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A large twin-engined jet fighter that first entered service in the 1960s with the US Navy. The two-seat McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II was used by the air forces of 12 nations in interceptor, air superiority, ground attack, and reconnaissance roles, until replaced in American service by the F-15. It was also one of a handful of aircraft to be accepted by the USAF, USMC, and USN. Despite its obsolescence, it still being used by countries such as Japan, Egypt, Greece, and South Korea today.
The Phantom is recognizable by several features; it is a very large aircraft, even for today. It is extremely loud, in particular its afterburner. Its wings are almost delta shaped, and rather small, with the tips bent up. It's tail is seemingly cut off two-thirds of the way up. It is very long but very short and sits low on the ground, and the canopy cockpit dome is flanked by dual inlets. It's nose is dropped down slightly, and its elevators drop down suddenly, leading to the joke that the craft was "built wrong." Its engines are also very smokey, but that isn't often portrayed in art.
The Phantom's arsenal included various missiles, bombs, rockets, and other aerial munitions; late-model F-4s incorporated a 20mm rotary cannon in an undernose mount after complaints that during dogfighting the F-4 could run out of missiles.
See also
External links
- Wikipedia: McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II