying cannon' not a brick.
Great job - so fun that you had access to cockpit controls. Thanks for such an intimate look at one of my top favorite aircraft. One of the last plastic models I made was a 1/32 scale model of the F4E flown by Captain Ritchie USAF in Vietnam. Fun to get a closer look at the things I was toiling over when I made the model!
Cheers, happy you enjoyed it
I remember in the 80s when the phantoms were at coningsby with RAF 228 ocu,I used to see them running along the seafront at Mablethorpe on there way to RAF Donna nook bombing range,you could see the gun pack under the fuselage,great days,better days here for aviation spotting,range is fairly quiet nowadays
Jim Powell here.
I served in Navy fighter squadron VF-154 in Vietnam. Two deployments from 1967-68 and 1968-69, we flew the F4 Phantom. I worked on the radar systems. I was a fire control technician. Our last cruise we had the F4J bird. The F4 was a work horse. It could fly as a bomber with a significant payload or as a fighter in a support role carrying sparrow missiles and side winders. The F4 was a big fighter, the engines were J79’s. They could fly right at Mach 2. They were a magnificent and very durable aircraft. I really enjoyed being part of the Navy and being part of VF-154, the Black Knights. The best fighter squadron in the Navy.
Jim, Yep, good times with VF-154. I was following you on facebook and then you disappeared. Hopefully all is well with you and yours. Bill Crockett
Good presentation Chris on my beloved F-4 Phantom 2. I flew them in W.Germany days as a Reconnaissance fighter over a 10 year period.
To illustrate the USAF's initial adoption of the F-4 one of my military instructors was an evaluation pilot in the early 1960s and told me of that process.
In the late 1950s the USAF had the idea of a multi-role fighter to reduce costs. They proposed an interceptor, strike, reconnaissance, bomber, eieio. General Dynamics and Boeing won the proposal and eventually, GD won it as the F-111. At the same time during the Kennedy admin Robert McNamara ( the greatest disaster for the US military readiness affecting decades of damage) tried to force the Navy into adopting the F-111B. The aircraft eventually worked but only as a light bomber. That left a void in the other roles for the USAF which if they could not cover them then the interservice conflict may lead to a transfer of missions. SO they scrambled to find existing alternatives for the F-111. They tried the Navy's Phantom 2 as the F-110, the A-7 for Close air support, and the Skyraider as the B-66 light bomber. All functioned admirably and were timely replacements but this led to a political decision that the USAF would never adopt another services platform for the primary missions.
When I was younger, every day, every hour and every half our, the sky was filled with jets..
Sometimes even with US-Navy jets..
Now the skies are empty
Haha, here on the other side of the curtain, it is pretty much the same. My father told me MiGs would fly sorties non-stop over the underdeveloped countryside. Today's skies are very sparse, only the occasional Gripen flight, or some Mi-17 relics, thank God those are still flying.
@@davidtoth8975I Interpret that as a good thing. It means we arent 10 minutes away from nuking the absolute shit out of eachother anymore :)
nunzio menin where you from
@@Strawberry-12. North Italy... I was talking about the 60 - 70 - 80 years
Same here My Local Air National Guard (NM USA) unit lost its F-16s and now flies Helicopters. I miss seeing them almost daily
As a kid I’d go through the NASA air and space museum and the F-4 phantom always caught my eye, it’s perfect war face painting lit up my young mind. I love the F-4
OK the Iron Pig fits this plane so well.
Probably because it's a hard working aircraft
As a corporate jet pilot and airplane freak in general, there is something menacing and just “plane” brutal about the F4. Looks like it could take endless fire that would just bounce off. Love it. True unadulterated power and ruggedness. Use to love watching these as a little kid living near Hill AFB. I can see the runway from my house and I remember the huge black smoke trails as those monsters would take off. Being in my late 30s the majority have been F16s (which I miss already) and now F35s, but I still remember those F4s like it was yesterday. Thanks for sharing.
The opening line was pretty funny Bismark 'first used in the second world war......jets' got me hooked and questioning my understanding of the chronology for a second! Keep up the amazing work!
It's easy to laugh, but don't. There are actually a lot of really, REALLY stupid people out there that know nothing of history before yesterday, which is when they were born. At least in the U.S., that is.
Australia didn't order Phantoms mate. We got them on some sort of lease to use until our F-111's were ready. I'm told the pilots liked them so much they didn't want to return them.
