[3e] McDonnell F-4 Phantom

[Phaelen Bleux]

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
In late 1953, the US Navy began looking for a twin-engined fighter to replace the F3H Demon. With the F8U Crusader looking to fill the fighter role, McDonnell was encouraged to redesign the F-4 as an all-weather attack aircraft. It first flew in 1958, and was so impressive that it was adopted by the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marines. The F-4 was used extensively in Vietnam, and is the last 20th century fighter to achieve ace status. Since it was developed as an attack aircraft, initial models did not have an autocannon--this was finally added in the -E in response to tactical experience in Vietnam.
The capabilities and durability of the F-4 design have resulted in it being the most-produced post-1960 jet aircraft to date, with 5,195 built. It has served in the air forces of 11 countries, including Australia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. Although the U.S. and U.K. retired the Phantom in 1996, updated versions of the -D and -E still serve in Egypt (34 aircraft), Germany (59), Greece (53), Israel, Japan (91), South Korea (138), Spain, and Turkey (165), with plans to keep them flying until 2015, giving the F-4 a career lifespan of nearly six decades.
The F-4 has a crew of two: pilot and navigator/sensor operator. Standard air-to-air intercept ordnance consisted of four AIM-7 Sparrow missiles and four AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Other external payloads could consist of one centerline 600-gallon drop tank and two 370-gallon wing mounted drop tanks, M117 bombs, Mk 80 bombs, B28, B43, B57 and B61 nuclear bombs, ECM pods, and a variety of air-to-ground missiles such as the AGM-12 Bullpup, AGM-45 Shrike, AGM-65 Maverick or AGM-78 Standard. The F-4 has a ferry range of 1,978 miles and burns 1,074 gallons of jet fuel per hour of routine usage. Ammo for the cannon costs $1,472.

F-4E Phantom II
Subassemblies: Body +4, High-Agility wings with Folding option +3, 3 retractable wheels +0.
Powertrain: Two 11,933-lb. thrust turbojets with afterburners, 3,000-kWs lead-acid battery.
Fuel: 1,994 gallons jet fuel in self-sealing standard tanks (Fire 12) [Body and Wings]. Can carry an additional 1,340 gallons in drop tanks.
Occupancy: 2 NCS.
Cargo: None.

Armor
All: 4/30

Weaponry:
20mm 6-barrel autocannon/M61A1 [Body:F] (640 rounds).
18,650 lbs. of external stores [Body and Wings:U]

Equipment:
Body: Long range radio with scrambler (300-mile), very long range radio with scrambler (3,000-mile), autopilot, precision navigation instruments, inertial navigation system, IFF, targeting radar (30-mile), laser designator, advanced bombsight, passive IR, two flare dispensers with 4 reloads, advanced radar detector, area jammer (-6), flight recorder, arrestor hook, recon camera, 10x LLTV, dedicated targeting computer (+3 to skill), refueling probe, two ejection seats, 40,000-lb. vehicular parachute, ½ man-day limited life support, full stabilization for cannon, nine hardpoints.

Statistics:
Size: 63'x38'x16' Payload: 15.7 tons Lwt.: 30.9 tons
Volume: 560 cf. Maint.: 8 hours Price: $6,887,249

HT: 9. HPs: 1224 Body, 795 each Wing, 110 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 1380 aAccel: 8 aDecel: 25 aMR: 6 aSR: 3
Stall Speed: 167. With afterburner, aSpeed 1472, aAccel 12. -250 mph per loaded hardpoint.
gSpeed: 445 gAccel: 22 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.25 gSR: 3
Ground Pressure Extremely High. No Off-Road speed.

Design Notes:
Body is 560 cf; wings are 104 cf each, wheels are 28 cf. Wing volume was reverse-engineered from actual wing area (530 sf). Structure is Heavy, Expensive (titanium) with Superior Streamlining. Sealed. Armor is Expensive Metal (titanium). Mechanical controls. Design loaded weight is 63,099 lbs.; this was decreased 2% to the maximum take-off weight. The turbojets were reversed engineered from real-world afterburner thrust value. Design top aSpeed was 1,690 mph with afterburners; the historical value is shown above. The historical unit cost was $2.4 million dollars in 1965 and $16.5 million dollars in 2008.

