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 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

McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II, American users

The McDonnell Douglas F-4E featured many improvements from the previous version, the F-4D. Among them there were upgraded leading edge slats on the wings that improved greatly the high angle of attack and maneouvrability in expense of a lower top speed.
It was powered by a pair of General Electrics J79-GE-17A axial compressor turbojets that could deliver 11905lbf (52.9Kn) of thrust on dry and 17845lbf (79.4Kn) in afterburner. Those engines, however, produced a noticeable black smoke which made the aircraft really easy to spot being this way a sever disadvantage when hiding from the enemy. It wasn't solved until the F-4S was produced which introduced smokeless combustor.
It served as the main United States Air Force fighter from its introduction in 1967 until late 1970s when the F-16 was introduced as the replacement. Many of the F-4Es were upgraded to the F-4G and continued serving in the SEAD role during the 1980s.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#United_States_Air_Force
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II, American Users

The F-4D was essentially an improved version of the F-4C designed by the United States Air Force to carry AIM-4 Falcon missiles and was introduced in June 1967.
However, considering how complicated the AIM-4 was to fire, as it was designed to shoot down heavy bombers, it was useless against fighters. That's why it was decided to re-equip the F-4D with Sidewinders in early 1968 and, by 1972 it was the preferred missile by the USAF pilots. Some of them were field-fitted with radar homing and warning antennas to detect Soviet S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missiles in Vietnam.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#United_States_Air_Force
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II, USAF Users, part three

The F-4C was initally flown for the first time on 27th May 1963 and it differed from the Navy's F-4B in having dual controls, a boom-type flight refuelling system, low pressure tyres and different electronic equipment in order to make it suitable both for air superiority and ground attack roles. It was powered by two General Electric J79-GE-15 that have a a thrust of 10900lb (4944kgp) on dry and 17000lb st (7711kgp) with afterburner. When on air-to-air combat, it was equipped with four AIM-7 Sparrow III Missiles. In total 583 F-4Cs were manufactured, 40 of which were exported to Spain that it was the only foreign country to use that variant.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#United_States_Air_Force

McDonnell F-4B Phantom II, part four

The F-4B Phantom II also served with the United States Marines Corps, when the VMFA-314 "Black Knights" squadron received the F-4B in June 1962 at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, in California. The first ones to be deployed in a conflict were the ones of the VMFA-531 "Gray Ghosts" when, on 10th May 1965 they were assigned to Da Nang air base, in the Republic of Vietnam, in order to provide air defence for the USMC.
The main role of the F-4B there was to provide close-air-support missions and soon later, more squadrons, VMFA-314, VMFA-232, VMFA-323 and VMFA-542 arrived at the Da Nang airfield.
Three MiGs were claimed by the USMC's F-4Bs, two of them while in an exchange duty with the Unites States Air Force, at the cost of 75 airplanes lost, most of them to anti-air fire and ground accidents.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#United_States_Marine_Corps
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II, part three

There's not any doubt that the Phantom II was the most successful fighter design of the 1960s. It was powered by two General Electrics J79-GE 8A, 8B or 8C, depending on the sub-variant, rated all of them at 10900lb st of thrust (48.49Kn).
Six hundred and forty-nine F-4Bs were built between June 1961 and March 1967 both for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps.
These featured the APQ-72 fire control radar and was armed with four or six AIM-9 Sidewinders, but could carry a wide load of bombs and air-to-ground missiles.
The famous airplane with the Japanese flag in the tail, served with the VF-111 Squadron, on board of the USS Coral Sea (CV-43) and it was delivered on 6th May 1966. It served until 1976 when it was upgraded to F-4N.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II, part two

When the gulf of Tonkin incident happened, 13 of 31 of the navy squadrons, were equipped with the F-4B from the USS Constellation (CV-64) where they departed from to make their first combat sortie on the Vietnam War on 5th August 1964, escorting A-4 Skyhawks on the operation Pierce Arrow. In this context, the first aerial victory of a F-4B took place on 9th April 1965, when a F-4B from the VF-96 "Fighting Falcons" squadron manned by Lt. (JG) Terence M. Murphy and his RIO, Ensign Ronald Fegan, shot down a Chinese MiG-17, however, shortly after the F-4B was shot down too, by am AIM-7 Sparrow from one of their wingmen. There is controversy however, as if it's not completely clear if it was shot down by an Sparrow missile or by the guns of the MiG.
Anyway, later, on 17th June 1965 an F-4B piloted by Cdr. Louis Page and Lt. John C. Smith shot down the first North Vietnamese MiG of the war.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#United_States_Navy
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II, part one

