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What Couldn’t the F-4 Phantom Do?


Sedalia Dave

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It’s a plane that looks like it means business.

I have a friend who was a Phantom driver and an airline pilot later. One year when the Reno air races were going on I asked him if he ever did any air racing.

” Only when I was trying to get out of North Vietnam airspace”, he said. :lol:

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The Navy wasn’t the only branch to use it for ground attack.

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We had a magistrate here that flew the Wild Weasel variant. He didn't talk about his experiences much, other than in the most general terms. He did say he decided practicing law seemed to be a safer profession.

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1 hour ago, DocWard said:

We had a magistrate here that flew the Wild Weasel variant. He didn't talk about his experiences much, other than in the most general terms. He did say he decided practicing law seemed to be a safer profession.

 

Playing in traffic is probably a lot safer than being in the seat on a wild weasel mission.

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It couldn't shoot back with a gun! It didn't have one unless it was strapped to the belly. (B, C, and D models only)

Let's see..... The sparrow missiles wouldn't track and the heat seekers would only work 25% of the time.

None of this is the planes fault, just everything that was attached to it!

 

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1 hour ago, Ace_of_Hearts said:

It couldn't shoot back with a gun! It didn't have one unless it was strapped to the belly. (B, C, and D models only)

 

 

E models had an internal 20mm vulcan cannon 

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My bro in law was a F-4 mechanic in VietNam.  They came back with lots of damage.

 

My brother was a recon platoon leader in VietNam.  They watched from a hill as F-4s were bombing in the valley below.  An old Vietnamese would stand up from the grass and shoot at them with a bolt action rifle.  They were laughing at the old man.  They quit laughing when one of the F-4s starting trailing smoke from the engine.  Lucky shot?  Sure it was luck, but every once in awhile luck rolls around, good for the old man, bad for the pilot.

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Some folks say you could see the smoke trail from those J79s long before you could see the F4 itself!!

 

“It couldn’t sneak up on anything!”

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I know nothing about the F-4 

I thought this was about  Our Phantom ! :huh:

 

1. Chastise 

2. Ridicule

3. Reprimand

4. Degread   

5. Disagree

6. Argue 

7. Agitate 

8. Irritate

9. Kick a dead horse 

10. And Be Your Pard all at the same time !

 

Just giving you a hard time Phantom .

I could Not pass up the opportunity. :D

Rooster  

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I got to see the Angels once when they were flyin' 'em.  Good show, considering they weren't all that nimble!  ^_^

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1 minute ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

 

I got to see them as Thunderbirds before they switched to the T-38s

 

I believe the Phantom was the only model flown by both teams...  

 

Saw the Angels twice last month.  Wow... they've had Hornets for over thirty years!    

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The Japanese just retired their last F-4s. The squadrons are transitioning to...the F-35! I can't imagine what a leap that must be for all involved, and in every way imaginable.

 

For further nerdery, take a look at the article below. It discusses attempted and executed upgrades to the F-4. The concept and history are relevant as the USAF moves toward procuring the F-15X and the USMC invests money in putting AESA radars in legacy Hornets.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/1980s-israel-developed-heavy-hammer-f-4-super-phantom-what-happened-44702

 

Awesome jet. Thanks for sharing.

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23 hours ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

Some folks say you could see the smoke trail from those J79s long before you could see the F4 itself!!

 

“It couldn’t sneak up on anything!”

Dishwater, one sure snuck up on me!

During my first tour in Fulda, W. Germany (1966-1969), I was an E-4 just coming off gate guard duty at my HAWK missile battery tactical site.  An F-4 passed over me at telephone pole high altitude.  I didn't hear a thing until he passed over my head.  Put me face down in the dirt.  (Now, if you don't believe the rest of my story, I understand.  I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it.)  The F-4 kicked in its afterburners and shot straight up.  Blew out the plexiglass windows of our Ready Building and set the burlap camouflage netting we had over our control vans to actually start smoldering.  We had a warrant officer, who was a Korean War combat infantry veteran (3 Purple Hearts and a Silver Star), that was our Tactical  Control Officer for that day and he sent us to Battle Stations.  I was manning Continuous Wave Acquisition Radar (CWAR) console in the Battery Control Central (BCC) and I was right next to Mr. Wooden.  Both firing sections had target locks and fire lights lit.  Chief Wooden got on the horn to Wasserkuppe (Air Force Command) told them if that F-4 made another approach on our location, "I'll take self-defense measures and shoot that bastard out of the sky!"  Nobody in the unit doubted Mr. Wooden wouldn't have done just that and shot that bastard out of the sky. 

 

An F-4 might out fly one HAWK missile, but it won't out fly two.

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12 hours ago, Chantilly Shooter said:

The Japanese just retired their last F-4s. The squadrons are transitioning to...the F-35! I can't imagine what a leap that must be for all involved, and in every way imaginable.

 

For further nerdery, take a look at the article below. It discusses attempted and executed upgrades to the F-4. The concept and history are relevant as the USAF moves toward procuring the F-15X and the USMC invests money in putting AESA radars in legacy Hornets.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/1980s-israel-developed-heavy-hammer-f-4-super-phantom-what-happened-44702

 

Awesome jet. Thanks for sharing.

 

The F-4EJ Kai, as it is called in Japanese service, remains an effective interceptor and strike aircraft.  The Japanese upgraded the avionics, computers and software to at least F-16 A/B standards.  So while the air frame and engine are still late 1950's technology, the important stuff is 1990's technology. 

 

 

 

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