13:28 "the tiger is a lot more comfortable" does this mean you've also sat in the f5s cockpit?
Coming soonTM
Ahh i fucking love freedom fighter/Tiger. Waiting For MiG-21 (even though i live in jyväskylä near finnish aviation museum with multiple actual MiG-21s and enterable MiG-cockpit)
Vietnam vintage F5 were twin engined and called freedom fighter. Later F5 were single engined and called Tiger.
@@lauriewise6271 The Tiger II actually still maintained the twin engines. The inly evolution in the F-5's design was the F-20 Tigershark, which was originally designated as the F-5G. Honestly though, I really wish the Tigershark entered service, but it was only ever a prototype...
I have. While primarily a F4 WCS (Weapons Control System) specialist I was also qualified on the F105 and the F5. Mainly as an instructor for foreign students.
I worked F-4Cs, Ds and RF4Cs from 1978 to 1981 then the F4Gs and Es from 1988 to 1991. The plane is MUCH better than most people can imagine.
Yip! Eisenschwein .. I like it - somewhere between a mega-train, a hyper-tractor and a thunder-bike, only in the sky. Cool. ;o)
TheLeonhamm Love that name! Honestly classic planes breed classic names
I like "Kampfdiesel" better :D
TheSkipjack95 Also an excellent one. Especially since the early versions had the dirty black exhausts
A classic English language one is “The Triumph of Thrust Over Aerodynamics”
@@jeffreytam7684 only by those who didn't know how to fly it, but if they knew how it was a work of art and a pleasure to fly
Something worth mentioning is that the Phantom was designed without a gun largely due to it's intended role, which was to intercept Soviet bombers and attack aircraft. It was never really intended to fill the role of a multi role fighter bomber, because the Navy believed that the F8 Crusader and F11F Tiger would be more than sufficient in that role, so the Navy didn't think a gun would be worth the trade-offs. After all, if you're only expected to be firing Sparrows at Tu-95s from beyond visual range, what's the point in wasting weight on a gun?
Used to be an armourer on Phantoms, finishing up on the now long since defunct Phantom Servicing School at Coningsby as an instructor. Military jet noise, the sound of freedom.
Mate I'm just so glad I found your channel. The methodical thoroughness that you have going through the aircraft and cockpit really appeal to me as someone with Asperger's. When I research aircraft types there are a lot of grey areas which I cannot easily find and you clear a lot of these away.
You missed one of the nicknames: Lead Sled.
There are so many on this one, I missed several
"Lead Sled" was applied to several different aircraft, including the F-84 and (especially) the F-105, but AFAIK wasn't commonly associated with the F-4.
The guide ratio of a rock....
I Did more RF4 models.....
But a damn big bird,
And surprisingly fast.
Still classified(top end speed) for RF4 models.
At 20 years old I had the chance to watch a combat intercept (coldwar 1984) launch of a pair of F4's.
Almost as good as watching the SR71 launch.
By the by,
The F4's were just gone......
@@knutdergroe9757 🇩🇪 Phantoms were once based at Pfrerdsfeld. The afterburner takeoffs for practice scrambles blew the roofs off the houses of the nearby town. It was evacuated by the time I visited Pferdsfeld in 1982.
The Flying Brick. Jet powered Dump Truck. Cannot dance the Tango, but is still loved by many.
Air Force,,,,,,,Navy.............Like Flying a Bus.............lol..........
II Royce Spey engines were not simply a pointless addition soley to keep British jobs, while the FGR phantoms were slower than the American counterparts at high altitude Mach 1.9 appossed to Mach 2.2~2.3 it was faster at sea level. Also the British phantoms at low altitude out accelerated the American phantoms having a 20% shorter take off distance and a faster initial climb rate also. This was important to the Royal Navy given their carriers relatively small size compared to their American cousins. So this demand was largely at Royal navy's request while the RAF was happy to receive the F-4 Phantom II as it was. Still amazing video for a rarely covered variant of the F-4!
Since the Speys were turbofan engines as opposed to the turbojet J79s, they also had a longer range than the American versions. Plus, they were smokeless from the start. It was only on the later versions that the newer "smokeless" J79s were used. Having a smoke trail was a dead giveaway to enemy fighters.
@@rokuth The expression is, "from the start", not the get go.
@@PenzancePete corrected as you stated. Thanx!
