McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II: books - history

F-4 E/F/EJ & RF-4 Phantom II: Flying with air forces around the world (Duke Hawkins)

This beautiful Duke Hawkins photo book extensively presents the F-4 E/F/EJ and RF-4 Phantom II, in service with the US Air Force and the air forces of Greece, Germany, Turkey, Spain, Japan, Israel, South Korea and Iran. Also attention to target drones.
The book contains not only action photos, but also many "walkaround" photos that show details of the aircraft from different angles. Chapters on cockpit, fuselage, armament and maintenance work.

The series "Aircraft in Detail" arose from the collaboration between pilots, aircraft technicians and modellers. This volume (No. 15) on the F-4 E/F/EJ and RF-4 Phantom II is illustrated with a large number of very high quality color photographs, most of which have never been published before.

F-4 Phantom

Als einer der letzten echten »Düsenjäger« gilt vielen Luftfahrt-Enthusiasten die unverwechselbare F-4 Phantom! Keine geschmeidigen Linien, keine Faserverbundwerkstoffe oder sonstiges High-Tech sondern pures, zweckmäßiges Fighter-Design aus der Hochzeit des Kalten Krieges.
Das waren die Zutaten für eines der erfolgreichsten Kampfflugzeuge der letzten Jahrzehnte.

Die brachial aussehende Maschine stand bei Dutzenden von Streitkräften im Einsatz, so auch bei der Luftwaffe, die ihre letzten Maschinen erst im Jahre 2013 in den Ruhestand schickte. Ein Bild- und Technikband mit allen Details zu dieser Kampfflugzeug-Legende!

The Phantom F-4 - Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)

The Phantom was developed for the US Navy as a long-range all-weather fighter and first flew in May 1958. It became operational in 1961. The US Air Force then realised that the Navy had an aircraft that was far better than any tactical aircraft in their inventory and ordered 543 F-4C variants.
There then followed a spate of orders from around the world. In Britain, it was ordered for the Navy and Air Force, but was modified to take the Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan. One of the Royal Navy's Phantoms stole the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing, a record that stood until taken by the remarkable Blackbird.

During the long course of its service history, the Phantom has been employed in a variety of different combat scenarios and theatres of war. It was one of America's most utilised aircraft during the long Vietnam War and has been flown in anger in the Middle East by a number of different air forces.
The F-4 is still operational with several units, but is now coming to the end of its long and successful period as a front-line combat warplane.

This is the perfect introduction for the general reader, enthusiast or modeller wishing to find a succinct yet detailed introduction to the design and history of this aircraft. Why was it conceived? What was it like to fly in combat? Who were the people who designed it and who became famous for flying it? What were its virtues and vices? These questions are answered and a wealth of technical data, additional information and suggestions for further reading are provided.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - Air Superiority Legend

Since its first flight in May 1958, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II proved to be a tough, rugged and excellent all-weather, air superiority fighter/bomber.
From flying fleet defence missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis and performing as an air superiority fighter/bomber during the Vietnam War, to taking out Iraqi surface-to-air missile sites in the Wild Weasel role during Operation Desert Storm, the Phantom II did it all. Other nations have also benefited tremendously from the acquisition of export versions of this remarkable aircraft.

Here Mark A. Chambers recounts an illuminating history of this truly unique aircraft's design and development and relives its glorious record in the Vietnam War, various Arab-Israeli conflicts, the Cold War and Operation Desert Storm.

McDonnell-Douglas F-4C / RF-4C Phantom II

This book is a concise, illustrated history of the legendary McDonnell Douglas F-4C and RF-4C Phantom II. Covered are its technical developments, markings, and use by Spanish forces.

F-4 Phantom

When the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom first emerged towards the end of the 1950s, it represented a generational step from the first postwar jets and later 'Century Series' aircraft, to the modern high-tech fighters such as the F-16.
The Phantom was the most significant aircraft to serve with the US Navy and Marine Corps, and the US Air Force. It was also the most numerous and significant aircraft type to participate in the Vietnam War. Apart from being an iconic US aircraft it was also a hugely successful international design and was purchased by the UK, Australia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Turkey.

This detailed volume provides an in-depth, comprehensive study of the development of the F-4 Phantom, tracing its full service deployment from the USAF and RAF to the air forces of a host of countries around the globe.
The author also covers in detail the long and complicated story of the British Phantom. Purchased for both the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, it became a much-respected carrier-borne fighter-bomber. It provided the RAF with a nuclear strike aircraft and a ground attack/reconnaissance platform, and later became the RAF's standard interceptor.

USAF McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II (Osprey)

In many respects the most successful, versatile and widely-used combat aircraft of the post-war era the F-4 Phantom II was quickly adopted by the USAF after its spectacular US Navy introduction.
Its introduction to USAF squadrons happened just in time for the Vietnam conflict where USAF F-4Cs took over MiG-fighting duties from the F-100 Super Sabre. Although the F-4 was never intended as a dog-fighter to tangle with light, nimble, gun-armed MiGs it was responsible for destroying 109 MiGs in aerial combat.
At the end of their careers many of the survivors from the 3,380 'land-based' Phantoms were converted into target drones for training purposes. New aircraft were also built for West Germany, Iran and Israel. The USAF's experience with the Phantom showed clearly that the air-to-air fighter was still a necessity and its decision to fund its successor, the McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle (as well as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-22A Raptor) was heavily influenced by the lessons of US and other Phantom pilots in combat.

Contents: Introduction - Design and Development - Technical Specifications and Variants - Operational History - Conclusion - Bibliography and Further Reading.

F-4 Phantom II - Pilot's Flight Operating Manual - Pilot's Flight Operation Instructions

One of the great aircraft of the Cold War era, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was the most heavily produced supersonic, all-weather fighter bomber. Capable of a top speed of Mach 2.23, it set sixteen world records including an absolute speed record of 1,606 mph and an altitude record of 98,557 feet.

The F-4 flew Vietnam, in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Gulf War and amassed a record of 393 aerial victories. F-4s also flew as part of the USAF Thunderbirds and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration teams.

Originally printed by McDonnell and the U.S. Navy in the 1960s, this flight operating handbook taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Classified "restricted", the manual was recently declassified and is here reprinted in book form.

F-4 Phantom II vs MiG-21 - USAF and VPAF in the Vietnam War (Osprey)

This book draws us into the dangerous world braved by American and North Vietnamese airmen in the skies over Vietnam. Influential leaders and tacticians are profiled to provide a comparative evaluation of their contrasting skills.

This book also reveals the technical specifications of each jet with an analysis of the weaponry, avionics and survival devices of the F-4 Phantom II as flown by the USAF and the MiG-21. The fighters' strengths and weaknesses are also compared, including turn radius, performance at altitude, range and structural integrity. First-person extracts reflect on the dangers of these aerial duels, as USAF pilots and their counterparts struggled to overcome each plane's shortcomings.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and Development - The Strategic Situation - The Combatants - Combat - Statistics and Analysis - Aftermath
Conclusion.