Variants:
The F-4A was a pre-production version armed with four Sparrow III missiles and non-standard 16,150-lb. turbojets. 45 built.
The F-4B was similar to the -A, but featured the intended 17,000-lb. turbojets. It also added four AIM-9 Sidewinders to its armament. Upgrades in avionics lead to the F-4N designation.
The F-4C was similar to the -B, but with dual controls. Also known as the F-110A. 635 built.
The F-4D was generally the same as the -C, with slightly altered avionics. 773 built; 32 delivered to Iran and 36 to South Korea.
The F-4E was the major production version; 1,405 built.
The F-4F were 175 -Es produced for the German Luftwaffe.
The F-4G were 116 -Es converted to the Wild Weasel (SEAD--Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) configuration, with updated radar and avionics.
The F-4J was a U.S. Navy version (12 built). An additional 15 were delivered to the U.K. Revisions of the U.K. aircraft (turbofan powerplants) produced the F-4K and F-4M variants.
The Kurnass 2000 is an Israeli program to update the F-4 to modern avionics and controls, including HOTAS controls and computerized datalinks.

[oldgringo2001]

One distinctive feature of the F-4 was the horizontal stabilizers, which angled downward. They were literally a pain; I kept hitting my head on the damned things.

It soldiered on as long as it did because the F-111, yet another one of Robert McNamara's bright ideas, was a dud.

The F-3H Demon was known as "the ensign killer" during its short period of service because so many less-experienced pilots died in it. Basically the F-4 was an F-3 with a second engine, which gave it enough power to fly, sort of. The F-4 is living proof that you can make a brick fly if you cram on enough engine.

[Phaelen Bleux]

Originally Posted by oldgringo2001

The F-4 is living proof that you can make a brick fly if you cram on enough engine.

I have never thought of the F-4 as sleek, that's for sure.

[copeab]

Originally Posted by Phaelen Bleux

I have never thought of the F-4 as sleek, that's for sure.

On a show on top 10 fighters, they commented the F-4 was built for all-out speed while the F-15 was built for dogfighting.

[Lord Carnifex]

Originally Posted by copeab

On a show on top 10 fighters, they commented the F-4 was built for all-out speed while the F-15 was built for dogfighting.

Oh? I'd always been under the impression that the F-15, while a multi-role fighter, had intended more for the bomber intercept role. She was the fastest fighter in the inventory for awhile, if I'm not mistaken. Still, I suppose the F-4 was probably informed by the missile-armed fighter concept of the earlier generation, and built for as much speed as possible, before the reality of aerial combat in SE Asia asserted itself and proved that dogfighting was still very much a plausible scenario.

[Phaelen Bleux]

Originally Posted by Lord Carnifex

Oh? I'd always been under the impression that the F-15, while a multi-role fighter, had intended more for the bomber intercept role. She was the fastest fighter in the inventory for awhile, if I'm not mistaken. Still, I suppose the F-4 was probably informed by the missile-armed fighter concept of the earlier generation, and built for as much speed as possible, before the reality of aerial combat in SE Asia asserted itself and proved that dogfighting was still very much a plausible scenario.

Initially, the F-15 (which replaced the F-4) was intended for air superiority--i.e., dogfighting. I'm sure that includes bombers, however. The F-15E Strike Eagle is used for air-to-ground missions.

[mwturnage]

Originally Posted by Phaelen Bleux

Initially, the F-15 (which replaced the F-4) was intended for air superiority--i.e., dogfighting. I'm sure that includes bombers, however. The F-15E Strike Eagle is used for air-to-ground missions.

Ironically, the major selling point for the F-15 was that it was built around air combat. 'Not a pound for air-to-ground' was a common phrase in the early 70s. The incredibly successful F-15E only came about because the USAF had to replace the F-111 a good decade earlier than they'd ever dreamed of...and it was noted earlier that the F-4's long history was a result of the -111 as well.

(In another little irony, there was an early Red Flag-style exercise in the 70s that saw a flight of F-15s put up against a group of Air National Guard F-4s. The press was invited as a chance to show off the new toys in the inventory. Embarassingly, the F-4s won each time.)