I was told by a USAF ground control officer back in the 1970s, that the Spey Phantoms could put on power and fly out of Angle-of-Attack problems, where a GE crew would eject. He was an F-4 pilot.
@@PenzancePete 🙄 it's called slang, should be "get-go."
“First used during World War 2”
*imagines Germans getting wrecked by that jet*
Imagine a cocky 262 pilot trying to outrun a F4 then he hears a sonic boom behind him
@@super5oldier139 Well...if you hear the sonic boom behind you, the F-4 is chasing someone else.
The phantom cruises faster than the 262's cannon rounds travel from the muzzle
@@vaclav_fejt that's if you are flying super sonic too?
@@mchalllldfjlfkj not possible in a 262
The sidewinder is the AIM-9, not the AIM-6.
Ya even the Russians knew that from the one they got ahold of a dud
Roger Patterson VIW-6
I thought he was going for the Falcon missile, but that's an AIM-4. Presumably he just split the difference.
Thank you Bismarck, another great video! When i was young, kynda thirty years ago, i'd have to struggle for days, visit libraries and send letters to gather a FRACTION of the infomations you presented us with in this video. What exciting modern times we're living in (quote from capt Aubrey). Keep up the outstanding job!
Russian SAM: "the worlds leading distributor of F-4 parts" Oh, well.
What goes around, comes around
Wasn't that whole problem the start of the Wild Weasel SEAD missions?
F-105 : 👀
@@CLIFFORD392 Heh, the F-105 was quite the victim of circumstance. It was still an amazing aircraft, just was sadly a prime target for SAMs
From the wiki numbers it seems 90% was AAA
Good video, my grandpa died in one of these in Laos at night, so helps to see what was going on a little bit more
You are so freaking lucky! There’s nothing more beautiful than an F-4
I just went to that museum back in June and it was one heck of a place. Loved every building and aircraft
Loaded weapons on this type of aircraft, F4-E, when I was stationed at George AFB, CA in 1978. Saw the last active duty F-105 retire. The aircraft that I worked on were marked for the German training squadron, 20th AMU. Originally Blue section, later changed to Silver section. Was a member of the 35th MMS.
I was there in 1978 in the 562 AMU. We had 10 F-Fs that belonged to the German government along with our F-4Es.
I love the F-4 Phantom II's. They remind me of that quote from Halo, "For a brick, he flew pretty good!"
I once went to an airshow in Florida, and I think I saw a phantom take off and fly back low and fast.
I'll never forget what I felt that day..
The rumble from its two mighty engines roaring through the sky, it muffled anything else around me. That roar of the engines making every part inside me tremble. I didn't know if I was feeling the sound waves, or in shock and awe of this powerful machine.
It's shark decals near the nose as it flew by, stuck me with the thought that it could take down anything it saw, and that anything it faced was going to feel fear. It certainly scared me.
As it passed I saw its two engines glowing a bright yellow, it looked like a pair of eyes of a monster, a big scary one, it looked mighty angry too.
It flew away beyond the horizon, making way for another jet. But just like a phantom it came, striking fear, before leaving as if nothing happened.
F4s used to fly out of the base I lived at as a kid - Clark AFB in the Philippines. I always thought they were just an unattractive plane. That and their engines left a trail of black smoke. But hearing them go supersonic over the South China Sea occasionally on their way to Vietnam was kind of neat.
Thanks for that, great detail of the F4 cockpit, much appreciated. The Phantom was always one of my favorites growing up especially as we had the 74th Bengal (Tiger) Squadron based just down the road from me at RAF Wattisham in Suffolk. We often saw them coming and going from their daily exercises :)
Another great video Mr Bismarck, thanks. I have the good fortune to know a few guys who flew these for the Fleet Air Arm (as well as having sat in a few as well, on the ground - but i have had a go at a sim) so it was comfortingly familiar. One thing they did mention was the amount of drag produced by the 'bins' at the back of the engines as well. Looking fwd to your next video - cheers.
1. The Royal Navy was originally planning to replace its (then) present aircraft carriers with new fleet carriers with displacements falling between the American Midway and Forrestal fleet carriers (see the correction by Force A1 in comments). This was dropped due to the opposition of all things sensible in British military affairs...the Treasury. So, the F-4K had expensive modifications to let it fly more easily from HMS Eagle and HMS Ark Royal.
