McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II. Part Four

Today we cover some more United States Navy's F-4J Phantom II squadrons:

• VF-194: Navy's Red Lightning Squadron were equipped with the F-4J in 1976 flying from USS Oriskany (CV-34) that was the last active Essex-class carrier. They were assigned to the Carrier Air Wing Fifteen and redeployed to USS Coral Sea (CV-43). It was disbanded in 1978. 
• VF-41: In 1974 the Black Aces squadron transitioned from F-4B to F-4J on board of USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42). They made their final cruise with the Phantoms in 1975 before being replaced by the F-14 Tomcat.
• VF-84: The Famous Jolly Rogers squadron received their F-4J in the early 1970s when on board of the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) serving with the Carrier Air Wing Six deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.  They transitioned to the F-14 Tomcat in 1976.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_U.S._operators

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II. Part Three

The McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II was also used by the United States Marine Corps. Today we cover the next Marine Squadrons:

• VMFA-334: The Marine "Falcons" squadron, transitioned from Vought F-8 Crusader to F-4J Phantom II in August 1968. They arrived in Da Nang Air Base, in the Republic of Vietnam. They were relocated to Chu Lai, a little bit to the South in 1969. They remained in Vietnam until September 1969 when they were relocated to MCAS Iwanuki, in Japan. Operating from there, they flew some support missions for USS Pueblo (AGER-2) that had been attacked and captured by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. They returned to MCAS El Toro, California in March 1971 and were disbanded in late December 1971.
• VMFA-212: The "Lancers" Squadron was re-equipped with F-4J Phantoms in 1974 when they were deployed in Japan. They remained in use until 1988 when they were replaced by the F/A-18C Hornet.
• VMFA-451: On 1st February 1968 the "Warlords" squadron replaced their F-8 Crusaders by the F-4J Phantom II when deployed in their homebase of MCAS Beaufort, in South Carolina. They were reassigned to the USS Forrestal (CV-59) for a Mediterranean Cruise, but it was cancelled and they remained at the homebase. The F Phantoms were replaced by the F/A-18 Hornet in 1987. 
• VMFA-235: The "Death Angels" Squadron received their F-4J Phantoms at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii in September 1968. The Phantoms remained in service until November 1989 when they were replaced by the F/A-18 Hornet.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#Operators

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_U.S._operators

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II. Part Two

The McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II was an improved version of the F-4B that was used by both the United States Navy and the United States Marines.
We cover the next squadrons in this post:

• VF-161: The Chargers squadron received their F-4J in 1977 that replaced the previous F-4N. They were assigned to USS Midway (CV-41) and were deployed to Gulf of Aden in order to relieve USS Constellation (CV-64) and keep a presence of carriers in the gulf, specially after the outbreak of the war between North and South Yemen and the fall of the Shah of Iran. When the Iran hostage crisis happened, the VF-161 remained on station in the gulf of Oman and was relieved in February 1980. They were embarked on USS Midway and operated off the coast of South Korea due to the Gwanju Uprising and the subsequent tensions. In 1981 the F-4J were replaced by the F-4S.
• VF-31: The Tomcatters squadron received the F-4J in 1966 replacing the F-4B. They took part in strike operations against North Vietnam and, in 1972 an aircraft from this squadron shot down a MiG-21. By doing so, this squadron became the only Naval one to achieve victories in three wars, the World War 2, The Korean War and the Vietnam War. The VF-31 stayed in service on board USS Saratoga (CV-60) for 24 years, the longest in US Naval History. The F-4J were replaced in early 1981 by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
• VF-101: The Grim Reapers squadron received the F-4J in August 1967 and, in 1971 one detachment was assigned to Key West, Florida and other one was assigned to Carrier Wing 8, on board of USS America (CVA-66), operating in the Mediterranean Sea. They operated there in the training role until the mid 1980s when the F-4J were replaced by the F-14 Tomcat.
• VF-92: The Silver Kings squadron received their F-4J in 1969 on board of USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and, in January 1970 two of them were destroyed in an on board fire. The squadron was later redeployed to USS America (CV-66) and sent to Vietnam where, on 25th July 1970 over the gulf of Tonkin an F-4J suffered control problems and the crew had to eject. The squadron wasa again redeployed to USS Constellation (CV-64) where they achieved an aerial victory shoting down a MiG-21 of the People's Republic of Vietnam Air Force. The squadron remained deployed on board of USS Constellation at intervals from 1973 to 1974. It was disbanded on 12th December 1975.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#Operational_history

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_U.S._operators

3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II. Part one.

The McDonnell Douglas F-4J was an improved version of the F-4B that featured improved air-to-air and ground-attack capabilities. Five-hundred and twenty-two aircrafts were manufactured and they were delivered from 1966 to 1972. It was upgraded with the General Electric J79-GE that could deliver 17844lbf (79374Kn) of thrust and the Westinghouse AN/AWG-10 fire control radar which made the F-4J the first fighter in the world with real look-down/shot-down capability, a new integrated missile system and the AN/AJB-7 bombing system in order to improve the ground-attack capabilities.
The squadrons covered in this post are:

• VX-4: The United States Navy's evaluation squadron tested the F-4J together with the F-8 Crusader in 1966. 
• VF-191: After returning from Vietnam, they replaced their F-8 Crusader with the F-4J which they retained until 1978 when they were deactivated.
• VF-74: In early 1972 they started to replace their F-4B by the F-4J, when they returned from Vietnam, where they didn't loose a single aircraft, on board USS America (CV-66). In 1975 they were assigned to the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) where they remained until being replaced in 1982 by the F-4S.
• VF-121: This fleet replacement group was equipped with F-4B and F-4J until it was disbanded in 1980.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II_U.S._operators
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters