With a top speed of Mach 2.2, the F-4’s defining characteristic was world-record speed.
Can you name the most widely produced U.S. supersonic military aircraft ever? Answer: the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. Over 5,000 F-4s were produced, making the aircraft a staple of the Cold War that remains in limited service today. First flown in 1958, the F-4 would serve as an important bridge between relatively simple Korean War-era fighters, like the F-86 Sabre, and still-relevant fourth-generation fighters, like the F-15 Eagle. With a top speed of Mach 2.2, the F-4’s defining characteristic was world-record speed.
Introducing the F-4 Phantom
The F-4 was built to serve as a carrier-based interceptor for the U.S. Navy but would eventually be folded into both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps force structure where the Phantom would take on a variety of roles, including air superiority, ground attack, and reconnaissance. The versatility (and cross-branch use) of the F-4 would make it one of the most widely used aircraft of the Vietnam War.
The F-4 was a beast: big, fast, strong. Despite having a maximum takeoff weight of over 60,000 pounds, the F-4 could still hit Mach 2.2 and climb at 41,000 feet per minute. In fact, the F-4 set a variety of performance records. For example, during Operation Top Flight, an F-4 prototype performed a zoom climb to a world record 98,557 feet—which is about three times higher than a commercial airplane typically flies. During Project High Jump, the F-4 set a variety of time-to-altitude records, including 34.523 seconds to 9,840 feet; 48.78 seconds to 19,700 feet, 61.629 seconds to 29,500 feet, and onward. Imagine moving from the runway to 29,500 feet in just 61 seconds. Point being, the F-4 was fast, and the F-4 could climb—which is why the F-4 pilots adopted the slogan “speed is life.” Indeed, acceleration proved to be the F-4’s greatest advantage in air combat, allowing the F-4 to engage and disengage at the pilot’s discretion.
But despite the F-4’s positive attributes, the airframe was not without its faults. Most notably, the F-4 lacked an internal cannon—which became a universal frustration for F-4 pilots in the skies above Vietnam. The omission of internal cannons forced F-4 pilots to rely on heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles, which were still relatively new technology and far from being as sophisticated as they are today; oftentimes, the missile attacks would miss their intended target, and should the F-4 pilot run out of missiles, they would be left without a means to engage their target. By 1965, an external 20-mm gun pod was added to many of the F-4s.
Over the course of the Vietnam War, the F-4 was credited with shooting down 107.5 enemy MiGs, including 33.5 MiG-17s, eight MiG-19s, and 66 MiG-21s. The AIM-7 Sparrow and the AIM-9 Sidewinder were credited with the majority of the MiG kills. Kills were recorded with the 20-mm guns, however, including one shoot-down, in June 1972, which occurred at Mach 1.2, making for the first and last recorded gun kill at supersonic speed.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
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