(Note that Eagle had just been - expensively - refitted to fly the new F-4Ks when the Treasury insisted that the Navy had to lose a carrier. Inexplicably, the Navy chose to lose the just refitted Eagle and retain the increasingly decrepit Ark Royal - which promptly spent more time in port than at sea until being decommissioned and scrapped).
2. As Calemb Jackson notes elsewhere in the comments, the Spey was draggier but much more powerful and, at low level, this was fine for the RAF and RN flight profiles, which emphasised low level tactics in the light of US experience in Vietnam and (you guessed it) Treasury reluctance to actually spend money on things like...ECM or decoys. It was also less smokey than the J79 turbojets (until GE finally fixed the fuel burn ratios in the 1980s).
3. The F-4J(UK)s were not retrofitted with Speys because the engine was thought a bad idea by then but because the RAF needed to station a squadron of Phantoms in the Falklands, the existing squadrons were already committed in the UK and West Germany and there was not the industrial capacity (or time) to build new F-4s, so a new squadron was stood-up and took over. These were only intended as a stop-gap solution. The F-4J(UK) had better high-altitude performance, so the role of air-defence over the Falklands was better suited to this model.
(addendum)
4. The pod on top of the vertical stabiliser is a RWR pod, not an ECM pod.
CVA-01 had by 1965, a displacement of 54,500tons (earlier designs displaced 53,000 tons). It was considerably smaller than US CVA/CVAN designs, and was designed around projecting power East of Suez in wars with Third-world countries (admittedly with access to modern Soviet weapons).
86% of the length of a Forrestal or Kitty Hawk but you're quite right about this being a smaller design - my error from memory. The complement of aircraft was smaller - about 2/3s of the Forrestal design but still potent with 18 Phantoms and 18 Buccaneers and the extra length would have reduced or removed the need for the extended nose-wheel on the F-4K.
The F-4Js could not have been retro fitted with the Spey as fitting of them required the fuselage to be widened. Little know fact: the wing span was the same, in other words the Spey Phantoms had less wing area.
Amazing knowledge of the aircraft, professionally explained in fantastic English. 👌
A Royal Navy F-4 cross-decked along with a Buccaneer in 1972 on my ship the USS JFK from the HMS Ark Royal. I got pictures of that. We had 2 squadrons of F-4 onboard at the time.
Thanks for the vid. I was a Nav Insty on 29(F) Sqn in the 80's (RAF Coningsby). Brought back loads of memories, my favourite ever aircraft, the Toom.
I remember when these aircraft were the main stay and you'd see them tooling along leaving their big smoke trails through the sky. Eventually they got versions of the engines that didn't produce all that smoke.
Yes. A very capable aircraft for a very long time.
.
Largest distributor of MiG parts XD
I remember when the Blue Angels flew these monsters.
Not hard to understand why they switched to the A-4F Skyhawk in 1974.
USAF Thunderbirds flew F-4s as well.
Not for long
As a USMC Phantom Phixer, I worked fire control on the F-4J and F-4S for 6 years; spent my days and nights in both cockpits, in the nose radar, and down at the missile stations. A lot of good memories, except when one of them pulled in to park across from me and I would get a face full of exhaust. Of note, in the late '70s, we intercepted Russian bombers every night during our deployment to Iceland.
i can imagine how many times Heatblur looked at this video, despite having their own real F-4E to module graphically, looking more and more to other F4 planes is never too much when you want to achieve perfection like They did, this plane in DCS is a master piece to fly
The Rolls Royce Spey, the engine that melted the flight deck of an aircraft carrier
AMEN !!BRO. We used to bet on when the deck was actually going to go liquid !!
@Thaster 97...... How many aircraft carriers were sunk on takeoff?
"The world's leading distributor of MiG parts" - I see what you did there. LOL!!!!!
My father was an F-4 pilot in Vietnam from 1967-68, flying out of Tan Son Nhut AFB. 210 missions. Dad said that his navigator would get sick more often than not on takeoff!!
Really really cool video. Awesome thorough cockpit walkthrough - this was great. Thank you!
btw Spey powered Phantoms had their fuselages enlarged. The fuselages are significantly wider than that of a GE powered Phantom and one of the key features installed were the doors on the side of the fuselage.
The F-4 ...an awesome & iconic aircraft. Great video Biz !
