By Maya Carlin [https://www.19fortyfive.com/author/maya-carlin/] Perhaps one of the most revered airframes in U.S. military history is the F-4 Phantom. When McDonnell Douglas first began development on the fighter-bomber in the 1950’s, the resulting Phantom quickly became one of the most formidable platforms in the post-World War II era. The F-4 [https://warriormaven.com/air/how-the-us-f-4-phantom-ii-destroyed-viet-cong-targets-in-vietnam-war]is notoriously known for its role in the Vietnam War, however, the fighter-bomber remained in service with the U.S. military for decades later. Phantom pilots were uniquely trained to fly the airframe at extremely low altitudes, contributing to the fighter’s powerful reputation. A Warrior Maven exclusive interview with US Air Force Maj. Gen. & Commander of the Air Force Research Lab, Heather Pringle Video Above: Air War in 2050 - Air Force Research Lab Commander on Hypersonics One former F-4 pilot recalled a moment where he narrowly avoided striking a pickup truck on the road. David Storm recalled the tale in an interview with the Aviation Geek Club [https://theaviationgeekclub.com/f-4-pilot-recalls-when-during-a-snake-check-down-a-jeep-trail-he-had-to-do-a-6-g-pullup-to-avoid-a-pickup-truck-he-was-accused-by-his-neighbor-of-running-him-off-the-road-with-his-phantom-ii/], narrating the events that would lead up to the near collision. THE STORY > “In the late ’70’s I was in Stan/Eval (Flight Evaluation) in the F-4 wing at > Nellis. When giving crews their Tactical Flight Eval, they would plan a > low-level mission to the range. I would take off early and hide out in the > mountains and desert and try to attack them to check their visual lookout. As > happens with any fighter, they occasionally were late or had to abort which > left poor me with an F-4 full of gas and 3/4 of the state of Nevada to play. > It was a good chance to practice ridge crossings, ‘ultra’ low level flying, > and such. There were wild horses to chase and an occasional RV to avoid. > > One day doing a ‘snake check’ down a jeep trail as low as I could go, I came > over a little rise and was eyeball to eyeball with a pickup truck. 6-G pullup > and hope he made it home with clean underwear! Second half of the story – I > came home one day and my neighbor was outside to meet me. He was the State > Brand Inspector for Nevada – yes, they had one. Most of his duties were up on > the BLM land / Nellis ranges investigating cattle rustling. He accused me of > running him off the road in my F-4, which happened quite often to him.” - Storm concluded that he “knew his official green Chevy pickup very well” and would do his best to avoid him in the future. A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE F-4 PHANTOM During the Cold War, McDonnell Douglas was tasked [https://theaviationgeekclub.com/former-f-4-crew-members-point-out-phantoms-issues-and-they-explain-why-they-loved-flying-it-despite-its-flaws/] with developing a carrier-based interceptor aircraft for the Navy that could counter the Soviet’s own arsenal. By early 1961, the Phantom was officially adopted [https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/f-4-phantom-fighter-bomber/] by the service and immediately became the Navy’s fastest fighter-bomber. The platform’s long-range and high-altitude capabilities also contributed to its success within the service. Within a few years, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force also adopted the Phantom. In addition to the U.S. military, the F-4s [https://wiki.warthunder.com/F-4E_Phantom_II] have serviced the Air Forces of a host of nations, including Australia, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Japan, the UK and South Korea. The well-armed airframe could carry more than 18,000 pounds of weapons on nine external hardpoints, making it a wildly popular platform to procure. Over the Phantom’s career [https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-4-terminator-phantoms-still-going-strong-at-turkeys-anatolian-eagle-exercise] in service, multiple enhancements were incorporated to the platform, including improved munitions like the AIM-7E-2 that corrected some of the airframe’s flaws. While the Phantom has been relegated to retirement across the U.S. military, the fighter-bomber continues to serve in several nations and maintains an honorable service history.