The VF-121 Peacemakers squadron became the first operational units to be equipped with the F-4A, at NAS Miramar, California on 30th December 1960 while the VF-74 Be-Devilers squadron was the first deployable Phantom one when, on 8th July 1961 received the F4H-1s (F-4B) and, after completing carrier qualification operations in October 1961, the first full carrier deployment was completed between August 1962 and March 1963 on board of USS Forrestal (CV-59). The second Atlantic Fleet squadron to receive the F-4B was the VF-102 Diamondbacks, while the first one in the Pacific Fleet to receive them was the  VF-114 Aardvarks that took place in the September 1962 cruise on board of USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63).

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

McDonnell Douglas XF4H-1 & F4A Phantom II

On 25th July 1955 the United States Navy ordered two XF4H-1 prototypes, and it made it's maiden flight on 27th May 1958 manned by Robert C. Little. There was a problem with the hydraulics systems at the first flight, but it was quickly solved and everything went smoothly. After the first tests, the air intakes were redesigned in order to work better.
It quickly squared off against the Vought XF8U-3 Crusader and, due to operator workload, the Navy wanted a two-seater aircraft, so on 17th December 1958 the F4H was declared as winner.
Considering the limited availability of the J79-GE-8 engines, the first production aircrafts were fitted with the J79-GE-2 and -2A engines delivering each of them 16100lbf (71.8Kn) of afterburning thrust. In 1959 it began carrier sustainability trials on board USS Independence (CV-62) that were fully completed on 15th February 1960.
There were proposals to nickname it as F4H "Satan" or F4H "Mithras", but, as they were controversial names, it was decided to nickname it "Phantom II".

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F-4_Phantom_II#XF4H-1_prototype
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F-101 - American users

The first F-101A was delivered to the United States Air Force on 2nd May 1957, to the 27th Strategic Fighter Wing which replaced the F-84F Thunderstreak. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-13 engines which attained maximum speeds of mach 1.52 and a range of approximately 3000 milles (4828km) nonstop. It was fitted with an MA-7 fire control radar both for air-to-air and air-to-ground use. It could carry a mix of various weapons, ranging from tactical nuclear weapons, air-to-air missiles and four 20mm M39 cannons at the nose.
It set various speed records with a world speed record of 1207.6mph (1943.4 km/h) on 12th December 1957. A total of 77 F-101A were built and were gradually withdrawn from service since 1966. Some of them were reconverted into RF-101G, a reconnaissance version and served with the Air National Guard until 1972.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F-101_Voodoo
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

McDonnell F3H Demon

We have a double post today!
The McDonnell F3H Demon was liked by their pilots thanks to its docile handling, but, however, its endurance was marginal and it was underpowered. Usually two of the upper cannons were removed in order to make it lighter with the cannon parts faired over. Its service with the United States Navy was brief considering that combat aircraft designs were advancing really fast back then and the problems with the J40 engine delayed the Demon's introduction. By the early 1960s it had already been replaced by the Vought F-8 Crusader and the McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II. The Phantom II was initially thought as a direct follow-up of the Demon, but even if the ancestry was apparent, the commonality was virtual. An F3H-2N was used as a testbed of the Phantom II's AN/APQ-50 radar.
It was formally withdrawn from service at the end of 1964 though some of them would be flown for testing purposes in the following years. It never served with any foreign air arm and it never saw any combat. Nowadays none of them remain airworthy.

Sources:
1. http://www.airvectors.net/avdemon.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F3H_Demon
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mcdonnell F3H-2 Demon

As the original Westinghouse J40 engine turned out to be disappointing, the subsequent Demons were powered by the Allison J71 engine which also powered the Douglas B-66 Destroyer and were named F3H-2N. However, the J71 engine proved to be troublesome too for an airplane of the Demon's size as it suffered from frequent flameouts and compressor stalls. The first F3H-2N flew for the first time in October 1954. There was another serious problem, the ejection seats weren't reliable enough and they had to be replaced by Martin-Baker ones, which had been becoming in the standard ones in the United States Navy due to their higher reliability, specially at low altittudes.
In spite of all those problems, the navy ordered 239 of them, which were deployed in March 1956.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_F3H_Demon
2. Salamander Books - The complete Book of fighters