Good summary. But the losses to SAMs and AAA over Vietnam had nothing to do with the F-4 being a multi-role aircraft. SAMs and opposing fighters were both a threat across all altitudes and mission types. The F-4 suffered losses to SAMs had more to do with a lack of detection and countermeasures systems, which was a problem for the wider US air effort as well. It was only when aircraft started to be fitted with RWR, jammers and chaff that radar-guided threats at least became less of an issue. The 'countermeasures pod' you mention fitted to the top of the fin actually isn't; those are the Sky Guardian 18228 RWR antennas, and they're not a pod. UK F-4s would on occasion carry the ALQ-101-10 ECM pod on an underwing station.
I think the intakes are unchanged from the F-4J the UK aircraft were based on. It's the rear fuselage that was redesigned and made fatter to incorporate the bigger engines.
The F-4 could carry Sparrows/Skyflash and Sidewinders. The radar missiles were semi-recessed as you say and the AIM-9s on the wing pylons.
I'm don't see why you compare the F-4 with the F-5. One was a heavy multi-role fighter/bomber built round an enormous AI radar, the other was deliberately designed to be a basic, low-cost option for nations that didn't need or couldn't afford more capability. They were opposite ends of the spectrum.
The throttle friction lever is not to tailor the feel to your personal taste; it stops the throttles moving when you don't want them too.
The little cube-like joystick is actually the guidance controller for the AGM-12 air-to-surface missile system. Bombs don't need steering. The AGM-12 was not used by the RAF, not least because these aircraft spent most of their lives in the counter-air role.
A lot of the controls on the right are for Nav, not just comms.
I was hoping for a discussion on the radar display. It was not immediately intuitive and I knew some navigators (they were navs not WSOs or RIOs back then) who couldn't actually explain it!
Anyway, good to see the old girl again!
The very rare example of a UA-cam comment that actually adds something educational , nice.
0:40 seconds.....That's totally fascinating. It appears to be a G meter totalizer. It appears to count the number of times the airframe has been taken to -1g. and a full range of positive Gs. up to 8g. They probably used those numbers to calculate the Green Time left on the airframe.
Love your channel, Bismarck! Thank you for sharing your expertise.
If you think about it, the first flight of F-4 Phantom was back in 1950s...for more than half of the history of human powered flight, F-4 Phantom was in service in various air forces around the globe, and it is still flying today. That itself is a feat of it's own.
My father worked on the F-4 Phantoms, and once he brought my brother and I down to check it out. First thing he said while putting me into the pilots seat was "Don't touch ANYTHING", and the first thing I did was grab the stick and press the fire button! He pulled me right out! Not sure if my brother made it in or not. I was like 8 or 9. F-4's are cool!
There's just something that's beautiful about the Phantom.
I really don't know how one person can work all these instruments and fly/fight at the same time. Amazing workload.
Practice!
Peter Lethbridge , one person didn’t work all those instruments, the F-4 was a two seater
A tank with wings. I saw some return to our base in Thailand and wondered how they made it back. But they did. The F-4 was a beast.
As an army fixed wing aviator assigned to a non flying position at a ROTC unit, I wanted to keep my flying skills honed and was fortunate to have the flight simulator facility at George AFB, Victorville, CA. Whenever there was an opening and the F4 simulator was not in use, they let me climb in and use it for as long as I wanted. It was a complete F4 cockpit with motion, sound and video. Using some basic information and a checklist, I taught myself to fly the F4. Did a bunch of IFR flights around he Southwest including approaches to LAX. It was so realistic that I’d finish up a session soaked in perspiration.
While on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War I watched F4's ladened with huge bomb loads that defied belief how they could get airborne in such a short launch. Those F4 powerplants we're something.
Have been blessed to work VERY closely with the RF4…. Priceless time in the GEAF and it’s Recce forces! But the UK version of the carrier based bird, priceless! We called them the air diesel, since they would throw a never ending smoke tail, because their prat and Whitney’s would do that w/o the suppressor cartridges!
Where and what did you do when working with the RF-4?
Jim Powell speaking here.
The F-4 Phantom was my bird in the Vietnam war. I joined the Navy in 1965, after boot camp and A school, I was ordered to fighter squadron VF-154, the Black Knights. Was stationed at NAS Miramar. Went on my first Westpac cruise in 1967-68 and my second cruise in 1968-69. I was a radar tech otherwise known as an AQ, which was a fire control technician. Our squadron was in in the carrier air wing that served aboard the USS Ranger. We were the best fighter squadron in the Navy, on the best Aircraft Carrier in the Navy at that time. I may be a bit biased, but I don’t think so.
Hey Jim, thanks very much for sharing your story and experience with the F-4!
I flew in an FGR2 but it's so nice to see GF F3 with the black 43 (F) tail. I was on 74 with the F4J and FGR2 and 43 with the F3. Great memories,
I like the statement, this was the time that air to air missiles were beginning to work, Sort Of. In 1966-1968 when I flew F4’s in Vietnam they didn’t work work a shit!
terry waller, another problem was that the iron bombs we carried were from a previous police action in Korea. Those blunt nosed bombs caused aa lot of drag thereby limiting our effective ordinance loads. The missiles were a great contribution to the VC in providing explosives from their unused warheads since more often than not they just fell from our racks when fired.
Art Tafil, Marine, Navy, or Air Force Phantoms ?
Zeee Man, OK, this’ll give you an idea, there are only two branches of the military, The Marine Corps and the wannabe’s.
Zeee Man, I’m sorry, Marine Corps. We pretty much had what the Navy didn’t want. :) We were all Naval Aviators, or tail hookers! Like any good Marine will tell you, yes we are a department of the Navy, The Men’s Department. LOL. As for the fragile hydraulics goes, the Air Force pilots would declare an emergency with utility hydraulics failure. Usually this was on the primary side. I once told and Air Force Pilot in an officers club discussion that that was nothing because Marine Corps and Navy pilots took off that way. LOL.
Art Tafil you’ll get no argument from me on that score, Semper Fi ! p.s. by the time I was flying them they had improved both the 7’s and the 9’s. Fox 2
Love the detail of the cockpit controls, switches, instruments, etc. Very useful when configuring buttons on my HOTAS :)
Thank you for the nostalgia trip! I worked the RAF F4 simulators for 10 years!
And I get confused checking the 6 display dials on my car's dashboard. I don't care what anyone says, to be a fast jet pilot you need to be a very special breed. My respects and admiration to those pilots, both past and present.
Australia had ordered the F-111 which fell behind in delivery, so the phantoms were provided as a stop gap aircraft, though hardly a poor choice. It was much loved, and I recall the amazing performance of the Phantom II at airshows. as a strike fighter, it held an enviable reputation.
What an awesome video! Expertly presented!
If this is a ground attach Phantom, why is it in an interceptor colour scheme? This one is probably one of the ones that took up the interceptor role in between the Lightning and the Tornado ADV.
AFAIK, the Phantom II never saw combat with the RAAF. However, it was apparently useful as a training aircraft for the crews which transitioned from the EE Canberra to the F-111.
We got the F-4Es while waiting for the F-111Cs (they were late). One still remains down at RAAF Museum Point Cook. It's in a hangar with a Canberra and an F-111G "Boneyard Wrangler".
A lot of history attached to F-4 Phantom II, Great review.
R.A.F Museum Hendon. Love that place.
For anyone not in the know this particular Phantom weapon fit is a C44+ (2 x wing supersonic drop tanks, 4 x Sparrow AAM's, 4 x Sidewinder AAM's Plus a 20mm 6 barrel cannon pod on the centre line position), not bad for a truck with afterburner's!
No footage of RIO's office?
nice video! i love these field trips you take us on.... i love this channel : )
If you haven't seen one in person they're MASSIVE.
They really are huge. The F-14 is also humongous, I couldn’t believe how big until I saw one in a museum. I’ts about the size of a small local service airliner like a CRJ-200.
@@towedarray7217 yeah, Tomcat, a fighter big enough to play tennis on it. F-14 jocks refer to the rear fuselage as a "tactical tennis court."
Bismarck! How could you not cover the RIO seat?
It's blocked of. Will be done in the future.
Rip goose
RIO? It was WSO (Weapons systems operator) in USAF parlance when I was in.
@@thekinginyellow1744 RIO is from the USN, because it was fighter only it was all about the "Radar Intercept". With the F/A18 getting more into the multi-role groove they joined the Wisso train as he's suddenly also bombardier now.
I worked 20 years on the F4C,D,E. Weapons Control Specialist, Radar, Gunsight, Bombing System, Missile Firing. Tech school almost a year.
The F-4 Phantom shines forever in its great and majestic history, and its brilliant achievements will be handed down to future generations as a part of the great history of the country that operated the F-4 fighter. The F-4 fighter and I commend the pilots for their hard work.
Got to sit in one of these at RAF cosford really liked it as fighter plane cockpits are really cool